Having a solid wood door is a good start but not everyone has that option but that alone probably isn't enough. I think a potential problem is during summer months with higher humidity (whilst no heating) doors become much harder to close and open. Only AC or dehumidifier can help really. Nice videos, thanks.
None of these techniques work. You need to insulate the surrounding walls as well and have carpeting inside the bedroom. You also need to provide a real screamer inside the bedroom to test the noise from the outside, not just some random music played at a comfortable level in the hallway which defeats the purpose of the test. Chances are nothing will work because I had a screamer living next door and I heard both her and her husband screaming all throughout my condo. It was muffled a bit but you could still hear them.😁
Absolutely DO NOT do this if you have central air. The gaps in doors, especially the undercut at the bottom of the door is necessary for proper ventilation and room pressure balance. In many cases it is required by code. If you have central air, you probably have a return grille to your HVAC system in 1, maybe 2, centralized locations. Yet you’ll see supply diffusers spread out in multiple rooms. If you supply air to sealed rooms with no airflow path to your return you’ll not only kill the efficiency of your HVAC system, but have poor ventilation, temperature control and air quality in your house.
Achieve the same thing temporarily by rolling up a towel and laying it at the bottom of the door. The AC will be fine for a few minutes. If you have a screamer, put some nails in the top door trim and hang a blanket or comforter over the door before you nail your screamers trim.
You can get better temporary sound deadening by putting nails in the top door trim to hang a comforter or thick blanket on when the need arises. Finish nails put in part way from the top work well and don’t draw any attention.
It won't bother anything. It's the same thing as closing a vent to seal off a room. It in fact reduces the amount of square footage the AC has to push. If you already have a unit that is the max size for a house that's one thing, but doing this to one room isn't going to hurt the typical AC unit or the house or even inconvenience anyone in any way.
I think that he was trying to prevent any “odd” noises from escaping the bedroom, not just reduce the noise outside the bedroom from bothering the occupants in the bedroom.
@@sam55246A runner is a long length of flooring material that is not quite as wide as the hallway. It can be carpet (also called a rug) or it can be another flexible material. Its primary purpose is to protect the floor. Runners can be be used on carpet to protect the area used most for walkways, so it may be a transparent material.
I’m doing this in my new home, I’m also doing a solid door, I am also putting mini splits in the house so it’ll have individual units throughout the that house. We are also doing double layer 3/4” plywood on my master bedroom, and insulation in the walls around the master bedroom. We are also et windows so that I can put in blackout blinds to block out 100% of light. This way you can sleep in in darkness and no sound.
I filled the hollow core doors in my house with spray insulating foam. I do have the benefit of having things like a thermal camera and an endoscope. If the door has a honeycomb structure this won't be ideal but not all do, many have long card board channels which can be drilled thru with a long drill bit. If you're going to attempt this I would suggest removing the door and setting up some metal bracing with clamps on the door to avoid bulging, in my fist attempt I did actually have a door blow up like a balloon and split open, need to make sure excess foam has places to escape
Without trying to discount the value of what is being offered in this video, please anyone doing this keep in mind that your home HVAC system may use that airspace around your door to balance the home
Yes, a cheap and terrible way to duct a return. It would be better to install a jump duct sized for the room. it would be even better to run a dedicated return back to the air filter at the AHU.
@@hjc4604 Return ducts to every room costs a considerable amount of extra money, and also cause efficiency loss pulling air through numerous additional small ducts Those ducts also typically result in additional efficiency losses due to them typically being run through attics/crawlspaces which further heats the return air in hot climates before being cooled again, and in cold climate the air being further cooled in cold attics before being heated again. An inch gap under a door however costs nothing and eliminates ALL of those efficiency losses. While there is a small trade-off sound wise. a door gap is superior in every way for heating/cooling an average residential home.
This is so aggressively American lol in Europe (even the backwater Poland) the stuff he advises is baseline standard already factory installed in any even cheap door you install, and the door and frame are shaped in a way that there is no light bleed at all and there're gaskets already mounted out of factory to PREVENT sound and heat from circulation between the room and corridor. The circulation is handled, as needed, by the pipework with radiators in each room being connected to the central heating, usually a boiler in some variety, sometimes some houses can have various hybrid systems. Sometimes when I learn about living standards in the US it's shocking how you guys are seemingly still living in early 20th century with your uninsulated slider windows instead of proper triple layer tilt-turn windows, and these kinds of doors like in this video and and weird air-circulation (instead of water circulation) based heating solutions and the hot water in your shower being affected by other people using any other tap or even just flushing the toiler elsewhere in the house, and so on lol these things are unthinkable where (and it's shocking how some Americans online will argue it's normal and it's impossible to prevent it when not a single house works like that in Poland and it would be considered a broken badly designed system if it did), to us it's like a bad memory of rural conditions back in the worst stuff happening in deep communism, with all that being put behind once 90s hit and people had a free market and availability to quality of life improvements lol and we would consider what was happening then in rural areas to be already obsolete but the bad economy and system didn't allow for any better and we'd expect the US to be years ahead of us still, but in reality the shock how it's you who's so much behind in almost every way regarding living standards and household comforts is unbelievable lol
@@Sylkis89 it's not that we're "behind" in any way, it's a simple solution to avoid the gaps by adding return air vents in every room. It's the fact that everything is done to maximize profits and adding those vents cost the builder more, and they house is still valued the same. We just bought a home that was supposed to have return vents in every room since it's multi zoned and the previous owner refused to pay the little bit extra to do it and instead had them install the doors with the gaps because it was cheaper. Leaving it up to free market caused this problem here, if it was a regulated and mandatory the problem wouldn't exist here. Most people with the means to have a home custom built and pay the extra to have it done don't have this problem.
Do Not place weather stripping on the jam on the hinge side, as the door will just sweep it off. Place the foam strip on the frame so that the closed door will compress it and thus forms the seal.
I also recommend using a thick area rug , it absorbs some noise, and an upholstered chair or chairs do also help,great demonstration on door sweep ,had no idea it was so easy to install, thanks !
