The Quiet Site

Everyone has a room in the house they wish they could make their own. For me it was my home office but despite my best efforts I simply couldn’t get the rest of the family to stay quiet while I worked. I decided I needed to soundproof my room but didn’t have a lot of time or money to do so. I simply followed the following four steps and was able to create a simple soundproof room that even the loudest kid cartoon can’t penetrate.
First I purchased a soundproof automatic door bottom and installed it at the bottom of my office door. The door bottom drops to fill the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor, then raises up upon opening the door thereby making it easy to open or close. No room soundproofing job should ever be completed without a door sweep as it will block the noise that can creep in from under the door and is much less expensive than purchasing a soundproof door. I then added a layer of MDF on my door with Green Glue in between and painted over it.
My next step was to add some soundproofing to the walls of my office. Instead of installing heavy mass loaded vinyl I purchased an adhesive product actually a damping compound called Green Glue Damping Compound Tubes and installed it with another layer of drywall over my existing walls. In my case, the only noise concerns I had were from my children, so I only had to put the damping compound on the walls that faced the entertainment room and the hallway. The other two walls faced the exterior of the home.
I had plans to recarpet the floor in my office so after the old carpet was ripped up I made sure to put down an extra thick carpet pad. Sound waves do travel along the floors in most homes, so this extra measure ensured I wouldn’t be disturbing anyone in the rooms below me and vice versa.
Finally, I took a look at the windows in my room. In most cases all you have to do is use acoustical caulk and caulk around the edges of your windows and fill in the gaps created during the installation process. Then install a Sound Barrier Window Curtain.
Ready to soundproof your own home office or favorite room? You don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to get great results. Just use patience and make your plan in advance. You’ll be pleased with the end result.