These days, soundproofing walls have become really important. People living in flats and apartments are used to facing this issue now.
It becomes extremely irritating and frustrating when it’s late at night and you can’t sleep because your neighbor is partying with friends.
You can’t always go and tell them that the noise is disturbing you. Here lies the need to soundproofing walls.
Walls are one of those mediums through which sound gets easily transmitted. Therefore you have to prevent outside noise from crossing your walls. How to do that? Well, there’s no need to worry.
This guide is just what you need.
I have discussed some effective DIY solutions to the noise transmission problem below. So, without wasting any further time, let’s dive into the details.
How To Reduce Noise Through The Walls?
Below mentioned are 11 effective ways that homeowners can try out if they have been facing the issue of unwanted noise transmission for long. These solutions can help to stop noise from getting transmitted through the walls into your room space. Let’s go through the solutions one by one.
Seal Holes And Gaps
The first way to reduce noise through walls is by sealing all existing holes and gaps. Even the tiniest of holes can transmit noises. Therefore, your first task would be to inspect the walls thoroughly.
Look for holes that might be letting in noise from the adjacent apartment. If you find any, immediately seal the gaps using a good quality sealant. People are advised to try the green glue item. It acts both as a soundproofing matter and an adhesive. Hence, it works both ways.
You must be wondering how Green Glue can reduce noise transmission. Well, this compound absorbs the sound waves and transforms them into other forms of energy, like heat, which is then absorbed by the walls.
Attach A Resilient Channel
Resilient channel is a narrow, metallic strip, that contains a pre-drilled hole on it to make it easier for people to screw it against the walls.
The resilient channel acts as an extra layer attached to the existing wall. Now, in between the space created, the resilient channel creates a decoupling zone where soundwaves get trapped.
Remember that this material doesn’t reduce or absorbs sounds. It simply traps sound waves, not allowing them to dissipate in the surrounding.
Attaching a resilient channel is one of the cost-effective methods of blocking sound through walls. By trapping the unwanted sounds and noises, the resilient channel even improves room-to-room sound transmission.
Use Soundproof Paints To Paint The Wall
Soundproofing paints! Are they real? Oftentimes homeowners worry about this. Well, this isn’t a myth and soundproofing paints are available in today’s market.
However, the effectiveness of this solution depends on the intensity of noise coming through the walls. If the sounds are quite faint, soundproofing paints would eliminate them entirely. But, if the sounds are quite loud, chances are you will still hear faint noises.
Soundproofing paints are usually thick in nature. They are applied multiple times, so they form a thick layer on your existing wall. Hence, this offers good insulation to low-frequency sounds.
Painting your walls can also enhance the freshness and beauty of the room. Besides that, soundproof painting is also a cheap solution to block sound from walls.
Use Mass-Loaded Vinyl
One of the most effective solutions to consider is attaching mass-loaded vinyl to the existing wall. It reduces the noise transmission to a great extent, giving you relief from unnecessary noises.
These are great airborne noise reducers. Not only they are a suitable sound-reduction solution but also can be used as a thermal problem solution.
Now, you might question, how mass-loaded vinyl helps to reduce noise?
These mats at first dampen the sound waves and then absorb the energy of the sound waves. These mats don’t have any smell and are quite good at their job. They are made up of thick, fat panels that are made from soundproofing materials.
If you are facing the issue of noise transmission for long and have tried several measures only to get zero results, try putting up mass-loaded vinyl on the existing wall.
The best part is these vinyl panels will also stop sound from going through walls to your neighbor’s room.
Add An Additional Layer Of Drywall To The Wall
The more sound waves have to travel, the lesser their intensity becomes. This means, if you can attach multiple layers to your existing wall, the sound waves from the outside or other apartments have to travel through multiple layers.
Ultimately, they will lose energy and become quite faint by the time the waves reach you.
Drywalls are based on this idea. Noise-reducing drywalls form a thick layer of gypsum and contain individual viscoelastic polymer layers, each of which is manufactured to absorb the sound waves and reduce their intensity.
A lot of homeowners nowadays are adopting this solution as an effective idea to reduce sound through walls.
Not only does drywall absorb the sound waves but also provides extra layers of thickness. For further effective results, you can add layers of drywall, one after the other.
Another reason for its rising popularity is its easy installation process.
