Can I Use Carpet Underlay to Soundproof?

Acoustic Carpet Underlay

• Not all carpet underlays will provide the noise cancellation necessary to help soundproof a space in your home. According to the website for Custom Audio Designs, acoustic carpet underlays provide the thickness to reduce impact noise and deaden sounds generated inside the room. These carpet underlays usually contain dual layers of rubber and felt to provide sound cancellation and cushion. This allows people to walk around the room without creating a thudding racket on the bottom floor of your home.

Airborne Noise Problems

• Soundproofing a space in your home using carpet underlays can help keep sound from escaping that specific room only. Carpet underlays can't help with airborne noise produced from other floors of your home. Stopping airborne noise from other floors in your home will require the addition of an acoustic sealant between the floorboards of each level. An acoustic sealant is an acrylic chemical compound that does not harden over time. This gives the compound greater sound absorption properties and adds to the soundproofing power of your carpet underlays.

Creaking Floor Boards

• Installing carpet underlays can't adequately solve your soundproofing problems if the noise comes from squeaky floorboards. The lack of any insulation between the home's joists and the floorboards is causing that creaking or slapping sound you hear when you walk around. Addressing this problem before installing carpet underlays is key to eliminating excess noise and maximizing your soundproofing strategies. A certified contractor must lift the floorboards and install non-toxic foam, vinyl or fiber insulation on the joists before replacing the floorboards.

Check the Nails

• Slapping floorboards in your home may not come from inadequate insulation or aging building materials. A contractor may have installed your floorboards using nails or screws that are too short to hold the boards in place. A close inspection of your floorboards may reveal areas where nails do not sink into the wood properly and come free without effort. A contractor may have also inadequately spaced nails along your floorboards. This results in areas without sufficient hold to keep boards from slapping against joists. Addressing these issues before installing carpet underlays can help the soundproofing materials perform at peak efficiency.