[Lost81]

Reducing sound transmission through doors?

Hi guys / gals,

I wish to reduce the transmission of sound through my door to the rest of the apartment (in consideration of my housemates). I have put weather seals around the door frame already. And it works to great effect. However, as the door is hollow, bass notes and some mid-range still goes through it like nothing.

Will installing sheets of egg crate acoustic foam behind the door help?
Maybe if I glue the sheets of acoustic foam to thick cardboard and then mount the cardboard on 1" standoffs from the door?

Someone suggested drilling a hole in the door and filling it with some kind of foam from a pressurized can, and then plugging the hole with caulk. I wonder how difficult / effective that is.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,


-Lost81

[pjchappy]

Wanna buy a new door?

http://www.owenscorning.com/around/sound/products/door.asp

p

[Rob Babcock]

I wouldn't expect much low freq attenuation out of eggcrate foam- or any other foam for that matter, unless it's extremely thick.

[warnerwh]

You can try a solid door. Been doing research myself on this as I will be building a dedicated room next week. Mass is the key. Here's a decent website for soundproofing:  http://www.soundproofing.org/
The others are correct that foam won't help in the bass. If it's at least 3" thick it will help in the midrange a bit though. Four inches would be better yet.

[Lost81]

Gotcha.

Thanks, 4" Wedge Foam it is then.

Replacing the door will probably give the apt manager a coronary event.
That won't do.

I might see if I can get another seal on the OTHER side of the door.
Maybe 2 opposing weather seals. That will trap a column of air in between.

And that floor seal on that website as well.


Cheers,
-Lost81

[Rob Babcock]

I figured you may not be at liberty to change the door- however, that truly could be an option.  So long as you had room to store the original door, you could replace it when you moved.  Although the manager may not notice nor care if he did.

[Levi]

Great Idea Lost81.  Sound also travels through pipes, heater vent holes etc. so you might want to plug those too.

By sealing those areas, you are also making your space air/heat efficient.

Levi

Gotcha.

Thanks, 4" Wedge Foam it is then.

Replacing the door will probably give the apt manager a coronary event.
That won't do.

I might see if I can get another seal on the OTHER side of the door.
Maybe 2 opposing weather seals. That will trap a column of air in between.

And that floor seal on that website as well.


Cheers,
-Lost81

[Tonto Yoder]

Reducing sound transmission through doors?...Someone suggested drilling a hole in the door and filling it with some kind of foam from a pressurized can, and then plugging the hole with caulk. I wonder how difficult / effective that is.

It probably would be more difficult than you think--a hollow core door generally has thin corrugated cardboard strips that keep the faces of the door apart. To spray in expanding foam, you'd have to fill each individual cell, so you'd have to drill a number of holes and you still might not be able to fill all the spaces.

Some sound-proofing companies have heavy drapes that absorb sound, but you'd have to pull that open/ close to get in and out:
http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/curtains.htm

[Steve Rothermel]

Got a good solution for you. Try a full-length mirror mounted on the door! (Is there any window on the door?) I found, this does a good job, by happenstance. You may already have one and it is "reversible" - little or no damage just to try it out. One tip for you is to use strips of double-sided foam carpet tape to dampen sound and, mainly, to assist mounting the glass. You still need the mounting hardware. It's tougher to remove the mirror with the tape but it's possible by pulling slowly on the glass. Only apply about four long (2-inch wide) strips oriented vertically. And when you move (assumption) you will find it useful to keep the mirror.

[R_burke]

When I had housemates we covered our doors with 2" thick corkboard.  Not only reduced sound but made a good place to stick notes, etc.  A few people got fancy and covered the cork with burlap for looks.  Of course there were times when nothing seemed to help, then who ever had the loudest rig won.

[Lost81]

Thanks for all the valuable suggestions, guys/gals,


I attached paper-coated 1/4" styrofoam panels to the back of the entire door with wood screws, and then glued on 4" thick acoustic foam wedges to the panels.

I also attached weather sealing to the door jams.

Contrary to what some of the websites say, it is quite effective. My housemates now have to pound on my door for me to get my attention. Knocking on the door no longer works. They have found that it takes less physical effort to contact me via ICQ / YIM

I bought a threshold and a double-seal door sweeper but haven't attached it yet (cutting the threshold to fit is something new to me). When I am done, the door would effectively be air-tight--which is probably a good thing since I enjoy the bulk of my listening late at night into the wee hours of the morning.

On the down side, I no longer can hear the door bell, the kitchen timer, the microwave beep, from my room (can't hear my housemate's alarm clocks in the morning either, but I'm not complaining )


-Lost81