Just a friendly note, you said it right the first time- If you reduce the decibels by 3db, you cut the volume in half. Raise it by three, you double it. Every 3 decibels, you either halve it or double it.
A 3dB difference represents a doubling/halving of sound pressure or power - which is not the same as volume. You need a 10dB reduction to halve the perceived loudness or 10dB increase to double it.
The trouble is that on most bedroom doors, that gap between the bottom of the door and the floor is there for a reason. It's the only space the HVAC system can use to force air back to the air . Remember, most bedrooms do not have an independent air return in them. What will happen is positive air pressure will build up inside the room and not be able to escape. Then when you try to gently push the door open from the outside, there will be considerable resistance and the higher pressure inside the room will tend to want to push the door closed. If you have to eliminate that Gap by putting a sweep under the door, you would almost have to put a jumper duct in the bedroom ceiling in the attic to the ceiling on the other side of the door.
@@Southwestdetroit313absolutely. As long as the air from the HVAC is returned without creating any positive and/or negative pressure situations. Then you are good to go. You have the ideal setup, as long as everything is equally balanced, sized, and properly installed.
I would think that the bottom door sweep would end up scratching the finish on the hardwood floor. That would be problematic. Someone else mentioned a solid core door that would be a good choice but more than $20. In cold climates you might find a "door snake" (much like a towel that someone else mentioned) which is filled with heavy beads to keep out cold drafts. You might find one at a dollar store or online.
I solved my noise problems by buying a new house. Well, tbh, that was just a bonus. Since it's just me, the only noises being made that aren't mine are things like the refrigerator and the tankless water heater. Actually, though, one thing I hadn't planned on doing was buying gutters for the house (it's less than 10 years old and the nice metal roof was fine). But after the rain stopped, water would slowly, and I mean slowly, drip, drip, drip, (you get the idea) from the high roof to the lower roof of my bedroom. And trying to fall asleep as that intermittent dripping was going on was tough. Yeah, a certain kind of torture. So I spent $2200 to have gutters, snow bars, gutter covers, and down spouts installed on that side of the house. Problem solved.
If you have a nice clean new metal roof and gutters, all you need is a tank and you have independent water. Filtering it is optional depending where you live, but it's not going to have the heavy metals and other toxins that are present in many municipal water supplies.
In general doing things that affect airflow will require you to have an understanding of how your house was built and the thermal design . Most modern and updated homes require the gaps for air movement you can easily stress systems / use more electric burn out items or even create humidity that over time causes mould . For you ok the insolation foam strips is probably ok but for the bottom id make heavy 4-6 inch diameter waited sausage draft excluder and only use it limitedly for noise .
To all the nerds in the comments saying this will mess up your AC unit, it's the same thing as closing a vent to seal off a room. It in fact reduces the amount of square footage the AC has to push. If you already have a unit that is the max size for a house that's one thing, but doing this to one room isn't going to hurt the typical AC unit or the house or even inconvenience anyone in any way.
Perhaps, but I'm assuming to people in the room want properly circulated and dehumidified air. And actually, closing a vent totally is not a great idea.
I use that foam covered in a velvet sleeve that you can buy at Walmart- it’s made by Duck. Called double draft seal. I rent a room and landlord doesn’t control the mice so my cat and door bottom seal help keep mice out.
I'm totally using this when I go American Phyco. Thank you! Honestly, though, I don't want it to be too soundproof so I can hear when or if someone breaks into my home.
Solid core doors help alot. You don't want bedroom door sealed that tight especially if you are in a cold part of the country and can not open the windows for fresh air. And anyone with central heating and A/C the air needs to return to intake that is usually in the hall. Just put a rolled up towel along the bottom of the door if you are one of rare guys that does NOT have a sexless marriage. Then 15 minutes later take the towel away so air can move again.
actually if you open the window for under 3 minutes you actually dont loose any heating capacity and you get fresh air.. 10 mins after you close the window you'll have the same temp as you had before opening the window😊 (under 3 mins you change air but the walls dont get cold etc. so when you close it the fresh air gets heated up very quickly)
First thing that came into my mind after seeing the first minutes with the light shining through the gaps: Well, now I know why our german doors are made absolutely different.
@@jmackinjersey1 Unlike in the US, many German doors have a ‘rebated’ edge (the ‘falz’), which means one side of the door is stepped, fitting into a corresponding groove in the frame. This design provides better insulation and soundproofing. American doors often have a straight edge, fitting flush into the frame, which might not seal as tightly but allows for more flexibility in size and installation.
Most interior doors are hollow core. If you want more of a sound barrier get a solid door. Check your frame for even gap all around frame/door, and check for warping. You don't want an air tight seal, you need air to pass throughout the home, whether you have central air system or window units, air needs to be able to pass to regulate temperature. If you want more of a "soundproof" affect, insult the walls. *homebuilder 30+yrs* 😉👍
Loving the videos. Soundproofing and insulation has kind if become a special interest over the years. Would love to see you be more precise when doing measurements, showing that the computer (audio source) is on the same spot, on the same volume each time, and the decibel meter on a tri-pod to get consistent reliable measurements. I believe it would be a good way to really convey the benefits of soundproofing by removing any doubt as to the validity of the DIY things suggested.
just as a note: a very inexpensive, and PORTABLE option is a spring tension bar, and a THICK curtain of cloth. preferably something like wool or velvet
Buddy, you have a whole glorious channel on soundproofing. You can't just take some readings on a phonometer. You need to standardize things and acquire mean values of attenuation for diffrent frequency components.
Door knobs and handles are mostly empty space that allow sound transmission. So I made a cardboard template to cut gasket material and installed that on both sides between the door knob and the door. Maybe tire inner tubes would also work as the gasket material?
