SOUND PROOFING A DOOR

Customer discussion on Amazon Showing 1-13 of 13 posts in this discussion Initial post: Feb 8, 2011 12:51:58 PM PST Last edited by the author on Feb 8, 2011 12:53:00 PM PST Eugene Wood says: Does anyone have a suggestion on how I could sound proof my front door? I live in an apartment and the hallway outside my door is noisy. My current door is solid, and I've put window type insulation Duck 1278973 Foam Weatherstrip Tape, 5/16-Inch x 3/8-Inch x 10-Foot, 2Rolls Around my door, but that does nothing. Id like to try Auralex Studiofoam Designer Kit, Charcoal Gray and put it on the interior of my door but am not sure this will insulate the sound from the inside/ out. Or outside in? (hallway noise. Not even sure if this is the best product. Dont really care WHAT the door looks like on the inside ( the outside has to remain the same.). Any suggestions? Thanks! Eugene Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 1 of 1 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No In reply to an earlier post on Feb 8, 2011 5:27:22 PM PST Last edited by the author on Feb 9, 2011 6:30:40 AM PST RKEM says: Put your ear next to the door next time it's noisy out there and see if the weak spot is around the door or noise coming right through the middle of the door. If it's still coming from around the edges: That product you bought looks like open cell foam, if so, there are better products for acoustically sealing around the door, look for denser closed cell foam. If a lot of noise is coming through you door: The Studio Foam will do almost nothing to keep outside noise from getting in. The best method would be to add mass. Add as thick a layer of plywood or better yet MDF as you think your hinges can handle, and for even better results put a layer of Green Glue (Case of Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound) between the door and the MDF. It's a Visco-Elastic Damping product that needs to be sandwiched between two stiff layers. This is refered to as Constrained Layer Damping or CLD. I'll let you look into that, but there is quite a bit of data out there supporting is effectiveness, I'm putting it, into a soundproofed room addition between layers of drywall, can't comment on its effectiveness yet. One tube would be plenty. One problem is that it's very sticky messy stuff and would be next to impossible to remove when you move out. You could add a thin layer of wood to the door then Green Glue then a thicker layer of wood and have it all screwed to the door, then you wold just have a bunch of screw holes to fill in when you leave. Another option is to buy a purpose built acoustic door and paint it to match your old door, either way will be quite a bit of expense and work. Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 7 of 10 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No Posted on Feb 8, 2011 5:37:12 PM PST ttamnoswad says:

Its all too often that sound issues are overlooked, I've looked into the issue a bit, heres some ideas. Most of the sound is not traveling trough the actual door, but rather around it. Your are on the right track by trying to seal the jamb. If you want to re-try the weather seal along the sides and top of the door, you want to put it on the inside of the door stop, so that when the door closes, the weatherstriping is being compressed by the door and the door jamb. But I would suspect that a lot of that sound is coming from underneath the door. You should add a door sweep to the bottom like this. It has to overlap the bottom threshold. http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/how-to-install-weatherstripping-onto-doors-1.jpg I dont think the accustic foam kit would work well, only because he way they are designed is to absorb sound thats directecd towards the baffels of the foam. Unless you put it on the ouside, it most likely wont work as well as you hope. It will however dampen some of the sound coming out of your apartment. That may be a different issue all together. You can also hang a heavy quilted moving blanket from above the door jamb that extends beyond the sides of the frame by a foot. I would try this first, but this and the door seal will net you very noticable results. Do not get the cheap lightweight blankets. Remember, it is mass and density that are best at absorbing sound, and sound travels easier through air than through something solid. Moving Blanket (Single) 72" X 80" Supreme Mover (90 Lbs/doz, Black/White) good luck. Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 8 of 8 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No Posted on Feb 9, 2011 6:45:05 AM PST David says: You need to break up the sound waves coming in through the door. Get a curtain rod and hang a heavy curtain or blanket in front of the door. If you can put a rug on the floor on the inside of the door. Furniture near the door. A floor screen. All of these things will help muffle the sound coming through the door and help break up the sound waves, making it quieter and will keep it from echoing. Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 6 of 8 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No Posted on Feb 11, 2011 9:58:17 AM PST John E. Duvall says: Try Dynamat www.dynamat.com used in auto applications Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 2 of 2 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No In reply to an earlier post on Feb 16, 2011 4:16:10 AM PST Richard Sperry says: it may not be the door but the walls next to it. if the builder didn't add inside insulation then sound comes through easy (sadly common practice). Have someone talk in the hall and put your ear to the wall and your ear to the door Find the weak point. then attack from the new information. Egg cartons( usually better for inside out) or packing foam might do the trick. Foam is also inexpensive and could be tacked with 3M 77 or the like on the edges reducing damage. If its the walls see if you can have them filled. Also is it a solid metal door or wood? the metal ones tend to be holllow at the core. Reply to this post

