If you live near an airport or in a high air-traffic location, you can help to reduce the sound by adding extra layers of roofing material – if you happen to have an asphalt roof.
Although standard insulation material tends to reduce the effects of soundproofing (due to the filling up of space, which would have helped to buffer the noise), one effective method for providing insulation while reducing sound is using spray-on silicone insulation.
For those who are building a new home, try to avoid having doorways directly across from each other along hallways and corridors. One of the reasons that sound travels so well throughout the house is that sound waves are carried on the air currents, and having doorways aligned in this way will provide a greater environment for drafts, which will, in turn, provide the opportunity for more noise to travel around the house.
Rooms which are furnished with a great deal of non-absorbent material, such as wood, metal, plastic and stone, tend to be the noisiest ones within your home. A general rule of thumb for helping to absorb noise is to make sure that at least 25% of the room is filled with absorbent material, such as upholstery, carpeting, cloth wall hangings or draperies. In fact, the more of these things that are used, the more the noise will be reduced.
When using cloth wall hangings or plain fabric wallpaper, polyester is the best material for deterring noise by absorbing sound vibration.
Since cork is composed of approximately 50% air, placing cork tiles on the walls of the room will significantly decrease the amount of noise that can enter or exit the room, and can even have wallpaper applied to its surface in order to spice up the appearance.
A great deal of noise can come in from door jambs. The best defense against this is to install a solid wood door with a good seal and weather-stripping. In addition, be sure that you either have a door sweep or that the threshold has a tight fit.
Indoor/Outdoor carpeting can be attached to walls in order to provide soundproofing. You don’t have to use expensive carpeting – even the cheap stuff will do – and it’s easy to apply with mastic. The added benefit of being easy to clean adds to the pluses of using this type of material.
Soundproofing a basement is easy and inexpensive. Since the cement foundation absorbs the bulk of the noise, all you’ll need to do is take steps to soundproof the ceiling.
Foam doesn’t block sound – it simply reduces the reverberation (or echo) of sound within a room.