There's yet another factor that plays out here that you missed. The hardwood floor!! I realize that you're just focusing on the door 🚪 but the wooden floor will create reverberations in sound, which may be controlled by an area rug (if it's in your budget) if you got carpet already, then it's not a problem!! Some apartments have carpeting and some don't. My last apartment had it, probably because of whiny tenants. Cheers 🍻
Agree! The hallway needs a carpet runner or some upholstered walls for less reverberation otherwise that hallway becomes a drum. We built or soundproof rooms by alternating 2x6 studs like a zig zag on 2x8 top & bottom plates. That way we could keep the vibration from traveling from one side of the wall to the other side. We have a wall hung toilet with a loud flushing mechanism in the wall, so we had to jog the studs, insulate well, and added a built in bookshelf to keep the flush noise from being heard in the living room.
This is a great guide on the basic things you should try before trying to replace your door. If you do replace your door with a more dense door, you may need to change hinges and other stuff so that it can withstand the door if you use heavier materials like wood. I had no experience at the time and a lazy sibling who helped me out with replacing the door but in the end you will find the door is sagging very quick and and creaking if you don't properly adjust the area where the heavier door will be installed.
Although it’s a matter of style and personal taste, you can install soundproofing material, like in music studios, on the walls. I’m also wondering if you can still holes in the edges of the door, and pump in insulation, that may cut down in sound.
@@soundproofguide many years ago, working at a high end hifi shop, I had a customer who put an exterior style glass door to close off his main floor listening room. All the weather stripping, rubber mounted half inch glass wall and it was dramatically reduced sound elsewhere. Since sound is air moving, stop the air and light and you're halfway there.
Close the gap on any door by adjusting the striker plate on the door frame. There’s a slot in the bent metal tab that folds into the void in the striker plate. Insert a slotted screwdriver and gently bend the tab to tighten the mating fit and position of the bolt as it seats. You can easily reduce the gap in any door with this technique. This is important when trying to reduce air leaks on exterior doors. Cost of materials, $0.00. Time? About four or five minutes. You’re welcome. (How a purported DIY expert making videos doesn’t know this simple trick is beyond me.)
He's obviously not a door guy. He's a DIYer expert whatever that is. Maybe a laborer that's really confident or something like a garden variety maintenance man.
That’s why it’s actually called sound dampening, not proofing… impossible to sound proof for $20. Sound proofing takes multiple layers of drywall to create more weight along with extra flooring and blocking off outlets among many more things that add up and get really expensive.
Another simple way to sound ”proof” a door is to simply hang a couple of bathrobes (towels, etc) on the inside of the door. Those over the top type holders work great.
Will give this a try. Now what can be done about insulting the noise from a banging headboard? Noise vibrates right through the wall. I’ve found a gag can sometimes be useful depending on the circumstances, or just a simple neck tie on the outside door handle can give a subtle stay away message.
@@kriskaitson4370 Maybe make the bed more stable so it will not hit the wall? Somehow lock those bed legs in place or do your "maneuvers" across the bed instead of in line with the headboard/footboard?
It's great for sound and all, but what about airflow? In most cases rooms with air intakes (such as bedrooms) are usefull for the hole section of the house. If you isolate fully a section, you are creating airflow issues. Most houses will mold up if there is an airflow issue.
Cost. Also you then have return air ducts which fill with dust. A central return with a filter on the front reduces power loss. For homes with a central return you can install jump ducts from room to hallway. Have them make a turn to keep it from being a sound tunnel.
Yes, i live in a very hot pay off the country, and leave my door open a couple of inches in the summer otherwise the AC won't cool the room down very much, didn't want a 95 degree bedroom.
Carpets and soft surfaces like curtains and sound panels are a better idea the air flow to a bedroom is already limited when the door is closed that will cause humidity condensation and mold if there is no airflow
Another method involves replacing the hollow core door with a solid wood door. Any would be noise outside will know, when you slam the door that you mean business. Potential noise pollution will be terrified to even approach the door.
Help/Question: I just got my door sweep in from your link. I measured and trimmed it to fit. However, on the outside of the room there is a raised tile at the entrance of the door to my room and it’s not allowing me to shut the door completely. How should I trim it on that side so that the door can shut??? Will it basically only be the one side, the inside of the room, that needs to be covered and trim MOST of the outer side???
If the raised tile is preventing the door from closing, you'll need to trim the door sweep on the side that makes contact with the tile. You can trim just enough of the sweep on that side to allow the door to close properly while keeping the sweep intact on the inside to maintain the seal. Essentially, you'll have a tapered sweep-higher on the inside and lower on the outside. This way, you still get soundproofing benefits inside the room while ensuring the door closes fully.
@@soundproofguide Ty. I did it and while it's not going to stay on the door at least when I close it I can slide it under it to seal it from my side of the room. Thank you for all your advice!
What about drop ceilings in offices? I put styrofoam on the neighboring doors but it’s the ceiling causing the lack of privacy. Since we don’t own the building what can we do? Thanks.
This is a GOOD QUESTION! I hope it gets noticed/addressed. Had similar situation happen at an apartment party years ago. Couple were in bedroom getting things going and entire party could hear EVERYTHING from outside their closed door. It was sound traveling through the ceiling! Fortunate for the couple, the party got all quiet and eventually one peaked out to see they were being "eavesdropped". Red face. Door closed. Music volume increased and party got back to it's own business...didn't help that the bedroom door was right in the living room! Can't fault the party goers, it was that obvious!
Do NOT Follow this advice ..... A door sweep on the bottom of an interior door, will eliminate Return air from your room to the Central HVAC system, unbalancing your rooms air pressure and temperature. To solve this you would need to: 1- Install an independent return air duct from the room being sound isolated to the HVAC System 2- block off your room as part of central air System and install 2a- A Mini Split Heat Pump unit 2b- A Window Heat Pump unit. A jump duct would not solve the problem as it would provide noise into as well as from the hallway, where cold air return is commonly located.
@@dzevadbayraktar322 Well, I mean, The cold air is pushed into the room and as it gets hot, the hot air is sucked back into the return... So if you seal off a room without a return......... Do you see where the problem is? that's what they're referring to.
