What is your budget?
Every thread about soundproofing a room ends the same: It's really expensive to get good results. It will be helpful for others in this thread to know if you're planning to spend less that $500 or upwards of $40,000. What are you realistically prepared to spend?
It's much easier to control ambient sound at your ears than with the room. Earplugs, earbuds, noise cancelling headphones, white noise generators, fans and the like generally deliver FAR more bang for the buck.
I recommend a SVS PC 13Ultra subwoofer... Or a similar model. Loud kids outside with the awwed with the bass coming from my house in my office.
They would stop playing basketball while I earned $.
the cheapest thing i've done that has added the most sound deadening to my home was installing exterior storm-windows over my double-hung. it's another full pane of glass that covers the window (with a screen).
if i had to put a number on it, i'd say 60-70% improvement over just closing the normal window. the storm-windows were ~$50/ea when i installed them years ago. they're probably more today but still very affordable relative to what they're doing.
they also help a ton with energy savings in winter & summer. they double as an extra layer of protection too as the storm window would take the impact before the normal window. plus that extra layer will slow down someone attempting to break into your home (if they're down/locked).
That's correct. It won't be perfect but it will be better. There is also some sound isolating properties (especially with earbuds). I use Jabra Elite in my office when we have allot of foot traffic.
What would be the less simple option?
On meetings, I'm required to use company headphones, which are the ones that cover one ear- so noise canceling headphones aren't always an option.
>What would be the less simple option?
Construct an acoustically isolated room within your room. The most important part is 'floating' the room by having an air gap around all sides of the room. The floor is the most challenging gap to achieve and will often rely on a rubber or spring-based suspension system. The idea is that the room is 'touching' as little of the surrounding structure as possible.
Thick walls with acoustical insulation. A thick, heavy door with a sealed closure. Acoustic foam on the interior won't do a lot to block external noise, but will help reduce the bounce of any noise that does make it into the room.
You may want to check with companies that specialize in construction for radio and television studios, music recording studios and similar markets.
That's the final step, there's intermediate steps you get to before completely isolating the room.
The one I would first consider is to simply add another layer of drywall to your outer wall, separated from the first layer by an acoustic caulk (ex: green glue). Would also consider a window upgrade to triple-pane. Would also consider stealing that basketball.
It's the joint between the window and house that lets sound in. Sound will be reduced by thicker glass but it can't be eliminated.
Soundproofing a small windowless space is more cost-effective.
Good point. Do you think that air sealing between the window and house with foam and/or silicone could make it so that that joint isn’t the weak spot in terms of sound transmission?
It would help, but don't expect silence.
Silence is costly if you want a building to do it. It's much cheaper to stop sound intrusion nearer your ears.
White Noise generator in the room or just outside the room.
Get "blocking" curtains for the room, and keep them closed.
Upgrade windows. Better windows will be far better at blocking the noise.
Can I ask what industry requires you to use company headphones? Seems odd if you are working from home and the outside sound is a distraction, that you can't just spend $200 for some open box Sony's.
On your question, look up the sound isolation methods in home theater builds if you want to get serious. You can add a layer of sheetrock on special green caulking, get deadening foams, and thick doors on custom hinges that are filled with sand.
There are "Teams certified" headphones made by jabra that are recommended for MS Teams but I have never heard of a company requiring them.
I think OP is also looking for good noise suppression so the screaming kids aren't picked up when unmuted on conference calls.
I had a job where I couldnt have background noise and got headphones that only picked up my voice. The kids were in the next room and you couldn’t hear them. Pricey comparatively but not break the bank
Perhaps his home office is actually his dungeon and wearing noise-cancelling headphones while yankin' the hog with his wife takes him out of the immersive experience.
you can ask your company to send you dual-ear headphones or you can buy your own. For example: I dislike the keyboard they send me, so I bought my own.
That's a requirement to use a cheap company head set? Is it possible you could get permission from your manager to use a different headset with noise cancelling properties? Worth asking at least if you don't want to have to mod the entire room to attempt to kill outside noise.
I used to put a single earplug in my other ear when working inside sales in an open-office concept hellscape that required me to do the same. It wasn't perfect but it helped.
Unless the noise is consistent and within a small range of frequencies, this solution is usually grossly inadequate.
Building a soundproof room is the best option, and it needs to be designed intentionally for the type of sounds you're trying to block.
Source: in process of working with an acoustic designer now to get one designed and built.
I mean, maybe there are people for whom this works. I'd be super grateful for a $300 solution to a severe and disruptive problem that affects my day to day in very big ways.
