# Best way to sound-proof a bedroom?



## Krieger88 (Apr 25, 2012)

I'd think this would somewhat fit in an audio forum. My sister moved back in a few years ago when she had her baby and now my niece is a loud mouth toddler who wakes me up on a daily basis. I was at the brink of renting a room at my brothers house but his wife might of been too difficult to live under so I decided to try out soud proofing my room. I only have to really take care of 1 wall ( which is adjacent to the bathroom) and soundproof my door. Any tips and products I should know about? I know not to buy off ebay or I'll end up buying cheap noworking foam.


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## Hoptologist (Sep 14, 2012)

Can you put some sound absorbing acoustic panels in her room? Maybe get some thicker foam weatherproofing tape from a hardware store for your door frame? I don't really know, but I'm going to need to do the same thing for a media room in my next house. I'm going to watch some sound proofing room videos on youtube... can you take down your drywall and put sound deadener down?


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## NoAudioFile (Aug 6, 2013)




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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

Soundproofing the room can be expensive, unsightly, and difficult. How much time and money are you willing to spend on this project?

You can have more immediate relief in the meantime with earplugs. Try the musician style that is meant to be work for extended times, not the cheap throw-away foam ones if they are uncomfortable.

Sound (like many things) follows the path of least resistance. The wall is going to be the most trouble to treat, but the door should have a noticeable improvement if you can create an air-tight seal around all four edges. Home improvement stores have all kinds of inexpensive squishy foam door seals that will work for that.

I don't have any patience for things that make me loose sleep, so I would start by making the kid sleep in the garage. Or sound proof her crib. Or make sure mommy looses at least as much sleep as I did until she agrees to make the kid sleep in the garage.


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## Lorin (May 5, 2011)

I work at a school, and the last partition we installed to divide one large room into another used sound deadening sheet rock. Not cheap, but if you need only do one wall, it would help considerably. Only about 5/8 thick, and could be installed right on top of existing walls.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

This has shown up in several searches I have done for sound deadening.
Shop 1/4-in x 48-in x 8-ft R0.3 Acoustic Insulation at Lowes.com
It says it's made exactly for what you are talking about.


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## chad1376 (Dec 27, 2012)

I'm a light sleeper, and just about any extranious noise will wake me up. I've had good luck with "white noise" - There's a number of apps that offer a variety of ambient noises. Some apps pause or click when the noise loops - even that will wake me up. The better apps loop seamlessly. Hook it up to a decent speaker, since the little phone/ipad speakers are worthless. A noisy room fan works well too.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

I could hear my fat neighbor snoring and getting his wanker sucked by his fat wife in my condo in Minneapolis so I literally tore down my drywall, stuffed in noise absorbing insulation, put a layer of the MLV-type hardwood floor undermatting over the studs, and then put new drywall up. All of this not remotely allowed by the association but they refused to do anything about it despite the units being advertised as silent (there was just two layers of drywall on my neighbor's side of the studs... that's it for "sound insulation". Anyway, I never heard a peep from them again.


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## underdog (Jul 5, 2011)

Best I understand?
For effective treatment you need to decouple the wall from the other room.
This means building a second wall with a space between the two.


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## Beckerson1 (Jul 3, 2012)

There is a simple fix in which will coast you under 10 bucks. No need to waste your time trying to sound proof a wall. 

Its call ear plugs. 

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Sleep-Comfort-Foam-Plugs/dp/B00747BMZY

Specially made for sleeping. Will be awkward at first put you will get used to it.


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

Other than ear plugs that has been thrown out, underdog is closest. Here are the top 3:

1. Second picture from underdog is a room within a room setup, or in this case a complete second wall. To me, that takes up too much room from a normal bedroom.
2. Staggered wall, which is the first picture underdog gave.
3. Green Glue with an extra layer of drywall. You want mass so go 5/8" and no lightweight drywall. Or better yet, use sound deadening drywall if you can find it but realize it is expensive. Also use sealant top and bottom and use putty pads behind outlets.

Take a look at Soundproofing Products - Soundproof Walls, Ceilings, Floors and Rooms.

And for a door, I installed the Masonite Safe N' Sound:
Masonite, Safe-N-Sound Textured 6-Panel Solid Core Primed Composite Prehung Interior Door, 18863 at The Home Depot - Tablet

David


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Notloudenuf said:


> This has shown up in several searches I have done for sound deadening.
> Shop 1/4-in x 48-in x 8-ft R0.3 Acoustic Insulation at Lowes.com
> It says it's made exactly for what you are talking about.


I personally would not trust any sound deadening product marketed to the construction industry that did not list NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient) and/or STC (Sound Transmission Coefficient). 

I should also clarify, in this instance, you need to be looking for high products with high STC numbers. These would be products like the MLV we use for our sound deadening. These prevent products in a specific frequency range 125 Hz - 4kHz from transmitting between two spaces. You should look for products that will get you wall assembly to an STC rating of at least 60 or so.


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## fast4door (Aug 2, 2012)

a few years ago I dated two sisters that just were a little crazy in the bedroom and after neighbors started looking at me funny I tried this paint
Spray-On Sound Reducing Paint*– Coat of Silence


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## rexhenly (May 21, 2013)

Decoupled wall and this:

QuietRock


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

When people say to decouple the wall, it essentially means building a second wall. You can get close to what you need by removing all of the existing gyp bd (drywall) on your side, stuffing the voids with sound batt insulation, and using at least the 5/8" Quiet Rock listed above. And of course, you will need to tape, texture and paint. Not cheap by any stretch. 

And honestly, anything short of this won't be worth the money you put into it. And, even if you do go through the effort on the walls, you could still have sound transfer through the ceilings.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

Decoupled wall system with sound channel (z channel) perpendicular to the studs. 


Am right now working in a hotel on the side of a casino and am installing miles of sound channel/bar. All hotels use this system, installed incorrectly will defeat the purpose of the sound channel. Its easy to install so don't be afraid of it.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

TrickyRicky said:


> Decoupled wall system with sound channel (z channel) perpendicular to the studs.
> 
> 
> Am right now working in a hotel on the side of a casino and am installing miles of sound channel/bar. All hotels use this system, installed incorrectly will defeat the purpose of the sound channel. Its easy to install so don't be afraid of it.


This is how we handle rooms that need to be "sound proofed" at the schools we design. This includes spaces like practice rooms in band classrooms. And the "Z" channels are key. "C" channels will not have the same effect. And again, the sound batt. insulation needs to be there.


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## TrickyRicky (Apr 5, 2009)

Don't forget the penetrations and sound caulk (lots of it). Am happy i don't have to instal the batt insulation, someone else will do that nasty job.


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## dareo (Dec 17, 2010)

Remove drywall on one side. Add ultratouch cotton fiber batts. Add new drywall, then green glue, then 2nd layer of rock.


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