How can I cheaply 'soundproof' my home temporarily?
Question:Somehow I got roped in to hosting a friend's birthday party at my house - and she found a band who wants to play. The band doesn't have a drum set (just guitar, keyboards, and bass). I believe the dB limit is 65 after 10 pm.
In the past we have had parties with fairly loud music and minimal complaints from neighbors if we turn the bass down just a little. As it is, our house retains sound pretty well - however, a live band is going to be something different entirely.
Is there a way to reduce the noise escaping the house that we can set up and take down fairly easily?
Answers:
Yes. Egg cartons are the answer. Most grocery stores have big sheets of egg carton paper (18" x 18") that are left by the dairy companies. you can make a wall of these and block sound quite well. The most important thing to remember is that sound will transfer wherever it has something solid to move through. If you can minimize the amount of contact the temporary wall has with the permanent wall, the sound will transfer less. Kind of time consuming, but it works. We built one for a guy who's wife hated his drum set. Good Luck!
Go to home Depot n they sell something called soundstop that works pretty well and cheaper then other sound proofing material
Wow...that sounds like a task. I have a couple of thoughts that may help you.
Will they be playing in the basement, i.e., finished basement? I hope so because that's a good start; the basement does have some sound proofing properties in the concrete.
Another thing that works well for sound proofing is egg cartons. See if you can get/purchase the large "flats" size...you know the ones that lay flat and have some three doxen eggs on it. Measure the size of your basement windows, cut a piece of cardboard to size and staple the egg cartons to it and place it back in the window so that you can see the egg cartons from the inside. Cover windows with a heavy drape and that will minimize sound leakage through the windows.
If the floors above the basement ceiling have carpeting, that will minimize the transfer of sound. Insulation in the ceiling works also but if you are going to that extent to sound proof, staple the egg cartons between the joists on the ceiling first, then put your insulation before enclosing the ceiling.
Close all doors leading from the basment up to the main level. Do the same thing with the egg cartons, measure that size of the door, cut out a piece of carboard that size, you may have to tape some pieces together and staple the egg cartons on the cardboard. Place the cardboard on the inside of the door, i.e., the part in the basement, and have it so you can see the egg cartons on the door when you close it.
If you staple egg cartons to the cardboard, it's quick to put up, i.e., duct tape it to the door and also quick to pull down. They can be stored for the future and can be relatively cheap to do. Remember to cover all windows and doors...a lot of sound escapes from those locations.
Hope this helps...Paul
Go get a bunch of carpet scraps from your local carpet dealer, hang a layer or 2 on the walls and it should help lower the noise level farely well. And you can also use the padding that they use under the carpet...basically your just gonna lay carpet on your walls...But hey it works!!
empty eggs cartages, they are great
earplugs
Easy way out, invite the neighbors and hope they show up, noise is then not a problem
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