Attach Soundproof Wallpapers
The latest soundproof wallpapers are in trend currently. You can decorate your house any way you like with these amazing wallpapers. They are available in a variety of finishes and colors.
So, finding out suitable wallpapers for your home wall wouldn’t be difficult. Besides enhancing your home decor, these wallpapers also prevent sound from entering your house.
It might be difficult to believe but yes, soundproof wallpapers actually reduce noise through the walls. They are made up of several layers which disrupt the sound waves as they pass through the layers. Moreover, the wallpaper contains an insulating layer inside it, which further helps to absorb the sound waves.
The majority of today’s soundproof wallpapers are collision, water, and moist proof and safe for children. You can apply them on a variety of surfaces like living room walls, staircases, wood board, kitchen, behind sofas, etc.
Attach Soundproof Blankets To The Existing Wall
The next popular solution for blocking noise through walls and prevent unwanted sounds from reaching your rooms is by adding soundproof blankets on top of the existing walls.
Blankets are really effective when it comes to absorbing energy. They are built with the latest noise-reducing materials, that reduce TV noise through walls effectively.
These blankets are thick, heavy, and massive. Therefore, when added to walls, they increase the wall’s thickness. The sound waves have to travel through this thick layer, and while doing so, they dissipate. In short, the soundproof blankets effectively help to muffle sound through walls.
However, since these blankets are extremely heavy, it’s difficult to attach them alone. Homeowners are advised to ask for a helping hand. You can combine this solution with the other DIY soundproof solutions to eliminate as much noise as possible.
Add Furniture To Fill The Floor Space
An empty room creates echoes. Well, we are quite aware of that. If your room is quite empty and there’s a lot of floor space unoccupied, consider adding contemporary furniture pieces to your room.
This way you can decorate your room as well. Buy furniture that complements your interior decor.
If you can’t afford to buy new furniture items, you can simply place a big bookshelf to cover the space. A bookshelf covered with books acts as a line of defense, preventing sound waves from transmitting faster.
People who have placed bookshelves as a solution to the noise transmission problem have got evident results.
A bookshelf might not eliminate the entire sound but will certainly help in reducing sound transmission through walls.
Install Soundproofing Foam To The Wall
Nowadays acoustic soundproofing foam panels are one of the most preferred soundproofing solutions.
A lot of people have used them and they have found these panels to be pretty much effective.
Besides that, these acoustic foam panels are cost-effective too. They are mostly used in home studios and art rooms to prevent outside noise from entering the room.
However, these foam panels don’t block the noises. Instead, they absorb the sound waves and removes unwanted noises in the background.
These acoustic foam panels are used to reduce the reverberation sounds make. Therefore, they work quite differently than soundproofing materials.
These panels can be attached on a variety of surfaces, sometimes in combination with other sound reduction measures.
Place Acoustic Wall Tiles
If you are looking for ways to reduce noise through walls, placing acoustic wall tiles can be an effective solution to your problem. If you can’t afford the expensive solutions, this is a cheap solution to consider.
Wondering how can acoustic wall tiles reduce outside noise? Well, when hanged from the ceiling, they trap the sound waves that pass through them.
For improved noise reduction results, homeowners are advised to hang these tiles from different suspension heights.
Acoustic wall tiles mostly are made up of polyester, which is resistant to petrol and oil. Moreover, these tiles don’t have any smell, good or bad. You would be surprised to know that these tiles are extremely lightweight and therefore, easily installable!
Buy A White Noise Machine
If you need complete elimination of outside noises in your rooms and have found no effective results by trying out the former solutions, this is the last solution that’s sure to block out all outside noises.
You can consider purchasing a white noise machine. The machine is capable of eliminating every sound wave that enters your room. These machines drown the background noise and that’s how they eliminate outside noises.
What’s interesting is that these technologically advanced devices are known to produce some sounds that will subconsciously make you ignore all other noises, helping you to concentrate on your job. People who experience difficulty in sleeping use these machines at night.
The Bottom Line
Just like doors and windows, walls too are a medium of noise transmission. No matter it’s the high volume of the TV or guests chilling at your neighbor’s apartment or loud conversations, you will be disturbed by outside noise if proper sound reduction measures aren’t taken.
Luckily, fixing this issue isn’t too challenging. I have listed a few effective DIY solutions above that have been found to be effective against noise transmission.
However, the suitable solution in your case depends upon the amount of money you are willing to spend and the intensity of noise entering your room.