Can You Completely Soundproof a House?

Soundproof Windows

• Single-glazed windows offer little protection against excess noise from outside your home. According to Soundproof Windows Incorporated, replacing single panes with double-paned windows can increase that protection significantly. Additional protection can reduce the noise from 75 to 95 percent, depending on the method used. A soundproof window installed behind an existing window acts as a sound barrier between exterior and interior, thereby reducing the invading sound to near zero. A foam-type filler inserted in window frame edges effectively shuts out sound by preventing it from creeping into the narrow space between window frame and poorly fitted window.

Soundproofing Doors

• A solid entry door is a much better sound barrier than a hollow-core door. Heavy wood such as oak is much more effective as a barrier than pine or other lighter, softer woods. The heavy wood is less susceptible to vibration caused by heavy street traffic, or strong winds. Nevertheless, no door is completely soundproof. Noise seeps around the edges and under the door. A narrow, flexible flap fastened at the bottom of the door shuts out a great deal of exterior noise that would otherwise enter between threshold and door. Foam insulating tape fitted inside the door frame will shut out even more. An overlapping strip attached to the inside of the door blocks sound from entering.

Damping Sound Within the Home

• Carpets, draperies and upholstered furniture damp the reverberating sounds entering your home from the outside, as well as those created inside. The soft materials absorb the echoes of sound waves bouncing off hard surfaces. Acoustics are dramatically improved. The clatter of crockery, ringing telephones and other distracting sounds are diminished. Even speech clarity and quality is improved. According to Netwell Noise Control, vibration is the cause of noise. Eliminate the vibration and you eliminate the noise. For example, a small square of carpet placed beneath the legs of appliances, such as a washer, reduces the sound created by the machine's vibration.

Design and Construction

• Inadequate soundproofing may be due, in part, to a home's design and construction. According to OurProperty.co.uk, unless your home has very thick walls, noise pollution is part of your everyday life. Thin drywall offers little protection from exterior noise. Inside, doorways set exactly opposite to each other allow sound to travel from room to room. An added layer of drywall and foam insulation lessens penetration of noise from outside. Inside, offsetting of doorways creates a barrier that helps to prevent sound from escaping from the room of its source. Further soundproofing is achieved by installing acoustic ceiling panels. Minor structural changes and the right soundproofing materials can effectively eliminate excessive noise. Adequate soundproofing can leave your home virtually free of noise.