The dream of many of today’s homebuyers is to buy a brand-new home. New materials, new systems, and clean, often staged rooms are so inviting. But does the home provide quiet enjoyment? Are the rooms quiet, or are they uncomfortable, reverberating noise chambers? Consider soundproofing a room.
Similarly, you found a new apartment. You are looking forward to living there, but quickly discover you hear your neighbors’ conversations and their every movement in the adjacent and above units. Are there noise control solutions to turn your apartment into a quiet, peaceful place allowing for quiet enjoyment?
The answer is “YES”: Here are effective strategies to mitigate noise in homes and apartments. AND here is why you want to install the right away:
Serious Health Effects From Noise
Noise impact is not just a nuisance. It goes well beyond actual health impairment. Many studies establish that noise can be a bodily stress factor we should pay attention to. The term “decibel hell” was coined by no other than the National Institute of Health. Here are some of their other, more specific findings:
The National Institute of Health (NIH) states that even “…chronic low levels of noise can cause so-called nonauditory effects such as disturbances of activity, sleep, and communication with can trigger a number of emotional responses…and stress.”
Further, the National Institute of Health states unequivocally that
“Exposure to noise constitutes a health risk. There is sufficient scientific evidence that noise exposure can induce hearing impairment, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and decrease school performance.”
The last comment hints at the fact that children are especially affected by high noise exposure. 2013 ,in the Journal Frontiers in Psychology – Developmental Psychology concludes that
“Indoor noise and reverberation in classroom settings were found to be associated with the poorer performance of the children in verbal tasks.”
The same study presents that
“Psychoacoustic studies have consistently shown that children’s speech perception is more impaired than adults’ by unfavorable listening conditions”.
No one should take noise impact lightly. Controlling noise within your own four walls to give your body and mind relaxation should be everyone’s top priority, given these serious health hazards.
Today’s Decibel Hell in New Construction Homes
Soundproofing a room is most effective when the walls are open and accessible. While building codes and inspections generally provide a decent baseline on what’s installed behind the walls – insulation standards, etc., building codes have no requirements regarding levels of soundproofing and sound absorption.
To make matters worse, today’s homes have two highly desirable features: Open concept spaces with wood flooring. The living areas of the kitchen, dining, and family rooms are one open zone. Hardwood flooring or tile/stone are the two most chosen floor surfaces. Have you ever noticed the noise reverberation in most of these spaces along with the impact noise from someone walking on hardwood or tile/stone floors? It’s anything but a quiet enjoyment.
Now you know why good staging always includes extra plush rugs, sound-absorbing sofas, and pillows. While the purpose is to show people how to live or set up furniture in the space, the unspoken reason is to absorb high reverberating noise levels.
New apartment buildings usually have insulated walls between units although few builders install sound-mitigating materials. It is a relatively easy installation when the walls are open. But since it is a cost item that is hidden in the finished walls, cost-minded developers often skip over it – sadly! Let’s appeal to our local building departments to set building code standards on noise transmission.
So what can you do to give yourself quiet enjoyment of your home or apartment? Let’s get into available sound control solutions.
Effective Soundproofing Materials In Existing Spaces
Short of sheetrocking over existing walls with special, noise-absorbing materials, existing rooms call for the installation of various sound-absorbing materials.
Here are some sound absorption strategies and materials to transform your apartment from decibel hell to quiet enjoyment:
- Carpet with heavy carpet underlayments (carpet pads)
- Curtains made with interlining, slightly thicker cotton or felt material
- Acoustical panels which can be installed inconspicuously (and that’s the key!) into coffered ceilings, for example
- Acoustic foams and battles, though without hiding places they may create a look of a sound studio instead of a home
- EccoTone (TM) panels, which look a bit like wood panels and/or wood paneling with openings/holes arranged in my different patterns, which may or may not fit into the overall design of the room
- Art Acoustic Panels. These are sound-absorbing panels with artwork printed on top to disguise the panel as artwork.
All of these installations have one benefit – they are movable. Simply roll up the carpet and the carpet underlayment, and take down the curtains, and panels. The good news: If you are a little handy and can install and un-install curtain hardware, you won’t need professional help to create your quieter surroundings.
Soundproofing Homes Under Construction
When a house is under construction, it is the ideal time to think about soundproofing a room to control noise. Now you have the opportunity to identify and mitigate specific noise. Let’s dive into specific details and products:
- Impact noise from hard flooring surfaces. This can be significantly dampened with various kinds of underlayments. Cork underlayment is a well-known option. Stauf SMP960 is a green, certified, and LEED-qualified adhesive that has even higher impact noise absorption stats than cork.
2. Transfer noise through walls. This is where it’s best to identify the exact cause of the noise. Insulation materials like Rockwool and Quiet Batt Soundproofing Insulation are way better than Fiberglass insulation in general noise dampening. Quiet Barrier Soundproofing is another material. It is an industrial soundproofing membrane that is pretty easy to install. It functions both as a sound barrier as well as a sound absorber.
Acustiblok Soundproofing is a fabulous sound isolation material. It is best used to encase a specific source of noise, such as an elevator, or laundry room, for example. It comes in rolls. Since it is heavy, it is not the easiest to install. But it’s the best for isolating a particular noise source.
Finally, there is one, often overlooked noise cavity – electric switches and outlets. It seems like such a small detail. However, this fix has major impact. Acoustic Putty Pads are the perfect material to carefully install around all outlet boxes. While it may seem tedious, the lack of noise transmission through electric outlets is well worth it!
3. Overall noise dampening. QuietRock is a kind of sheetrock that can be installed over existing wall materials. It does a great job but is on the more expensive side. This is a great solution in high, cathedral-type ceilings where you want to control echo or reverb. It should be installed with a so-called Green Glue. Green Glue can also be used under general sheetrock, though some builders will say it is not effective enough to control noise by itself.
Quiet Enjoyment Is a Must-Have
In summary, there are effective ways to mitigate noise in existing and new construction spaces. Given the extensive body of scientific study, it is well-known that noise stresses the body to the point of causing a variety of negative health situations.
Taking your body out of decibel hell and providing it a quiet enjoyment in your own home or apartment should be a high priority for everyone. It is essential and relatively easy to do. Use any one of the above-suggested mitigations and turn your home into a peaceful, body-regenerative, Zen-like space.
