Haven’t you noticed how adding a sliding barn door enhances the charm and look of the entire room! It adds a rustic touch to your interior decor. Currently, it’s a hot trend that seems to be liked by a lot of homeowners. If you are thinking of adding a similar rustic touch to your interior space, a barn door would be an excellent addition!
However, though the quaint countryside appeal is highly appreciated, it comes with a downside. A barn door has lots of gaps and holes on its surface which allow outside noise to enter the room. This becomes extremely disturbing and frustrating for the members of the house.
Are you wondering if it’s possible to soundproof a barn door? The good news is a barn door can be made soundproof! If you don’t want to replace your barn door with any other door and willing to make it soundproof by other methods, you have come to the right place.
There are a plethora of methods you can refer to. Some are expensive while others aren’t. We advise homeowners to use the methods in combination with one another. We have discussed several methods in detail below. Let’s see how can you increase the sound-absorbing capacity of a barn door without giving up on its rustic charm.
11 Ways To Soundproof A Barn Door
Before we move on to the steps, we must mention that no method would provide 100% soundproof results. To attain the highest level of sound reduction, you must use two or more methods together. For instance, one can weatherstrip the gaps and holes, attach soundproof curtains and add another layer of wood to the barn door. When you combine these three solutions, you would notice a significant reduction of noise inside your room.
Now that you have got an idea, we would dive into a detailed description of each method one by one. The solutions listed below are mostly DIY methods. There’s no need to dismantle the barn door in any case. Without further delay, let’s see how should you proceed stepwise.
Install the Barn Door Properly
Improper installation can be a major cause of a noisy room. If the barn door is improperly fitted, it is sure to leave gaps on the edges. These gaps would work as entry points to unwanted noises. Most people do this mistake. They forget to check if at all the door is properly fitted. If the door is improperly installed, you cannot get rid of unwanted noises and sounds, because the thoughtless fitting is likely to cause cracks and gap
Therefore, before we proceed to the various soundproofing solutions, we advise our readers to inspect the installation of the door, before anything else.
Weatherstrip to Seal the Holes and Gaps
Worried about fixing the gap in a barn door? The first thing you ought to do is weatherstripping. Weatherstripping means sealing off holes, cracks, or openings in your door. The self-adhesive weatherstrips work as a barn door gap filler.
If you have small barn door gaps or holes, weatherstripping would seal them, preventing rainwater or unwanted noises to enter through them. Besides fixing the gaps and holes, weatherstripping also helps to make a room energy-efficient. It helps you to save energy by maintaining the room temperature for long.
Are you thinking about what to use as a weatherstrip? You can use a variety of materials for this purpose. For instance, you can use items like vinyl, brass, foam, or sweep. Weatherstripping would also help you take care of barn door side gap.
Many owners who have installed sliding barn doors notice a 2 to 4-inch gap, which is enough to sabotage privacy in a bedroom. Filling the gap in your sliding barn doors with a barn door privacy strip is therefore important.
Remember that to reduce the entry of unwanted noise, you must identify the gaps and holes that are allowing noise to pass through. Once you have spotted them all, you can choose a suitable material of your choice to weatherstrip the door. You can also consult a professional.
Add An Extra Layer of Wood
You obviously know the thicker and denser the door, the lesser sound would pass through it. When the sound vibrations strike the door, they disperse in several directions. Also, they become weak and their intensity reduces. Consequently, they cannot pass through the thick surface into the room. That’s why a denser door always means lesser noise transmission.
If you want to increase the thickness of your barn door you can pin more wood to it. You can cut out a piece of plywood or fiberboard. Take the measurements beforehand and cut accordingly. If you are confused between the two, know the fiberboard is a better option.
Once you are ready with the pieces of fiberboard or plywood, apply a layer of green glue compound to the backside of the barn door. Next, attach the panels carefully. After attaching, screw nails around the outer edges of the door to make sure the panels stay in place.
Lastly, if you feel the door needs a finishing touch, you can apply good quality soundproofing paint on it.
Don’t miss:
How to Soundproof a Hollow Door
How to Soundproof an Apartment Door
Hang Soundproofing Curtains
This is a popular method of soundproofing a barn door. Not just barn doors, you can hang specially designed soundproofing curtains on walls and windows to obstruct unwanted noise from coming into the room.
Are you thinking about what makes these curtains so effective? Well, they are made up of dense fabrics which absorb noise while it passes through them. In the process, the fabrics also hinder the speed of the sound waves. Consequently, the sound waves can’t pass through the barn door into the room.
The best part about soundproof curtains is that they are available in a variety of colors, sizes, patterns, and textures to choose from! Homeowners usually don’t face any difficulty while finding a curtain that fits the design of the room. There are some designs like pleats and frills which add to the thickness of the curtains. We advise homeowners to look for such designs for effective noise reduction.
Attach an Extra Layer of MLV
If you aren’t satisfied with the result after adding a soundproofing curtain, you can switch to this option. Adding a layer of mass-loaded vinyl would also help you to increase the mass of the barn door. Consequently, it would effectively reduce noise transmission.
