Soundproofing Your Home

Take off the narrow quarter-round molding used to cover expansion space next to baseboards and caulk the space between the walls and the floor, then put the quarter-round back and caulk again. If there is no quarter-round, add some. Windows are the weakest link. If you don’t have double-paned windows, consider them. If that is out of the question, cut 1/2-inch sheets of Plexiglas™ or any kind of clear acrylic and fit it over each window. Don’t put it right on top of the window glass; leave some air space. Secure the clear acrylic tightly and caulk it. Do the same for sliding glass doors if you can avoid using them. Eliminate hollow core doors and replace them with the solid-core variety. If you’re really desperate, hang two doors on opposite sides of the same jamb, staggering the heights of the doorknobs. Or, put the hinges on opposite sides so the doors swing in opposite directions. This is good for keeping the sounds of your son’s drumming inside his room. A wall's soundproof quality is measured by its sound transmission class (STC). Photo courtesy of Quiet Solution. There are also doors made to be less acoustically transparent. Hodas recommends the QuietZone® from Owens Corning. The Thicker the Walls, the Quieter the Room If your guitar player has his amp up to 100 decibels, consider an extra layer of sound-deadening drywall. There’s more than one manufacturer of this product, but Hodas recommends 5/8-inch panels of QuietRock® made by Quiet Solution. When you install the new drywall, add a layer of sound-dampening glue, which resembles peanut butter between two pieces of bread, but it works, according to Bob Orther, senior technical director of Soundproofing America Inc., in Sunnyvale, Calif., a nationwide company that specializes in soundproofing homes and businesses. Orther likes Green Glue®, which you squeeze like caulk between the two layers of drywall before you screw them together. Green Glue dampens the transmission of sound, making it harder for it to move through the second drywall layer.

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