How to Reduce Noise Through Walls? 8 Easy Ways
Having a soundproof wall in your home is very important. Especially if you live in an apartment where you have loud neighbors who love to party during the night. That’s because not every neighbor is ready to cooperate, so people often find themselves in a situation where they can’t complain to someone who likes to play loud music.
The only solution that can be done is to soundproof your walls. Walls are building structures that easily transmit sound, which is why successful soundproofing requires walls to be treated in such a way to block the penetration of sound from the outside. Can this be achieved effectively? Don’t worry, we’ll explain that in this article.
Why Does Noise Pass Through Walls?
Understanding why and how sounds enter your home through walls is a good thing to know. In the construction phase, building companies always strive to minimize costs. They achieve this by using the cheapest available materials for building.
The most savings are done on the interior walls, which in many buildings are made of only two thin layers of drywall between which there are just some 4×2 studs.
In some cases, when construction workers want to raise the quality of the walls to some extent, fiberglass batts are positioned for the purpose of insulation inside the drywall, whose main function is to reduce noise and maintain temperature control.
The great news is that poorly insulated walls can be further treated to give you more comfort. In the next chapter, we’ll explain how you can reduce the noise through the wall.
If you also have a problem with the door, then read How to Soundproof a Door in an Apartment? 10 Ways.
How to Reduce Noise Through Walls?
Those who live in apartment buildings and have loud neighbors have the biggest problems with annoying noise. As we mentioned earlier, this is because the construction company that builds such buildings saves on materials.
When you are in a situation where loud sounds penetrate your apartment through the wall, it is recommended that you start soundproofing that specific area first. There are several approaches to how you can do this.
The best way to soundproof your home wall is to use acoustic foams and panels. Although their names sound fancy, they are essentially just boards made of fiberglass or some other sound-absorbing material. When these panels are installed, they have the function of increasing air resistance, which then makes it harder for sound to pass through the walls.
Therefore, if you are currently struggling with unwanted, loud sounds that disturb your daily life, below we bring you 8 ways to reduce noise through walls.
1. Seal Holes And Gaps With Sealant
The first and easiest way involves sealing the gaps and holes that have formed in your walls over time. Carefully inspect your walls and find out if there is any visible damage. When you come across a hole, gap, or crack, fill it with a layer of quality sealant.
Also, for this purpose, you can use green glue, which has the property of adhesive but also soundproofing. After being applied to the wall, it is a product that absorbs sound very well and then converts it into heat or some other form of energy.
Related Article: 5 Quietest Attic Fan For Home Ventilation
2. Attach A Resilient Channel
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A resilient channel is a metallic and narrow strip in which screw holes have already been drilled, making it very easy to install on the wall. Just like a drywall or fiberglass panel, a resilient channel is an extra layer on the wall that prevents noise from entering your home.
The difference is that a decoupling zone is created in the empty space that arises after its installation. In that zone, sound waves remain trapped and cannot reach you. So, this solution does not function on the principle of sound absorption. With the help of a resilient channel, you can only block the sound.
This method to get rid of unwanted noise is reliable and also cheap. The bonus is that after blocking the sound path and forcing it to remain trapped, the resilient channel further improves the sound transmission from room to room.
3. Use Soundproof Paint
Soundproofing paints are another great way to reduce noise through walls. These paints have the function of soundproofing and can be bought in stores and online. But you should know that they are not equally effective in every situation. Their effectiveness depends on the volume of noise.
When it comes to sounds that are not intense, soundproof paint can be of great help, but if you are bothered by a loud racket, you will need to use additional procedures for good soundproofing. By the way, soundproofing paint is, as expected, a very thick mixture that needs to be applied to the walls in several layers. In this way, the walls get an additional layer of insulation that can protect you well from the noise of lower intensity.
Related Article: How To Soundproof a Dog Crate?
4. Use Mass-Loaded Vinyl
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Mass-Loaded vinyl panels are very often used, and people simply love them because of their effectiveness. They are made of acoustic foam and are suitable for those who have a smaller budget. They are most often used as noise protection by tenants in apartment buildings and homeowners in their home workshops.
It should be noted that mass-loaded vinyl panels do not block sounds but have a sound absorption function that transfers noise to the background. Therefore, their primary use is the reduction of sound reverberation. Also, their great advantage is that they can be successfully installed on many different surfaces. They work great if used for sound insulation in combination with other methods.