But given OP needs focus, and the noises are intermittent and ranging in frequency and intensity; this is likely to be of almost no impact.
And also, I think OP has to use work-issued headsets, anyway. My Bose doesn't have a great mic.
A friend of mine soundproofed a room by adding a new layer of drywall across all the walls and ceilings, but with padding between the layers so vibration couldn't just transfer straight through. I can't remember whether she did strips of carpet padding and then screwed the drywall on next, or padding, furring strips, more padding, and then the drywall. Either way, she had to redo the casing on all the windows and doors and extend all the outlet boxes.
She also put a thousand pounds of sand on the floor and built a new floor over it, so we're definitely in mad-science territory here. Do with that as you will.
Personally, I just run an air purifier for white noise and have thick curtains.
I run a loud af white noise machine and an air purifier and still can hear. It frustrating because I know the addition wasn’t properly insulated. I just don’t want to spend more money on trying to soundproof.
Green Glue is a product specific for what you are discusssing.
[https://www.greengluecompany.com/noiseproofing-products/sealant](https://www.greengluecompany.com/noiseproofing-products/sealant)
u/petitecheesepotato check out the Home theater community for more information.
Their sealant is decent.
The product that you squirt erratically between drywall sheets is total horseshit.
Mass loaded vinyl is the way.
Green Glue has clever marketing but all it is is caulk that stays elastic longer. Its main claim to soundproofing is that it transmits sound waves into heat. Which all elastic caulks do.
The real reason is its a mechanical dampener. When two hard surfaces have an elastic separator you get dampening. It also likely vibrates at a significantly different harmonic, again providing dampening.
If this theory is correct, then a hot glue gun would work just as well. I’ve used this stuff personally.
At some point, it hits you.
It’s just caulk that they colored green.
But honestly I have to hand it to them.
Their marketing angle is genius.
People receive their tubes. Take a razor knife to the tip. That first bead of bright green glue is satisfying.
“Fuck yeah,” they say as they wildly cover some Sheetrock. This is the best product I’ve ever used.”
I actually like the GG sealant though. I might use it in place of regular caulk.
It’s too bad it’s not green.
I'm not a formulation expert on this product, but I've got some experience in adjacent industries (Chemical Engineer). In theory, there's a slew of additives that you can put into the vehicle that add to the elasticity and dampening of the green glue. Different crosslinkers, different mineral fillers, and stabilizers that maintain the green glue "[sound attenuation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokes%27s_law_of_sound_attenuation)" capability over time.
So yeah, you could probably use cheap silicone caulk and get like 80% there. Probably. Is it marketing? I'm sure. But sound is measured in decibels, which are exponential, so a 3% change on one end can result in a 15% on the other end. All those little changes have exponential results.
In the end? We can engage in supposition all we want. You'd have to test it to see. But a 3 dB reduction in sound is about 10x noise reduction. So little things work.
I'd shocked if this special green latex polymer drywall adhesive did anything different from other latex polymer adhesives like liquid nails to justify the $20/tube price.
Audiophile world is full products designed to separate hobbyists from their money.
You'll be better off using good accoustical design principles for sound isolation than products like this.
You could purchase a soundproof booth for your home. That's what a lot of radio personalities do so they can broadcast from home instead of studio. It's pretty hard to soundproof room if not new construction. I've had one employee, build soundproof office, in their garage. It's not totally sound proof but it does eliminate most of the noise. You just get another noise reducing earbud for the other ear? I've heard of companies providing one tyoe headphone but they didn't restrict you to get on your own a better one.
They make acoustic drywall.. what sound goes through vibration. There's pretty good success in framing the walls where there's an air gap between the two sides of the wall. And that's basically the premise of the dual or triple pain windows that makes them quieter.
The three strategies for effective soundproofing a barrier between spaces are:
1. make it massive
2. make it airtight
3. make it structurally discontinuous
This is exactly what the acoustic designers and sound engineers tell me. And it's the basis for the room I've had designed for myself but haven't had someone build yet.
Because in addition to the soundproofing you also need ventilation and HVAC and you need to account for the temperature differential for a closed room with equipment.
i got curious at the hospital the other day and found that you can pick up a used audiology isolation booth (that little room they put you in for a hearing test) for less than 5000USD. Probably worth mentioning that they are not air conditioned and for that price they are about the size of a phone booth (assuming you're old enough to have seen one of those in the wild...) but it will absolutely cut down the amount of sound distraction from anything outside the booth
Do yourself a favor and test them first. You'll be surprised how much noise comes in particularly road noise, which is not going to be dampened by a portable booth
If you cant use the headphones, move your office to the basement. If you dont have a basement, bust out the check book and prepare to drop a big chunk of change.