The major problem I see is with HVAC systems you’ll lose circulation and positive pressure in that room resulting in a hot room in the summer or a cold room in the winter when the door is shut
What are your recommendations for dampening sound as much as possible when you only have a walkway between your kitchen and living room. We live in an apartment. My fiance has turned half of the kitchen into his office. In the walkway that separates the kitchen in the living room, there are two closets one on each side so it's almost like a 4 ft long hallway. We have multiple cats who like to play in the living room and chase each other around and jump on things and it can be very distracting. What can we do to help soften the noise that they make in that opening entry?
Am I sundowning (even though it's not even 10AM) that some doors used to have a narrow strip of heavy felt on the doorjamb to prevent it from slamming?
This is horrendous in so many ways. I’m a builder. Just get a solid wood door not a hollow door and throw some area rugs in your room and hall-they absorb sound.
Good tips. But also this is not horrendous, i, like many people want to try out cheap and simple things before doing big changes and investments. The weatherstrips are absolutely not horrendous if you find the good size.
Say your door was completely hollow, not even the honeycomb looking stuff inside, could you compress the faces and inject expanding foam to fill that gap?
Kinda late to the party here. My bedroom door has a gap of about an inch between the top of the door and the frame. What can I cover that with that is also soundproof?
If this is for temporary use, why not spend the $1.25 and try your hand at cutting up a pool noodle to slide onto the top of the door. The using some force get the door to shut. After doing this repeatedly it ought to compress to appropriate thickness.
Probably a silly question but could you drill an entry hole in the top of the door and then fill the doors inside with that spray foam stuff? Possible? 🤷♀️
Umm...you started at 43db-48db. After the project your last reading was 40db. So you lessen sound by 3db-8db. The 3db is the border line of the human ear that hears a slight difference in a sound so in reality most people will notice no difference between the beginning and end of the project as for true soundproofing to take place the inner door spaces need to be addressed.
I had that weather strip on my door but either the door frame or the door is warped so it only sealed part of the door. I need one of those weather strips that go on the door frame around the outside edge which has a rubber seal that touches the door instead.
Don’t add a sweep to your doors if you have wood floors. It will wear out the finish which will end up being more expensive than replacing the entire door in the first place.
As a builder, sound proof and sound dampen mean two different things. Questions: 1) Why are we trying to "sound proof" a door and; 2)With no discussion into the reality of diagram resonance from walls, floor or ceiling?
Follow up video “Soundproofing ANY Window for $20!” - ua-cam.com/video/ows6qvWK0BY/v-deo.htmlsi=Q4ekLX7f-gq7voHV
Having a solid wood door is a good start but not everyone has that option but that alone probably isn't enough. I think a potential problem is during summer months with higher humidity (whilst no heating) doors become much harder to close and open. Only AC or dehumidifier can help really.
Nice videos, thanks.
Shouldn’t you have put the sound inside the room and measured the loudness from outside the room?
None of these techniques work. You need to insulate the surrounding walls as well and have carpeting inside the bedroom. You also need to provide a real screamer inside the bedroom to test the noise from the outside, not just some random music played at a comfortable level in the hallway which defeats the purpose of the test.
Chances are nothing will work because I had a screamer living next door and I heard both her and her husband screaming all throughout my condo. It was muffled a bit but you could still hear them.😁
4:36 The adhesive will actually stick very well to dust. The problem is the dust isn't stuck to the door frame! :)
Absolutely DO NOT do this if you have central air. The gaps in doors, especially the undercut at the bottom of the door is necessary for proper ventilation and room pressure balance. In many cases it is required by code. If you have central air, you probably have a return grille to your HVAC system in 1, maybe 2, centralized locations. Yet you’ll see supply diffusers spread out in multiple rooms. If you supply air to sealed rooms with no airflow path to your return you’ll not only kill the efficiency of your HVAC system, but have poor ventilation, temperature control and air quality in your house.
If you have a return vent in the room, you can do it. If not, then yes...no good.
It’s not terrible, so long as you don’t leave the door closed 24/7.
Achieve the same thing temporarily by rolling up a towel and laying it at the bottom of the door. The AC will be fine for a few minutes. If you have a screamer, put some nails in the top door trim and hang a blanket or comforter over the door before you nail your screamers trim.
You can get better temporary sound deadening by putting nails in the top door trim to hang a comforter or thick blanket on when the need arises. Finish nails put in part way from the top work well and don’t draw any attention.
It won't bother anything. It's the same thing as closing a vent to seal off a room. It in fact reduces the amount of square footage the AC has to push. If you already have a unit that is the max size for a house that's one thing, but doing this to one room isn't going to hurt the typical AC unit or the house or even inconvenience anyone in any way.
Another inexpensive way to cut down on sound is, carpeting in the hallway or a runner. It helps cut the noise bouncing off the walls. 👍
Whats a runner? I'll try carpet thats good idea
I think that he was trying to prevent any “odd” noises from escaping the bedroom, not just reduce the noise outside the bedroom from bothering the occupants in the bedroom.
@@sam55246A runner is a long length of flooring material that is not quite as wide as the hallway. It can be carpet (also called a rug) or it can be another flexible material. Its primary purpose is to protect the floor. Runners can be be used on carpet to protect the area used most for walkways, so it may be a transparent material.
@@sam55246thin long rug for the middle of the hallway
@@sam55246 A long, narrow rug designed to fit in a hallway. They also make them for stairways.
I’m doing this in my new home, I’m also doing a solid door, I am also putting mini splits in the house so it’ll have individual units throughout the that house. We are also doing double layer 3/4” plywood on my master bedroom, and insulation in the walls around the master bedroom. We are also et windows so that I can put in blackout blinds to block out 100% of light. This way you can sleep in in darkness and no sound.
Have you seen the multi room mini split system. Can add them to 8 rooms off one compressor unit.
Why mini splits. Are you in America?