Permalink | Report abuse 3 of 3 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No Posted on Feb 16, 2011 7:52:31 PM PST OldAmazonian says: Cover walls and door with a sand-filled plywood sandwich. Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 2 of 6 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No Posted on Feb 17, 2011 3:53:43 PM PST John A. Lucier says: Surprisingly enough just about everyone here gave you sound advice. I would say a couple things you need to consider- What kind of noise are we talking about, frequency wise? Shrieking kids? Machinery? Stomping or running? Music, as in thumping bass? Knowing the enemy helps form an effective defense plan, if it's really low frequencies (bass or stomping) you can't do much. The other factor is how long you going to stay there/ what are you willing to spend? Do you care what it looks like? Back in the 80's (the days of heavy metal and long hair) some friends of mine had a band, and used the freestanding garage at their parents house for a studio. Full Marshall stacks, complete drum kit, PA, the whole works. You could stand outside and barely hear them, if at all. Open the door and a blast of sound came out, it was pretty surreral, sometimes they'd practice till 2 am and the neighbors didn't have a clue. Dad was a carpet layer, used to get free ripout on nearly every job. They used at least a half dozen layers on every wall, the ceiling AND the floor. Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 13 of 13 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No Posted on Jul 16, 2012 6:03:51 PM PDT Al Dente says: [Customers don't think this post adds to the discussion. Show post anyway.] Posted on Aug 4, 2012 2:49:56 AM PDT Stepen C. Midose says: what is needed is sound board-which stops sound-get at any good drywall outlet besides home depot who sells something like it. get 5eights thick and screw it on the door-or glue with 4 spots of glue and hold. this stuff has no weight so easy to put on door-also sound proff the opening around the door itself-that shiuld do the trick--steamer Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 4 of 5 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No Posted on Dec 8, 2012 4:59:21 AM PST Littleitaly83 says: Mlv, mass loaded vinyl. They sell a peel and stick variety. Paint it the previous color but use acoustic textured paint (maybe a thin sheet of nice wood over it to keep the wooden door look) on it to increase the effect. Use a sound proofing door sweep. Be sure to have carpet in the room if possible, it muffles sound much better than tile, wood, etc. and consider using small, neatly cut strips of the mlv as weather strips around the door perimeter. That's my advice. Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 1 of 1 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No Posted on Jul 27, 2013 3:10:54 PM PDT Chargerer says: I have a similar issue with raucous noise from a bar coming through a single patio door. The frame is well insulated so I think a heavy quilted moving blanket as suggested above might be best. Who agrees and can you provide a link to the ideal blanket for shouting / raucous laughter?

Also what about insulating transparent film? Would this deaden sound? Thanks in advance. Reply to this post Permalink | Report abuse 0 of 1 people think this post adds to the discussion. Do you? Yes No In reply to an earlier post on Jul 27, 2013 5:03:33 PM PDT Al Dente says: [Customers don't think this post adds to the discussion. Show post anyway.]