How to make your bedroom more soundproof
Reducing noise in your bedroom can drastically improve your quality of sleep. Here are some easy tips to improve the soundproofing of a room.
Using curtains and blinds to soundproof a room
Outside noises can disturb your quality of sleep, especially if you live near a busy road or other loud areas. And if you live with flatmates or family, keeping sound from travelling throughout the house will keep everyone happy.
Using curtains and blinds to soundproof a room
While you can find curtains that are specifically made to block sound (AKA acoustic curtains), they are very bulky, heavy and expensive and won’t offer many choices of colours or fabrics. Traditional curtains and blinds may not completely block out noise, but they can help minimise it.
Your best choices for minimising sound are curtains, roman blinds or honeycomb blinds.
For curtains and roman blinds, it mainly comes down to using a thicker, heavier fabric to absorb the sound vibrations, so opt for the thickest one you can. Additional layers like a blockout lining or thermal lining also help.
The unique cellular design of honeycomb blinds traps air, which is intended to reduce heat transfer, but a great side effect of this insulating design is that it also reduces noise transfer.
If you’re looking for more soundproofing than curtains or blinds can provide, here are a few other ideas you can try.
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Block door draughts
Install a small rubber strip to block the gap at the bottom of the door. Although this is common for stopping draughts of cold air, it also helps stop soundwaves from passing through as easily.
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Double-glaze your windows
You’re probably making the connection by now that things you do to keep a room warm will also help with soundproofing. Double-glazed windows create a pocket of air between the two panes of glass—this will help absorb some of the sound.
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Make sure your windows are sealed well
Even if you already have double-glazed windows, if the seal around the outside isn’t done well, sound will still leak through.
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Add bookcases or wall hangings to the room
Bookcases filled with books and fabric wall hangings will add thickness to your walls and create more layers to block the sound.
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Add acoustic insulation to your walls
A more expensive option, but you can have acoustic insulation added to your walls—be sure to ask for a fibreglass option or a specialist product like Pink Batts Silencer for the best results.
Building or renovating soundproofing solutions
If you’re building a new home or planning a larger scale renovation, it can be a good time to consider more intensive soundproofing for your bedroom. Here are a few ideas you can ask your builder about for improving the soundproofing of a room. Keep in mind, some options may or may not be possible depending on how far along your build is or the style of construction.
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Thicker plasterboard
Thicker materials will absorb more of the sound, so ask for a 13mm or thicker plasterboard for your walls if soundproofing is your goal.
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Damping compound
This is a substance that deadens sound by reducing vibrations. Damping compound can be added to walls, floors and ceilings, similar to acoustic insulation, but it can take a very long time to fully cure.
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Double studs
If you have the space, you can consider a double row of studs instead of the usual single row. A double row will create more space between each side of the wall, making it more difficult for sound to travel through.
