As the number of electronic gadgets we own increases, combined with living in a multi-media world, it’s getting more and more difficult to find a quiet place to work, study, or just plain relax. Good sound insulation in your home can provide just such a place. It can also protect the rest of your home design from the noise of a home theater, or provide a good place for live audio or video recording.
Before you can begin sound insulation, it’s important to understand how sound travels. Sound waves are in essence, vibrations that move through various media on the way to our ears. Obviously, sound travels through the air, but not as efficiently as through objects. Think of the two tin cans you tied together with strings when you were a child. You and your friend could whisper into the tin cans and be heard loud and clear on the other end. But use the same whisper into the open air and it’s hard to hear each other. Sound generally carries well in homes because the walls of adjoining rooms share common studs.
If you are in the building stage, or you’re willing to remove and replace common walls, the best way to insulate against sound is to stagger studs so that each wall has its own set. Instead of placing studs perpendicular to the footer and header, place them parallel. That is, instead of the 2″ side facing out, turn it so the 4″ side is facing out. Stagger them so that no part of either wall will touch. A foam or cork board panel applied before the drywall helps to absorb any sound that does travel through the dead air.
Another construction method that doesn’t involve tearing down existing walls is to simply build a second wall to the inside of an existing one. Make sure your new wall is not connected to the existing shared one, or the problem will only be made worse. Nail your footer to the floor, the header to the ceiling joists, run your studs, add drywall, paint, and you’re finished. Use the same foam or cork board underlay before installing drywall.
Sound insulation without construction or renovation is a bit more challenging, and although you’ll get less effective results there’s still plenty you can do. Start by considering sound insulation when arranging a room. The family room is a major source of noise in a home so try to put the home entertainment center on an exterior wall, facing the center of the room. Furniture should be placed around adjoining walls, all facing the center of the room. Use wall hangings on adjoining walls but avoid the temptation to attach them directly to the wall. Instead, hang them from curtain rods or from hooks attached to the ceiling.
Wall to wall carpeting will greatly reduce noise and echo carried by hardwood floors. This is very important when the less-than-fantastic singers in your family decide to engage in some karaoke online activities. Many ceramic floor applications also help reduce noise, but generally not as well as carpet. In a home office, acoustic panels can be hung on the wall to help absorb sound from adjoining rooms. Hang these panels centered over studs, and make sure to space the panels so they don’t touch each other.
There are plenty of other ways to insulate against sound in your home. Use your imagination or ask the professionals in your local area. Just remember the tin can illustration and you’ll know what to do.
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