5. Install Acoustic Wall Tiles
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Acoustic wall tile is a good solution for reducing the noise level that comes to your home from the outside. They can be purchased at very reasonable prices, so they are a great solution for soundproofing if you have a lower budget. Their working principle is simple. Just hang them on the ceiling, after which they block the sound that comes from the other side of the wall.
For these tiles to achieve maximum efficiency in noise reduction, we advise you to place them on suspensions of different lengths. Acoustic wall tiles have many advantages. For starters, they don’t smell at all, which is great. They are also made of polyester, which means they are resistant to oil and petrol. In addition, they are very light, so their installation is a piece of cake.
6. Use a White Noise Machine
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If you have tried all the options we have mentioned above, and you still have not been able to get rid of the horrible noise that enters your home from the outside, you only have one solution left. You can purchase a white noise machine that can kill any sound that enters your apartment.
These machines work on attracting background noise which they then cancel out. An additional function of these machines is that they also offer the option to emit a sound that has been proven to help a person to focus. This feature can also help people with sleep disorders to fall asleep more easily.
7. Add Drywall To The Wall
Research shows that the sound decreases as it passes through several layers and eventually fades. Therefore, to reduce the noise, it is always good to increase the number of layers on the walls that will stand in the way of sound waves.
This way, the moment noise reaches you while you are comfortably wrapped in a blanket, it will be weakened in such an amount that it won’t bother you at all.
This is the principle by which noise-reduction drywalls operate. They represent thick gypsum layers and have individual viscoelastic polymer layers. Each layer is made to be able to absorb the sound and reduce its intensity. Due to its effectiveness, this method of soundproofing is one of the favorites among homeowners today.
8. Use Soundproof Wallpapers
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In addition to soundproof paint, homeowners are currently thrilled by the fact that they can also use special wallpapers for soundproofing, which both do a good job and look good! They are available in many designs and colors on the market, so you will have no problem finding a pattern that will fit perfectly into your home.
In order to talk about how these wallpapers look good, it should also be pointed out that they do a very good job of soundproofing walls. These are not ordinary wallpapers. Soundproof wallpapers are made of several layers, which can block sound. Also, the built-in insulation layer helps to block unwanted sounds.
Be sure to check this excellent youtube video about soundproofing a wall.
How to Find Weak Spots In Your Home?
Before embarking on any soundproof DIY project, the most important thing is to take a good look at the layout of the room you want to soundproof and determine from where the loud noise is coming. This is very important because not all sounds are the same. One should know that noise can be airborne or impact, which makes a big difference when deciding which soundproof approach to choose.
Impact noise spreads at low frequencies, easily passing through windows, doors, and walls. Airborne noise is transmitted by air at medium to high frequencies. To make a good choice of materials for soundproofing, you need to conclude where the noise is coming from and what kind of sound it is.
If the noise that prevents you from sleeping at night comes through the window, then it is a good solution for you to buy and install curtains with good soundproof properties.
If you want to learn more, be sure to read How To Soundproof A Bedroom In 8 Steps.
Reduce the Noise by Filling Up the Space
In certain situations, the problem you have with loud noise further worsens the furniture arrangement in the room or the lack of it. This is an echo problem. In a large room where you have almost no furniture, the noise will reverberate throughout the room, and it will become louder.
If you are bothered by this problem, the solution is simple – equip the room with additional furniture that will also deal with sound absorption in addition to its primary purpose.
A good solution is to place artwork or shelves for books on the walls. It is certainly ideal to place large pieces of furniture, such as cabinets and chests, right next to the wall. The noise won’t go away, but it will certainly be a lot milder and less annoying to you.
Final Thoughts
Sound waves are easily transmitted through the walls, just as with windows and doors. If you share a wall with neighbors who often have guests or like to watch TV at a high volume, the noise that will distract you while sleeping can’t be avoided if you don’t do soundproofing.
With the help of the methods I have outlined in this article, you can solve this problem. They aren’t very demanding, and they are all very effective. To choose which way of soundproofing is best for you, you should first take into account the volume of sounds that disturb you and how much money you are willing to spend to get rid of it.
