Ways to reduce noise transmission in your house

Homeowners sometimes neglect some aspects of their houses, considering them to be minor but with time, these become a source of irritation. One of these issues is sound transmission.

Adrian Nsubuga, an engineer, says that there are several ways to reduce noise transmission in your house and these include;

Layering up

Nsubuga says that if your walls are light you need to layer up to reduce sound transmission. While there is no need to break what is in place, you have to add a single standard layer over the existing drywalls.

“Adding another layer on your wall reduces sound transmission in your house because it adds to the existing slab and covers up all the unidentified spaces within the walls,” he says.

He adds that layering up walls also helps to strengthen the stability of the house because the walls are the main support of the house. 

“Traditionally, to reduce noise transfer between rooms you can opt for a resilient channel; the thin metal station that attaches to the framework of the wall isolating the drywall and weakening the soundwaves,” he says.  

Relax the surfaces

Nsubuga adds that you can relax your walls by adding a dark object because sound loves to bounce off and through solid stuff but these are normally good for commercial premises.

“These hard objects can be placed down or beside the walls and these include: glass, hardwood and tiles and if you are ready to incur a higher cost you can opt for highend windows and doors because they also control sound effectively,” he says.  

Sound installation clips

According to Nsubuga, if your doors and windows allow noise  to invade the house or room, you can use sound installation clips

 “It’s advisable to replace the underlying nails in the doors and windows because the doors are not the source of the problem but the air gaps around them. This may happen when they are loose or falling apart,” he advises.

 Upgrade floors

Nsubuga adds that floors also contribute greatly to the irritating sound in the house, especially the sound of footsteps. This normally happens when you have a wooden floor. You may need to upgrade it to avoid that sound while walking about.

“Changing the floor is one of the cheapest ways of reducing sound in your house. You do not need to negotiate on style or design to reduce circulating noise. You can simply install an acoustic floor which acts as a base to control the moving sound,” he says.  

Reorganise your house

He says that sometimes the arrangement of your house can also be the main cause of irritating sound. You can reorganise by moving the sofas from the middle of the room to the walls to absorb some sound that comes from adjacent rooms

“Moving the rugs to rooms that receive the most traffic may also help to reduce the sound because rugs help to control the speed of the sound especially in living rooms which are normally furnished with few items,’ he says.

He adds that curtains can also reduce the sound because they are not only great for keeping in the heat but can also be an effective method of reducing noise.

Shield Interior Walls

Nsubuga advises that you can shield the interior walls if you want to cut down on the vibration that gives access to unwanted noise to penetrate your walls but you have to look for good quality protectors.

“If you cannot afford to rebuild a room you can opt for lining, lagging or padding so that you contain the sound but you have to make sure that the existing walls are firm enough to hold those shields because some are heavy,” he says.

He adds that you can use temporary shields which can be replaced after a certain period of time if you do not have money.

“Depending on the size of the room and plan, interior shielding may be an option but tiles and panels are not good for homes. Instead they can be used in commercial buildings,” he says.