Soundproofing a room properly can be expensive but it doesn’t have to be. To make a room completely soundproof you’d need to do some structural changes like removing stud walls. That’s going to cost you.
There are some cheap ways to soundproof your room without doing anything quite so drastic. We’ve put together 9 different quick win methods which you can use to easily soundproof your room cheaply.
Before you get Started
Before we take a deep dive into the different ways that you can soundproof your room on a budget, let’s stop for a second.
When it comes to soundproofing your room, there are three things that you need to consider before you get started.
They are identifying where the sound is coming from, identifying where the sound is getting in from, and identifying where the reflection point in your room is. So let’s take a look at what these three points mean.
- Identify the Source – First things first, you need to identify where the sound you are hearing is coming from. This is usually an easy task as you know your home, and where the noisy items in it are. If you live on a busy road, you will know that this is a possible source of noise, similarly you will know that your television or a stereo will produce noise in your home.
- Identify the Entry Point – Once you have identified where the sound is, you will have to identify how it is entering your room. This is also usually an easy task as, again, you know your home. So if the stud walls are not well insulated, if the seals are bad, or if you have an air vent in the room you will know where the entry point is. Remember, sound moves by vibrating either through air or some other solid object. We need to know what it’s moving through and then address that gap or object.
- Locating the Reflection Point – Finally, you need to find the reflection point in the room. Sound bounces around within your room which can increase the noise and make a small sound a lot louder than it actually is. Identifying reflection points is important in soundproofing rooms as you can use furniture to reduce sound energy and make the room quieter.
Cheap Ways to Soundproof your Room
Soundproofing your room is actually very easy to do, especially if you do not want to spend a lot of money in the process.
Of course, there is no way to guarantee that a room will ever be completely ‘soundproof’ which is why the methods we will include are more focused on reducing noise.
Even professionals struggle to achieve complete soundproofing. That being said, you’ll make a big difference in the amount of noise you hear in your room with these simple hacks.
- Curtains
The first method for soundproofing your room that we are going to look at is, perhaps, a controversial one. That is using curtains to soundproof your room.
There is much debate about whether curtains can ever actually be completely soundproof, and that is a fair debate. But there is no denying that curtains can do an amazing job at reducing the amount of noise that enters your room.
Different curtains are better suited for this job, and the best way to remove as much noise as possible is to use thick multi-layered curtains. Each layer of curtains will dampen the vibrations and better soundproof the room.
If you’re happy to spend some extra cash then buy purpose made soundproof curtains that will dampen noise and also keep your room dark.
- Blankets
Another way to quickly and effectively soundproof your room is by using blankets. Blankets are something that you will always have lying around the house which is why they are great for soundproofing in an emergency.
When you find the place in the room where the sound is entering, you can begin to block it using the blankets to muffle the noise.
So if the noise is entering your room through the window or the door you should begin by laying a blanket against these to muffle the noise. You can then layer the blankets to create more fabric to dull the vibrations and make the room quieter.
- Carpets
Alternatively, you can soundproof your room by laying carpet. Hardwood floors and laminate might have a nicer aesthetic finish, but they also transmit sound very easily, and very loudly.
It is very easy for vibrations to travel through hardwood flooring, so if you have this type of flooring it will allow noise from other areas in your home to travel.
Thick carpet, on the other hand, does dampen vibrations which will significantly reduce the amount of sound that comes from other areas of your home. This will not completely soundproof your room, but it will make it quieter.
- Rugs
You may not want to lay wall to wall carpets in your room. You can also use a well placed rug to reduce the amount of noise entering your room. This is a hugely effective way of soundproofing your room if you have noisy neighbors beneath you.
Just like carpet, it will not be completely effective in soundproofing the room, but it will significantly reduce the amount of harsh noise that enters the room.
As well as reducing the amount of noise that you hear from your neighbors, using a rug will also reduce the amount of noise that your home produces. So both you and your downstairs neighbors will be happy with you installing a rug.
- Weather Stripping
A lot of the external noise that you are hearing in your room is coming in through the gaps around your door. Weather stripping is a quick and easy way to soundproof a door.
It is easy to fit, and extremely cheap to do so if you don’t want to break the bank when you are soundproofing your room, this could be the right choice for you.
Weather stripping improves the seal between your door and the door frame which reduces the gap through which noise can enter. Limiting the amount of noise which enters and leaves the room.
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- Egg Carton
This method has been spoken about for years, but unfortunately it isn’t actually that effective. At least it isn’t if you are looking to soundproof an entire room.
So don’t force yourself to eat eggs every single meal of the day just to save the cartons that they come in.
So you shouldn’t use egg cartons to soundproof a room, but they are good for adding acoustics to a recording studio or cinema room.
Using egg cartons isn’t a cheap or effective way to soundproof your room, but if you want to improve your acoustics then go ahead.
- Strategic Furniture Placement
This point completely refers to the reflection points that we mentioned earlier. In any room, there are areas which increase the ability for vibrations to bounce around the room and make the noise louder.
One of the easiest ways to soundproof your room is to block these reflection points around the room as this will prevent the noise from vibrating as easily.
From cabinets to sofas to shoe racks and shelving, it is so easy to break up reflection points around your room in a way that doesn’t impact the aesthetic look so bear this in mind when you are soundproofing.
- Homemade Window Blockers
Another cheap way to reduce the noise entering your room is by making your own window blockers.
When we say this, we don’t mean using a curtain or some carpet to block the windows, we mean creating your own panel that completely blocks this area of the room.
To do this, you should use materials like the ones used in cushions and cut them to fit the specific window that you are trying to block.
With the material cut to size, all you need to do is secure your window blocker in place, and you should immediately notice a reduction in the amount of noise that enters your room.
- Homemade Soundproofing Panels
Finally, you can also make your own soundproofing panels. To do these, you should follow the same method that we outlined above for the window blockers but just create them to fit the area of the room that you want to panel instead.
The only difference is that you should fit this material to a wooden panel instead of directly to your window.
This panel can then be fitted to the area of your room where the sound is leaking in and dampen the vibrations, therefore reducing the amount of noise that enters your room.
Summary
If you want to soundproof your room cheaply then any one of the above tactics will make a difference. For the best room soundproofing results you’ll need to apply all of these suggestions to achieve maximum noise reduction.