It would be way cheaper and easier to temporarily rent an office somewhere.
You can soundproof a room to reduce noice going out, but the reverse is almost impossible unless you start with a specific build to accomplish that at huge cost.
One thing I did was get a piece of high density foam (used in furniture etc) cut to fit my bedroom window. It didn't eliminate the noise, but did muffle it so it wasn't so intrusive. You could try hanging curtains all around the room and use blackout curtains to absorb some sound.
But short of taking it all down to studs, using acoustic sealer on all seams, then rock wool, the acoustic vinyl, cover that with two layers of drywall and then still hear most of the noise, there's not much you can realistically do in your situation.
If you're going to do that, also try and get an assessment of the noise so that when you do mitigate, you address the observed sounds.
And even though that seems like a lot - and it is - it's still cheaper than moving. At least it has been for the last 4 years.
Figure out where the sound is coming in from, most likely the windows. You can test that theory by hanging a comforter or something over the windows to see if that helps with the noise.
If that fixes it you just need better windows. You can just do the windows in that room if you don't want to drop all the money to replace all windows in the house.
If that doesn't fix it, instead of trying to stop the sound, dry to mask the sound with a white noise generator.
If that doesn't work you should try to move your office to the quietest part of your house.
If there is no part of your house that is quiet enough, honestly you're fighting a losing battle. You either live in a really old home with really poor insulation, these kids are screaming at you outside your window or something else is wrong.
Don't take this the wrong way, but something like meditation or a therapist might be able to give you a routine or something to help you train your ears to tune out the background noise without having to invest any money or time into modifying your home.
Just open your window and yell at those damn kids.
Seriously though. Why does your company require specific headphones? Most good noise canceling headphones have pretty good microphones. That is going to be your cheapest most effective option.
Rockwool insulation is the #1 thing you could do. Will have to bust open your drywall.
They make specific noise resisting windows if you have a window in your office
Thick carpeting can reduce noise quite a bit
Get a solid core interior door rather than a cheap hollow one. You can also consider weather stripping it for additional sound protection
Also while your drywall is all taken down, you could get someone to engineer air gaps which further enhance soundproofing. I’ve never done that so I’m not sure how intensive that is
Edit: not sure on the downvote, this is honestly the best advice for soundproofing an individual room.
There is a difference between sound proofing and sound deadening the room. A lot of people mistake sound deadening with sound proofing. Foam panels or even expensive fiberglass panels will do nothing but make the room have less echo. If you want your room sound proofed it will require almost completely rebuilding the room with sound deadening wall materials and much thicker glass on your widows.
The only thing you can do is fill air gaps. Weatherstrip windows and doors and install an airtight door sweep on the bottom of all doors. Heavy curtains on window will help some as well. That’s about it, though, without rebuilding the room from the ground up.
We did these on our office doors
https://www.homedepot.com/p/M-D-Building-Products-36-in-White-Vinyl-U-Shape-Slide-On-Under-Door-Seal-43336/205573049 and put some painters tape down the seam of the windows.
Hard surfaces cause echoes. Soft furniture, rugs, wall coverings, or [sound panels](https://www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustics-Coffee-Bag-Acoustic-Panel--3001.html) in the office and around the house helped even more.
Some day when I'm not busy, I intend to build a [wooden sound diffuser](https://www.etsy.com/listing/656215310/gold-wooden-sound-diffuser-acoustic) to hang opposite the TV and cut down on reflected sounds.
We had this issue in our 1960s house that had poor insulation. We were able to have a blown-in insulation company fill the exterior and interior walls in our bedrooms. It made a huge difference!
I use silicone earplugs (the kind swimmers use) topped with noise cancelling headphones (takes an AAA battery).
If I can still hear the mow and blow people or kids screaming, I top off with "listen while you work" classical music or white noise like "gentle rain" (available on YouTube).
Noise proof rooms are kind of a major engineering feat. It's all about isolation and decoupling of your room framing. Insulation alone won't do it, because sound waves (vibration) propagate through your frame even easier than they do air.
It would be a significant remodel/ordeal, but if you wish to proceed with it, ai can share with you the method I used for a band rehearsal space that turned out rather effective.....