I filled the hollow core doors in my house with spray insulating foam. I do have the benefit of having things like a thermal camera and an endoscope. If the door has a honeycomb structure this won't be ideal but not all do, many have long card board channels which can be drilled thru with a long drill bit. If you're going to attempt this I would suggest removing the door and setting up some metal bracing with clamps on the door to avoid bulging, in my fist attempt I did actually have a door blow up like a balloon and split open, need to make sure excess foam has places to escape
Minimally expanding foam😮
That would be an interesting video. 😊
Toxic foam
Yes I was just saying this. I didn’t know other people have thought of it.
Without trying to discount the value of what is being offered in this video, please anyone doing this keep in mind that your home HVAC system may use that airspace around your door to balance the home
Yes, a cheap and terrible way to duct a return. It would be better to install a jump duct sized for the room. it would be even better to run a dedicated return back to the air filter at the AHU.
@@hjc4604 Return ducts to every room costs a considerable amount of extra money, and also cause efficiency loss pulling air through numerous additional small ducts Those ducts also typically result in additional efficiency losses due to them typically being run through attics/crawlspaces which further heats the return air in hot climates before being cooled again, and in cold climate the air being further cooled in cold attics before being heated again.
An inch gap under a door however costs nothing and eliminates ALL of those efficiency losses. While there is a small trade-off sound wise. a door gap is superior in every way for heating/cooling an average residential home.
This is so aggressively American lol in Europe (even the backwater Poland) the stuff he advises is baseline standard already factory installed in any even cheap door you install, and the door and frame are shaped in a way that there is no light bleed at all and there're gaskets already mounted out of factory to PREVENT sound and heat from circulation between the room and corridor. The circulation is handled, as needed, by the pipework with radiators in each room being connected to the central heating, usually a boiler in some variety, sometimes some houses can have various hybrid systems. Sometimes when I learn about living standards in the US it's shocking how you guys are seemingly still living in early 20th century with your uninsulated slider windows instead of proper triple layer tilt-turn windows, and these kinds of doors like in this video and and weird air-circulation (instead of water circulation) based heating solutions and the hot water in your shower being affected by other people using any other tap or even just flushing the toiler elsewhere in the house, and so on lol these things are unthinkable where (and it's shocking how some Americans online will argue it's normal and it's impossible to prevent it when not a single house works like that in Poland and it would be considered a broken badly designed system if it did), to us it's like a bad memory of rural conditions back in the worst stuff happening in deep communism, with all that being put behind once 90s hit and people had a free market and availability to quality of life improvements lol and we would consider what was happening then in rural areas to be already obsolete but the bad economy and system didn't allow for any better and we'd expect the US to be years ahead of us still, but in reality the shock how it's you who's so much behind in almost every way regarding living standards and household comforts is unbelievable lol
@@Sylkis89 it's not that we're "behind" in any way, it's a simple solution to avoid the gaps by adding return air vents in every room. It's the fact that everything is done to maximize profits and adding those vents cost the builder more, and they house is still valued the same. We just bought a home that was supposed to have return vents in every room since it's multi zoned and the previous owner refused to pay the little bit extra to do it and instead had them install the doors with the gaps because it was cheaper. Leaving it up to free market caused this problem here, if it was a regulated and mandatory the problem wouldn't exist here. Most people with the means to have a home custom built and pay the extra to have it done don't have this problem.
Do Not place weather stripping on the jam on the hinge side, as the door will just sweep it off. Place the foam strip on the frame so that the closed door will compress it and thus forms the seal.
lol, I noticed that too.
Clearly said; thank you. These comments provide a lot of clarification.
It is so eye opening to listen to smart solution rather than fancy products
Just double-check the comments about how having central A/C in the house is 100% not a good thing with sealing your interior doors.
I also recommend using a thick area rug , it absorbs some noise, and an upholstered chair or chairs do also help,great demonstration on door sweep ,had no idea it was so easy to install, thanks !
Just a friendly note, you said it right the first time- If you reduce the decibels by 3db, you cut the volume in half. Raise it by three, you double it. Every 3 decibels, you either halve it or double it.
A 3dB difference represents a doubling/halving of sound pressure or power - which is not the same as volume. You need a 10dB reduction to halve the perceived loudness or 10dB increase to double it.
The trouble is that on most bedroom doors, that gap between the bottom of the door and the floor is there for a reason. It's the only space the HVAC system can use to force air back to the air . Remember, most bedrooms do not have an independent air return in them. What will happen is positive air pressure will build up inside the room and not be able to escape. Then when you try to gently push the door open from the outside, there will be considerable resistance and the higher pressure inside the room will tend to want to push the door closed.
If you have to eliminate that Gap by putting a sweep under the door, you would almost have to put a jumper duct in the bedroom ceiling in the attic to the ceiling on the other side of the door.
Absolutely correct on return air if you have A/C and/or forced air heating.
Would it make much of a difference if it was like a bathroom door and only closed for like 30mins or so at a time?
@@lukefitt56should be ok but sometimes bathroom door needs gap at bottom for make-up air for the exhaust fan.
What if the bedrooms all have return vents would it be ok?
@@Southwestdetroit313absolutely. As long as the air from the HVAC is returned without creating any positive and/or negative pressure situations. Then you are good to go.
You have the ideal setup, as long as everything is equally balanced, sized, and properly installed.
I would think that the bottom door sweep would end up scratching the finish on the hardwood floor. That would be problematic. Someone else mentioned a solid core door that would be a good choice but more than $20. In cold climates you might find a "door snake" (much like a towel that someone else mentioned) which is filled with heavy beads to keep out cold drafts. You might find one at a dollar store or online.
I solved my noise problems by buying a new house. Well, tbh, that was just a bonus. Since it's just me, the only noises being made that aren't mine are things like the refrigerator and the tankless water heater. Actually, though, one thing I hadn't planned on doing was buying gutters for the house (it's less than 10 years old and the nice metal roof was fine). But after the rain stopped, water would slowly, and I mean slowly, drip, drip, drip, (you get the idea) from the high roof to the lower roof of my bedroom. And trying to fall asleep as that intermittent dripping was going on was tough. Yeah, a certain kind of torture. So I spent $2200 to have gutters, snow bars, gutter covers, and down spouts installed on that side of the house. Problem solved.
