You must know that the maximum noise enters the apartment through doors. No matter it’s high traffic outside or your neighbors talking loudly in the corridor or the heavy footsteps of people walking by, sounds are likely to enter through the apartment door 24*7. Therefore, to enjoy a soundproof quiet ambiance, soundproofing your apartment’s door is the first thing to do.
Usually, the apartment doors are hollow and extremely ineffective in stopping outside noise. Are you tired of hearing unwanted noises coming into your room from neighbors and traffic? If you are frustrated now and need to do something, you have come to the right place. In this guide we have listed how can people reduce the intensity of outside noises entering through their apartment door.
If you can’t afford to buy a new door, you can very well follow the DIY soundproofing methods discussed below in this guide. The best part about these techniques is that they are temporary but effective. Therefore if you don’t require them any longer, you can easily remove them. There wouldn’t be any damage caused to the door in the process. Let’s now go through some of the ways to soundproof an apartment door.
10 Ways to Soundproof an Apartment Door
Before we go over to the different apartment door soundproofing techniques, we would like to mention that none of these methods yield 100% effective results.
Therefore, it’s important to use these methods together with other sound-reducing techniques. Combining two or more methods together would certainly reduce the entry of unwanted sound inside your apartment.
Now, without delaying any further, let’s go through the various ways to soundproof your apartment door.
Use a Weatherstripping Tape
Haven’t you used weatherstripping tape for garage doors previously? If yes, you must know that it can also be used in a lot of other places. If you notice any existing gap between the door frame and the wall, a weatherstripping tape is going to come in handy.
If the gaps are too small, you can perform a trick to find out if there are any existing holes. Tell your friend to stand on the other side of the door. Now ask that person to switch on the torch. It will help you look for even the tiniest of gaps and holes.
Now, take the weatherstripping tape and seal the entire door frame. It will significantly reduce outside noise from entering the room. Even the tiniest hole or gap can allow a lot of noise to enter. Therefore it’s extremely important to seal them tightly to make your room soundproof.
Now, there are a lot of weatherstripping tapes available in today’s market. Obviously, they differ in qualities. They are made up of different materials. For instance, some are made up of silicone while some are made up of rubber. These tapes are quite versatile and can also be used to soundproof your windows too.
Apply Green Glue to Caulk Any Gap and Cracks
Can you see any existing gaps or cracks on your door? If the weatherstripping tape we just talked about above isn’t effective in filling them, use green glue for this purpose. It’s a great sound dampening material, which significantly checks the transmission of outside noise into any room.
However, if you can’t arrange green glue, any other sealant would work. We advise readers to use green glue because it’s specially made to soundproof cracks, gaps, and holes. This compound fills all existing holes and prevents air from passing through that spot again.
Green glue captures the sound waves that try to pass through it. In the process, it converts the sound vibrations into heat energy. Ultimately, the soundwaves die out.
If you think this seal might catch everyone’s attention, you are wrong. Usually, green glue is white in color and isn’t likely to be visible to your guests. People can always paint the door with soundproofing paint, after filling all gaps with the green glue compound.
Install a Rubber Door Sweep
This is another method to soundproof apartment door. It’s inexpensive and easily installable. This is a temporary method, allowing people to remove the sweep anytime as per their convenience. You can easily remove it and install it on another door where you think it’s most needed. A rubber door sweep is highly reusable!
Now, while looking for these items, homeowners are usually confused regarding which type of door sweep to buy. There are ample options available in today’s market, especially online. It’s expected to make anyone confused. Go through the features of every item and compare the prices before buying an item.
However, remember that a door sweep isn’t great at blocking outside noise. Therefore, one must use it by combining it with other noise reduction techniques.
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Attach a Quilted Fiberglass Panel
Quilted fiberglass panels are usually 1 ” or 2″ thick. They prevent outside noise from passing through the door and entering into rooms. They are extremely fit for indoor soundproofing as well as for industrial areas too.
If you are looking for ideas related to soundproofing apartment door, you can buy quilted fiberglass panels and see how they significantly reduce outside sound and noise from entering your room.
They are obviously pricey but offer evident results at the same time. The best part is quilted fiberglass panels come with other features too. They are fire safe, long-lasting, and high-performance. They help to reduce reverberant airborne noise significantly.
Quilted fiberglass panels are thick mats that not only block noise but also reduce reverberation and sound waves that strike against the door. These panels are known to reduce the strength of sound waves to at least half. If you install these panels, you can notice its results evidently.
While looking for quilted fiberglass panels, make sure to see their thickness. Buy the ones that are at least 2 inches thick to get maximum sound dampening effects.
Hang Soundproof Curtains or Drapes
Soundproof curtains, just like soundproofing blankets help to reduce noise transmission. The best thing about these curtains is that they are quite versatile and come in a variety of colors and textures. Therefore you can choose the appropriate one as per your home decor. Also, you can hang these curtains on windows too.
