How To Soundproof A Door

Soundproofing a door can prevent a lot of noise from the outside world from traveling inside to your home. In some cases, it is an essential part of soundproofing a room. If you rent an apartment, a soundproofed door can prevent noise from your neighbors above and below you from filtering into your space. So how exactly do you soundproof a door?

You can implement a number of soundproofing options that don’t require a company to come and do any installation. Instead, these are totally do-it-yourself.

Acoustic Drapes

Ask your landlord if you can place acoustic drapes on your door. These look just like regular drapes but they hang over your door to trap in sound. You may want to hang these outside of your door as well as inside, but in some cases, just hanging the drapes inside your door cuts back on noise. These don’t require any special installation.

Foam or Board

You can also construct a door-sized blocker made of fiberboard and foam. Make sure that you buy sound-deafening materials in order for this to be effective. Place this behind any doors where noises travel through. This will require installation and some screws to get the blocker to stick.

Gaskets

You may also want to buy some door gaskets. These structures made of neoprene go beneath your door to keep sound from traveling in from underneath. You will have to install these as well, but they come out quickly if you ever need to get rid of them.

Dampening Techniques

Lastly, you can try moving around some items in your apartment or try other noise-canceling techniques in order to reduce the rate of noise in your living space. For example, sleep ear plugs can cut through light amounts of noise if you’re having a hard time sleeping at night because of your neighbors. Otherwise, you may want to invest in a white noise machine to drown out the sounds around you.

If you buy a rug, this can dampen the rate of sound that can get into your apartment. If you have a tight budget, just moving some items around can cut back on all of that unwanted noise. For example, push your bed as far away from the source of the noise as possible. Moving heavier items like couches or bookshelves can also dampen the rate of noise that comes through.