If you have a nice clean new metal roof and gutters, all you need is a tank and you have independent water. Filtering it is optional depending where you live, but it's not going to have the heavy metals and other toxins that are present in many municipal water supplies.
This cut the sound way down,quickly, cheaply, and easily. Thank you!!!
In general doing things that affect airflow will require you to have an understanding of how your house was built and the thermal design . Most modern and updated homes require the gaps for air movement you can easily stress systems / use more electric burn out items or even create humidity that over time causes mould .
For you ok the insolation foam strips is probably ok but for the bottom id make heavy 4-6 inch diameter waited sausage draft excluder and only use it limitedly for noise .
To all the nerds in the comments saying this will mess up your AC unit, it's the same thing as closing a vent to seal off a room. It in fact reduces the amount of square footage the AC has to push. If you already have a unit that is the max size for a house that's one thing, but doing this to one room isn't going to hurt the typical AC unit or the house or even inconvenience anyone in any way.
This
Perhaps, but I'm assuming to people in the room want properly circulated and dehumidified air. And actually, closing a vent totally is not a great idea.
Better install an HVAC return in that room or a balance duct.
I use that foam covered in a velvet sleeve that you can buy at Walmart- it’s made by Duck. Called double draft seal. I rent a room and landlord doesn’t control the mice so my cat and door bottom seal help keep mice out.
Does the house use central air? If so, you don't want to block the bottom of that door ever.
I'm totally using this when I go American Phyco. Thank you!
Honestly, though, I don't want it to be too soundproof so I can hear when or if someone breaks into my home.
This is the perfect set up for you then!! 😎
You should use this spelling, too:
*Psycho
That's what alarm systems are for
Patrick Bateman approves.
Solid core doors help alot. You don't want bedroom door sealed that tight especially if you are in a cold part of the country and can not open the windows for fresh air. And anyone with central heating and A/C the air needs to return to intake that is usually in the hall. Just put a rolled up towel along the bottom of the door if you are one of rare guys that does NOT have a sexless marriage. Then 15 minutes later take the towel away so air can move again.
I have to agree! The towel does work well for this exercise.
15 minutes??? 😮😢
@@Cosmic.Nebula ok 10 minutes. Not including the ti.e begging for it.
actually if you open the window for under 3 minutes you actually dont loose any heating capacity and you get fresh air.. 10 mins after you close the window you'll have the same temp as you had before opening the window😊 (under 3 mins you change air but the walls dont get cold etc. so when you close it the fresh air gets heated up very quickly)
@@ervinvinn4529 great you going to wakeup every couple of hours and open the window for three minutes? Sounds perfect. Enjoy!
Absolutely solid video on the first course of action to soundproof a door. Thank you sir.
First thing that came into my mind after seeing the first minutes with the light shining through the gaps: Well, now I know why our german doors are made absolutely different.
It isn't necessarily how the doors are made, it is more along the lines of how it was installed.
Ah yes, and those thick German brick walls also help. American walls are just paper and hollow space essentially...
@@jmackinjersey1 Unlike in the US, many German doors have a ‘rebated’ edge (the ‘falz’), which means one side of the door is stepped, fitting into a corresponding groove in the frame. This design provides better insulation and soundproofing. American doors often have a straight edge, fitting flush into the frame, which might not seal as tightly but allows for more flexibility in size and installation.
Thank you! As a fellow German I was looking for sound tips, but I agree our homes seem to be build so very differently.
Most interior doors are hollow core. If you want more of a sound barrier get a solid door. Check your frame for even gap all around frame/door, and check for warping. You don't want an air tight seal, you need air to pass throughout the home, whether you have central air system or window units, air needs to be able to pass to regulate temperature. If you want more of a "soundproof" affect, insult the walls. *homebuilder 30+yrs* 😉👍
I know it’s a typo, but I insult my walls all the time!
@@jaredlowe3927 🤣🤣🤣 👍
@@jaredlowe3927😂🎉
Loving the videos. Soundproofing and insulation has kind if become a special interest over the years.
Would love to see you be more precise when doing measurements, showing that the computer (audio source) is on the same spot, on the same volume each time, and the decibel meter on a tri-pod to get consistent reliable measurements. I believe it would be a good way to really convey the benefits of soundproofing by removing any doubt as to the validity of the DIY things suggested.
NEW title: Slightly reduce sound transfer of a door.
😂😂
My dungeon will be sound proof now!
just as a note: a very inexpensive, and PORTABLE option is a spring tension bar, and a THICK curtain of cloth. preferably something like wool or velvet
Solid wood doors instead of hollow-core - obvious, but overlooked by many.
That shot of the bed! 😂😂😂
"Sometimes there can be some noises ..." Priceless. Ya think. Lol.
Buddy, you have a whole glorious channel on soundproofing. You can't just take some readings on a phonometer. You need to standardize things and acquire mean values of attenuation for diffrent frequency components.
Just take off the door and force everyone to listen (and watch). All your flatmates will move out and then you can be as loud as you want.
Facts
that's fine when your flatmates are adults. Not so great when you have children in the house.
@@tealkerberus748 Actually, this is not okay to do (regardless as to what age the flatmates are). That's why what I wrote is a joke.
Make sure windows are closed too. Neighbors may look at you strangely. Don't ask how I know.
If they're enterprising they won't move out and you'll be unknowingly famous online.
Door knobs and handles are mostly empty space that allow sound transmission. So I made a cardboard template to cut gasket material and installed that on both sides between the door knob and the door. Maybe tire inner tubes would also work as the gasket material?
Nice trim work in your home, corners on those door frames look returned. Classy! Oh, and good guide.