These soundproofing curtains are extremely thick and heavy, dampening the sound waves and reducing their intensity to the maximum. The only thing you ought to keep in mind is that buy a suitable curtain that covers the entire length of your apartment door. Therefore take the measurements of the door to make sure you don’t end up buying a shorter one.
The effectiveness of the curtain obviously depends on its thickness. Besides reducing noise entering the room, various sound deadening curtains also prevent sun rays from entering, thereby offering thermal insulation too. The insulation properties of these curtains help to maintain the room’s temperature. As a result, the heating and cooling costs are greatly reduced.
Place a Door Rug Outside
A lot of homeowners wonder if at all placing a rug would reduce the entry of unwanted noise inside the room. Well, though it’s not as effective as the other methods, it surely would make a difference.
Placing a rug outside the door is never a bad idea. The rug would absorb impact noise, especially that of footsteps, in front of your door. The ones that still pass through the rug would be stopped by soundproofing curtains or paints or pads attached to the door.
Placing a rug before your apartment door wouldn’t hurt anyone’s eyes. Instead, a rug would allow you to keep the area clean and less noisy. In times of need, you can shift the rug to anywhere you want. There are people who place rugs right in front of every room so that people clean their shoes before they enter the rooms. This helps people to maintain the cleanliness of the house.
While you buy a suitable soundproof rug, make sure you buy a visually appealing one, that’s fit to be kept outside your house.
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Attach a Soundproof Blanket
A soundproof blanket from reputed sellers would also work in soundproofing your apartment doors. Not just for doors, you can hang these blankets on windows as well. They are however a bit expensive but entirely worth it. Also, they last for several years. Therefore, you aren’t likely to regret buying these top-quality soundproof blankets for soundproofing apartment door.
These soundproof blankets block a variety of noises. Before buying, check the dimensions of the door that you intend to soundproof. Soundproof blankets do wonder by enhancing the acoustics of your room and reducing the noise transmission at the same time.
Buy a suitable soundproof blanket from the market today and see how it effectively reduces the entry of unwanted noise inside your room.
Install a Soundproof Door Pad
A soundproof pad works similar to a door sweep but having the former is advantageous than the latter. Though the soundproof pad is less permanent, it wonderfully stops outside noise from entering through the bottom of the door. Wondering how is it advantageous over a door sweep? A door pad can be placed both at the top and the bottom of any door, whereas door sweeps can only be placed at the bottom.
Also, if you notice any crack on the door, you can attach the pad and stop noise from entering through the hole. Soundproof pads contain materials like polyester wool, sound-insulating felt, EPDM rubber, and iron power to ensure maximum sound absorption.
The only thing you need to remember is that a soundproof pad needs to be reapplied every time you open and close the door. Therefore, try to apply it with a downward pressure so that existing holes and gaps present at the bottom of the door are closed.
Hang Mass Loaded Vinyl Mat
If you do a little research on soundproofing materials, you would know that mass-loaded vinyl is an extremely popular soundproofing material that most people prefer nowadays. No matter you have to soundproof your apartment door or ceiling, walls, and floors, mlv is one of the best methods to reduce wanted noise. You can get mlv in the form of mats, that can be attached to the doors for effective noise reduction. These mats are particularly effective at blocking impact noise.
You must know that one can reduce noise in two ways: either by adding mass or by isolation. Therefore, when you attach a layer of mlv, you increase the mass of the door, thereby preventing maximum noise from entering.
The only thing you have to do is find an mlv mat of the same size as that of your apartment door. Next, you can either glue it to the door or nail or staple it.
After attaching these mats to your apartment doors, you would notice an evident reduction in noise inside your room. These mats can block almost any kind of noise.
Paint the Door with Soundproof Paint
Oftentimes, people don’t believe that soundproofing paints can reduce noise. But it’s true. Though not fully, soundproofing paints can reduce the entry of outside noise to a great extent. The effectiveness of the paint however varies on the intensity of the noise and the type of noise.
What are soundproofing paints? These are heavy thick water-based paints that contain latex. This material prevents the transmission of sound waves, acting as an effective heat barrier. When you look for soundproofing paints, you would observe that they are quite thicker than normal paints we usually see. This method works best when combined with the other door soundproofing methods.
Applying soundproofing paints is quite easy. Take a thick brush and apply at least two coats of the paint for effective results. You can opt for this option to soundproof front apartment door.
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Final words
As you can see, there are innumerable ways to soundproof apartment door. Of course, you can simply buy a new door, that is heavier and thicker than the previous one. But, if you can’t afford it currently, you can opt for the various DIY soundproofing methods we just talked about above.
Always remember that for the best results, you must combine the methods and apply them together. For instance, seal all existing gaps and holes and paint the door with soundproofing paint at the same time.