Attaching MLV is likely to be a time taking process. Also, it’s expensive than the ones we had talked about. But, this process provides you with evident noise-reduction inside a room. To make the barn door furthermore soundproof, you can apply good quality soundproofing paint on it
Attach a Sound Dampening Door Sweep
If you are worried about filling your barn door’s gap at the bottom in a cost-effective manner, don’t worry. You can cover that space with a door sweep easily. Whether the gap is of a few millimeters or more than that, you can rest assured adding a door sweep would work.
There are people who insert a piece of cloth in that space. That’s not an effective method at all. Also, you have to rearrange the cloth every time someone opens and closes the door. Therefore, attaching a door sweep is a better and more useful solution. In fact, there are sound dampening door sweeps especially designed for this purpose.
Installing it at the bottom of the door doesn’t take much time. One can do the needful without requiring professional help. There are some door sweeps that come with self-adhesive properties. In that case, you don’t have to buy adhesives separately to attach them.
Don’t miss:
How to Soundproof a Bedroom Door
How to Soundproof Interior Doors
Attach a Wooden Board to the Bottom
Besides using a door sweep to cover the barn door’s gap at the bottom of the door, you can also attach a wooden board at its bottom. However, for this method, you might have to remove the door and then attach the wooden board for convenience.
Take the measurements beforehand. This will help you cover the gap perfectly. In case you take any wrong measurements, the door might not close or might still leave gaps.
You can use the green glue compound to glue a wooden board at the bottom of the barn door. Make sure the door closes tightly to prevent further transmission of noise.
Moving Blankets
This is an old solution that’s still popular in the soundproofing industry. In fact, some studies have found that these blankets are even more effective than the soundproofing curtains people are using nowadays.
Comparatively, these blankets are denser and thicker in structure. Therefore, they are more efficient in absorbing unwanted sounds and reducing the level of noise inside a room.
Usually, these soundproofing blankets are hung from a rod, covering one side of the barn door. You can also use an adhesive to attach them to either surface. However, we recommend our users hang them from the top.
While you choose a suitable soundproofing blanket, you must consider the material of the item. Prefer to buy soundproofing blankets made up of items like mass-loaded vinyl, polyester, fiberglass, etc. They are popular because they absorb about 85% of the noise.
Attach Soundproof Panels on the Barn Door
Another popular soundproofing method preferred by most homeowners and even suggested by experts is adding soundproof acoustic foam panels. They have been found to be quite effective in blocking outside noise. These soundproof foam panels have acoustic properties. They are dense and therefore work well at reducing the intensity of airborne noise.
If you don’t want to buy acoustic foam panels, you can look for acoustic fiberglass panels. Experts recommend the latter for soundproofing your barn door.
The fiberglass acoustic panels have increased weight and density. Both are instrumental in increasing the noise absorption capacity of any surface. At the same time, fiberglass doesn’t pose any health risk to anyone. Also, attaching acoustic panels is a temporary option. You can remove these panels anytime you want. If you don’t want to attach them with glue you can simply nail them to the backside of the barn door.
Remember that barn door acoustic sound seal foam panels are expensive. If you are running by a strict budget, it’s better not to opt for this solution.
Use Quality Hardware
One must use good quality hardware to increase the soundproofing qualities of a barn door. Yes, this method would cost you a few extra bucks but it’s entirely worthy. Sturdy, top-quality hardware would also last longer.
For instance, if you thought buying an inexpensive rail is a good idea and it would fulfill its purpose and save a few bucks, you are entirely wrong. An inexpensive rail would definitely fail to hold your door in place. You might even find tiny gaps between the wall and the top of the door. This gap might appear extremely tiny to our naked eyes but will allow outside noise to enter the room without any hindrance.
Don’t miss:
How to Soundproof French Doors
How to Soundproof a Room from Outside Noise
Replace the Barn Door with a Solid Core Barn Door
This is the last option you can try out if none of the solutions offer satisfactory results. However, remember that replacing the barn door with a solid core barn door is costly. Obviously, a barn door with a solid core would offer better sound-deadening results than ordinary barn doors. The solid core barn door is denser than an ordinary one. Therefore, it is better at blocking noise and provides users with better performance.
This is the best solution if you reside in a high-traffic area and can’t get rid of outside noise by any means.
Final thought
As you can see, soundproofing a barn door doesn’t require much hassle. Barn doors are differently structured. But that doesn’t mean they cannot be soundproofed.
There are several methods in which you can increase a barn door’s noise-blocking capacity.
We have discussed each of them in detail. While going through, you might find that many of the methods are the ones that we usually apply to ordinary wooden doors.
Nevertheless, while you proceed with the soundproofing process, remember to seal all existing gaps in the beginning. Also, don’t forget to check the installation. If it’s improperly fitted, call a professional and install the door properly first. The installation matters a lot.