There's yet another factor that plays out here that you missed. The hardwood floor!! I realize that you're just focusing on the door 🚪 but the wooden floor will create reverberations in sound, which may be controlled by an area rug (if it's in your budget) if you got carpet already, then it's not a problem!! Some apartments have carpeting and some don't. My last apartment had it, probably because of whiny tenants. Cheers 🍻
Agree! The hallway needs a carpet runner or some upholstered walls for less reverberation otherwise that hallway becomes a drum. We built or soundproof rooms by alternating 2x6 studs like a zig zag on 2x8 top & bottom plates. That way we could keep the vibration from traveling from one side of the wall to the other side. We have a wall hung toilet with a loud flushing mechanism in the wall, so we had to jog the studs, insulate well, and added a built in bookshelf to keep the flush noise from being heard in the living room.
They make that weatherstrip in white.
what are you a waysissttt?
Was thinking the same thing!
*In a pinch, use a pool noodle cut down one side lentgh-wise!*
This is a great guide on the basic things you should try before trying to replace your door. If you do replace your door with a more dense door, you may need to change hinges and other stuff so that it can withstand the door if you use heavier materials like wood.
I had no experience at the time and a lazy sibling who helped me out with replacing the door but in the end you will find the door is sagging very quick and and creaking if you don't properly adjust the area where the heavier door will be installed.
Although it’s a matter of style and personal taste, you can install soundproofing material, like in music studios, on the walls. I’m also wondering if you can still holes in the edges of the door, and pump in insulation, that may cut down in sound.
i always thought we need to leave some gaps for HVAC recirculation
Curtains and rugs also help to reduce noise and contribute to a more cozy room.
I did essentially the same wo
work on the door to the main floor laundry room years ago. Best use of $20 👍
That is awesome! 👏
@@soundproofguide many years ago, working at a high end hifi shop, I had a customer who put an exterior style glass door to close off his main floor listening room. All the weather stripping, rubber mounted half inch glass wall and it was dramatically reduced sound elsewhere. Since sound is air moving, stop the air and light and you're halfway there.
Vent in that room?
Granite that's a wonderful idea but does that stripping come in white because my OCD would not allow a black line all the way around my door
My OCD compels me to correct the word 'granite' with 'granted.'
Close the gap on any door by adjusting the striker plate on the door frame. There’s a slot in the bent metal tab that folds into the void in the striker plate. Insert a slotted screwdriver and gently bend the tab to tighten the mating fit and position of the bolt as it seats. You can easily reduce the gap in any door with this technique. This is important when trying to reduce air leaks on exterior doors. Cost of materials, $0.00. Time? About four or five minutes. You’re welcome. (How a purported DIY expert making videos doesn’t know this simple trick is beyond me.)
He's obviously not a door guy. He's a DIYer expert whatever that is. Maybe a laborer that's really confident or something like a garden variety maintenance man.
I done this to an apartment I'm renting windows and it has reduce the outside noise by half.
You could get the white foam kind so it will match the door!
That’s why it’s actually called sound dampening, not proofing… impossible to sound proof for $20. Sound proofing takes multiple layers of drywall to create more weight along with extra flooring and blocking off outlets among many more things that add up and get really expensive.
Another simple way to sound ”proof” a door is to simply hang a couple of bathrobes (towels, etc) on the inside of the door. Those over the top type holders work great.
Will give this a try. Now what can be done about insulting the noise from a banging headboard? Noise vibrates right through the wall. I’ve found a gag can sometimes be useful depending on the circumstances, or just a simple neck tie on the outside door handle can give a subtle stay away message.
@@kriskaitson4370 Maybe make the bed more stable so it will not hit the wall? Somehow lock those bed legs in place or do your "maneuvers" across the bed instead of in line with the headboard/footboard?
Fire hazard
I used a piece of pipe insulation to put on for a door sweep they are about 3$
pool noodle will work too
Now, need to figure out how to sound proof the floor and walls.
Please do it for sliding/pocket doors
I am in love 😍 what a man ❤
It's great for sound and all, but what about airflow? In most cases rooms with air intakes (such as bedrooms) are usefull for the hole section of the house. If you isolate fully a section, you are creating airflow issues. Most houses will mold up if there is an airflow issue.
Awesome! Thanks😀
Of course, you affect your central air conditioning by sealing your door that tightly.
There are thick curtains that block out the sun light. Would hanging that behind the door work help dampen the sound?
Fire hazard
We have 4 bedrooms in our 24 yo house. All 4 have Return air ducts in them...not clear why every home isn't built that way.
Cost. Also you then have return air ducts which fill with dust. A central return with a filter on the front reduces power loss.
For homes with a central return you can install jump ducts from room to hallway. Have them make a turn to keep it from being a sound tunnel.
Make sure to change each filter as needed.
I just use ear plugs and a mask durning the day. I sleep days and work all night. If I am tired enough - nothing wakes me! 😮
Yes, i live in a very hot pay off the country, and leave my door open a couple of inches in the summer otherwise the AC won't cool the room down very much, didn't want a 95 degree bedroom.
You need to have an hvac guy investigate. That's not Normal. Is there plenty of air flow from the rooms vent?
Spray foam thisidebofbthe hollow door and your gravy just make sure you get the spray foam that spreads vertically
Any suggestions for an exterior door??
Carpets and soft surfaces like curtains and sound panels are a better idea the air flow to a bedroom is already limited when the door is closed that will cause humidity condensation and mold if there is no airflow
Put coat hooks on the inside of the door. Hang your robes and such on said hooks. Free sound insulation.
I need to try this because I live with people that blast the tv
Another method involves replacing the hollow core door with a solid wood door. Any would be noise outside will know, when you slam the door that you mean business. Potential noise pollution will be terrified to even approach the door.
Agreed!
Help/Question: I just got my door sweep in from your link. I measured and trimmed it to fit. However, on the outside of the room there is a raised tile at the entrance of the door to my room and it’s not allowing me to shut the door completely. How should I trim it on that side so that the door can shut??? Will it basically only be the one side, the inside of the room, that needs to be covered and trim MOST of the outer side???
If the raised tile is preventing the door from closing, you'll need to trim the door sweep on the side that makes contact with the tile. You can trim just enough of the sweep on that side to allow the door to close properly while keeping the sweep intact on the inside to maintain the seal. Essentially, you'll have a tapered sweep-higher on the inside and lower on the outside. This way, you still get soundproofing benefits inside the room while ensuring the door closes fully.
