{"id":2312,"date":"2017-09-18T14:49:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/?p=2312"},"modified":"2017-09-18T14:59:36","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:59:36","slug":"soundproof-your-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/soundproof-your-home","title":{"rendered":"DIY: How to soundproof your home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/man-soundproofing-windows.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2310\" src=\"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/man-soundproofing-windows.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wanting some peace and quiet in your home is not something that should be taken lightly. Excess or consistent sound in your home can cause stress, sleep disturbance, and can even lead to heart disease.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a homeowner, there are a number of steps you can take to decrease the noise in your home.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><!--more-->Cover your windows<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cA standard window is eliminating something like 40 to 50 percent of outside noise,\u201d says <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/03\/11\/realestate\/11Home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David Sudkin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the president of a soundproof window company CitiQuiet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sudkin<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">adds that it\u2019s possible to eliminate all noise coming through windows if you follow proper soundproofing steps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One simple DIY tip to reduce the noise that enters through a window is to cover them with either thick drapes or curtains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can take this a step further by installing specialty sound blocking quilts or curtains to cover your windows, both of which are affordable and easy to install.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Seal any cracks or leaks<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While covering the windows can be a quick and easy fix, it might not be the most effective at blocking out a lot of noise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/real-estate\/2012\/02\/22\/secrets-to-soundproofing-your-home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Randall Brown<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the president of Soundproof Windows Inc., says that covering windows may prevent noise from ricocheting off the walls of your home by absorbing the sound, but this strategy won\u2019t stop noise from coming into your home completely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNinety-nine out of 100 times, huge improvements [\u2026] can be obtained by attacking the leaks,\u201d says <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/real-estate\/2012\/02\/22\/secrets-to-soundproofing-your-home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John Storyk<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of acoustic and architectural design company WSDG.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blocking noise from entering through leaks and cracks in doors, outlets, drywall and floorboard cracks is the next step:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fill in cracks in the seal of the windows with caulking or sealants<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Replace old, cracking seals in windows<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Caulk around power outlet boxes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fill in any cracks in your floorboards or drywall with either drywall material or caulking<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Install weatherstrips under doors and in windows<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can find caulking, sealants, and weatherstrips at any hardware store.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Removing old caulk can be a hassle, but it must be done correctly or else the new caulk or sealant won\u2019t adhere properly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are caulk removal products and tools you can purchase; petroleum jelly and rubbing alcohol can also be used to remove any leftover adhesive the other products weren\u2019t able to remove.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following these tips can reduce your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespruce.com\/soundproof-a-room-with-caulk-1822845\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sound Transmission Class<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (a measurement of sound levels) by 15 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Enhance your walls<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exposed and bare walls can serve as a noise-amplifier. Sound will easily bounce on bare walls, making things sound louder.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A quick and easy fix for this would be to cover the walls with sound-absorbing materials. This could mean adding sound absorbing foam, which is very effective at reducing noise, but might not look the best in terms of aesthetics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of foam, you can put up decorative felts or tapestries, add some art or paintings, and even install bookshelves can help absorb sound and reduce noise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bookshelves are especially effective, as the dense, heavy books can cover large amounts of the walls and absorb a large amount of noise.<\/span><b>\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<h3>Get more furniture<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rooms that are empty or filled with minimal or hard materials allow sound to ricochet around as they lack anything to absorb sound.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adding furniture will add materials that can absorb sound. The denser and softer a material is, the better it is at absorbing noise. Items like couches, sofas, stuffed chairs, and thick rugs are helpful in reducing household noise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re willing to spend a little more on furniture, consider investing in acoustic furniture or home accessories which are specifically designed with noise reduction in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether it\u2019s your neighbors, passing traffic, construction, or even noises within your house, taking steps to soundproof your home should help to reduce noise pollution overall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This post was written for Realty Executives by Elliot Walsh.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wanting some peace and quiet in your home is not something that should be taken lightly. Excess or consistent sound in your home can cause stress, sleep disturbance, and can even lead to heart disease. As a homeowner, there are a number of steps you can take to decrease the noise in your home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[419],"tags":[529,462],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2312"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2314,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2312\/revisions\/2314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2312"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}