@@soundproofguide Ty. I did it and while it's not going to stay on the door at least when I close it I can slide it under it to seal it from my side of the room. Thank you for all your advice!
Adoro los carbos y me hacen feliz pero me hacen crecer la panza
What about drop ceilings in offices? I put styrofoam on the neighboring doors but it’s the ceiling causing the lack of privacy. Since we don’t own the building what can we do? Thanks.
This is a GOOD QUESTION! I hope it gets noticed/addressed. Had similar situation happen at an apartment party years ago. Couple were in bedroom getting things going and entire party could hear EVERYTHING from outside their closed door. It was sound traveling through the ceiling! Fortunate for the couple, the party got all quiet and eventually one peaked out to see they were being "eavesdropped". Red face. Door closed. Music volume increased and party got back to it's own business...didn't help that the bedroom door was right in the living room! Can't fault the party goers, it was that obvious!
Wouldn't it be easier to send the kids to Grandma's or a sleepover w/friends?!
Do NOT Follow this advice ..... A door sweep on the bottom of an interior door, will eliminate Return air from your room to the Central HVAC system, unbalancing your rooms air pressure and temperature.
To solve this you would need to:
1- Install an independent return air duct from the room being sound isolated to the HVAC System
2- block off your room as part of central air System and install
2a- A Mini Split Heat Pump unit
2b- A Window Heat Pump unit.
A jump duct would not solve the problem as it would provide noise into as well as from the hallway, where cold air return is commonly located.
@@dzevadbayraktar322you cannot block your air flow dude. It’s not a backward system.
@@dzevadbayraktar322 Well, I mean, The cold air is pushed into the room and as it gets hot, the hot air is sucked back into the return... So if you seal off a room without a return......... Do you see where the problem is? that's what they're referring to.
Thanks, James Roday from Psych!!! 😊
HAHA!! NAILED IT.... ALMOST NAILED IT..... DIDN'T BLOW IT.... I think.
He’s WAY cuter than James Roday, but I see a slight resemblance cuz of the hair color and beard lol
The major problem I see is with HVAC systems you’ll lose circulation and positive pressure in that room resulting in a hot room in the summer or a cold room in the winter when the door is shut
That's now how decibels work. It's a logarithmic scale you can't just say "every 10db is half."
Bad idea for air conditioning return!
I was surprised Greg Kinnear knows so much about soundproofing.
I go by Greg Jr.
If it's your wife's snoring that disturbs people, then 8" gaffer tape would be cheaper
Should use white weather strips
Just turn the radio on and set it in front of the door.
Useful advice. The key points with details could have been delivered more efficiently if video is edited to less than a 4 minutes.
What are your recommendations for dampening sound as much as possible when you only have a walkway between your kitchen and living room. We live in an apartment. My fiance has turned half of the kitchen into his office. In the walkway that separates the kitchen in the living room, there are two closets one on each side so it's almost like a 4 ft long hallway. We have multiple cats who like to play in the living room and chase each other around and jump on things and it can be very distracting. What can we do to help soften the noise that they make in that opening entry?
Many people pointed out in the comments about not sealing off the air flow. That is wise. Please don’t seal off your air flow.
Am I sundowning (even though it's not even 10AM) that some doors used to have a narrow strip of heavy felt on the doorjamb to prevent it from slamming?
I don’t know about having this setup full time… birthdays and anniversaries however…
The problem that I see is with the door sweep installed; there will now be improper air flow when the heat/ac is on.
Kids are like ninja detective's, no matter what you do.... they will hear something. Just slip some sleeping meds into thier dinner.
This is horrendous in so many ways. I’m a builder. Just get a solid wood door not a hollow door and throw some area rugs in your room and hall-they absorb sound.
Good tips. But also this is not horrendous, i, like many people want to try out cheap and simple things before doing big changes and investments. The weatherstrips are absolutely not horrendous if you find the good size.
not gunna mess up your Ac if u have a return and a regular ac vent in your room
Say your door was completely hollow, not even the honeycomb looking stuff inside, could you compress the faces and inject expanding foam to fill that gap?
Tried that, doesn’t work. Plus, foam insulation isn’t good for blocking noise.
Kinda late to the party here. My bedroom door has a gap of about an inch between the top of the door and the frame. What can I cover that with that is also soundproof?
If this is for temporary use, why not spend the $1.25 and try your hand at cutting up a pool noodle to slide onto the top of the door. The using some force get the door to shut. After doing this repeatedly it ought to compress to appropriate thickness.
You have now created negative air pressure in that room which is going to mess with the furnace now when sealing the bottom of the door
Probably a silly question but could you drill an entry hole in the top of the door and then fill the doors inside with that spray foam stuff? Possible? 🤷♀️
No since most hollow doors have an internal honey cone shape cardboard inside the door for stability.
@@soundproofguide oh ok thanks!
Umm...you started at 43db-48db. After the project your last reading was 40db. So you lessen sound by 3db-8db. The 3db is the border line of the human ear that hears a slight difference in a sound so in reality most people will notice no difference between the beginning and end of the project as for true soundproofing to take place the inner door spaces need to be addressed.
I had that weather strip on my door but either the door frame or the door is warped so it only sealed part of the door. I need one of those weather strips that go on the door frame around the outside edge which has a rubber seal that touches the door instead.
Don’t add a sweep to your doors if you have wood floors. It will wear out the finish which will end up being more expensive than replacing the entire door in the first place.
As a builder, sound proof and sound dampen mean two different things.
Questions: 1) Why are we trying to "sound proof" a door and; 2)With no discussion into the reality of diagram resonance from walls, floor or ceiling?
Wouldn’t sound proof tiles work adhering them on the door?
weather striping does stick to dust
to address the main problem of unwanted sounds leaking: waits for the kids or MIL to go to sleep and then go for it
Im here cause youre handsome 😊