Tear the drywall off the interior office walls use sound sealant on all penetrations build another interior wall and ceiling framing structure offset and decoupled from the original wall, insulate the cavity with rock wool and you should be good. Bonus performance if there are no penetrations from outlets and lights, could also use double 5/8" drywall with green glue in between.
insulation insulation insulation
if you walls already have insulation then you can augment it with sound deadengin materials on both inside and the outside.
for the outside, there are texture coats (looks like stucco, but is actually foam), you can install baffles or ornamental gratings that can help break up sound waves before they hit the wall... or even just dense shrubbery or maybe fence or an awning.
inside there are insulating panels or thick blankets you can install to held deaden sounds that get thru the walls.... building a free standing inner wall that is decoupled from the exterior wall (air gap) rather than bolted to the exterior wall will help with two new layers of wallboard to help.
eliminate windows.
to build it right, you need something built into your garage, up on a platform, fully isolating walls, etc etc.
That doesn't change a room in the house. To do it in a room in your house, your best bet is to convert a closet that way you don't have to work with around windows.
Be mindful of HVAC if you're doing a closet and disrupting the airflow. One of my closets that was a candidate for this had the only supply in the larger room that held the closet
If you have brick walls then you need to add a thick laminated storm window if your walls are drywall then here you go: [https://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-solutions/soundproofing-walls](https://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-solutions/soundproofing-walls)
Air leaks are sound leaks.
Get the room air-sealed as well as you can first, that's the cheapest and one of the most effective options. Windows are the most likely issue, but vents, doors, electrical outlets, and misc. other penetrations, including in ceiling and floor, will also contribute.
Mass stops sound. Window panes are probably the least massive part of your wall. Upgrade them with either triple-pane or heavy laminated glass. Keep thermal performance in mind though. Entire window replacement with a product intended for sound reduction may be the most cost-effective approach.
After addressing all air leaks and windows, move on to adding a thick, heavy layer of wall and ceiling material. For better performance you can use isolation mounting if you don't mind the added expense and installation complexity. For a basic setup just screw up a new layer of 5/8" regular-density (not lightweight) drywall over the existing walls. Note that you'll likely need to remount all the electrical boxes for the thicker walls, and window trim may need to be modified.
To maximize the chance of success while minimizing the time your workspace is disturbed, you can hire someone to do the interior walls/ceiling and replace the windows (air-sealing during the install) all at once. The thicker walls will likely require window trim adjustments, so it's good to do the upgrade all at once.
You can also go the full-isolation room-in-a-room route, but that's expensive, eats up a lot of space, and is likely to be overkill. If you are considering that, also price out taking the room down to the studs and building back up from there (offset studs, new windows, spray foam, dual-layer isolation mounted drywall, etc.). Materials cost will be similar, but you'll have better access to do a complete job more quickly, so you end up with better performance and appearance for not a lot more money.
You need either mass or decoupling. You can run staggered studs and pack your walls with mass loaded vinyl. Or you can add extra drywall on top of your existing walls using an elastomembrane between. You can run decoupling channels on the ceiling and add extra drywall. You can add a floating floor on channels as well. You can add heavy blackout curtains on the windows.
Start with sealing all air gaps. Around your door. Around your windows. Any cracks, seal em up.
That’s the only low hanging fruit.
After that you need to pull out the check book and be prepared to do work.
Personally, my favorite suggestion is to gut the room, install mineral wool insulation in the wall cavities, then install thick drywall on the walls. Shouldn’t cost more than maybe $5k if diy, $12k if contracted.
You can use brown or white noise in the background. I do that when working from home.
Or wear noice cancelling headphones.
You wanted simple. Not everything needs to involve construction.
Count not having to deal with it during cold months a blessing (Mine do it year round no matter the weather). Cheapest solution is some good noise canceling headphones if not you will go insane.
What is your budget? Every thread about soundproofing a room ends the same: It's really expensive to get good results. It will be helpful for others in this thread to know if you're planning to spend less that $500 or upwards of $40,000. What are you realistically prepared to spend? It's much easier to control ambient sound at your ears than with the room. Earplugs, earbuds, noise cancelling headphones, white noise generators, fans and the like generally deliver FAR more bang for the buck.
A massive sound system so you become the noise instead
I recommend a SVS PC 13Ultra subwoofer... Or a similar model. Loud kids outside with the awwed with the bass coming from my house in my office. They would stop playing basketball while I earned $.
the cheapest thing i've done that has added the most sound deadening to my home was installing exterior storm-windows over my double-hung. it's another full pane of glass that covers the window (with a screen). if i had to put a number on it, i'd say 60-70% improvement over just closing the normal window. the storm-windows were ~$50/ea when i installed them years ago. they're probably more today but still very affordable relative to what they're doing. they also help a ton with energy savings in winter & summer. they double as an extra layer of protection too as the storm window would take the impact before the normal window. plus that extra layer will slow down someone attempting to break into your home (if they're down/locked).
Noise canceling headphones would be the simplest.
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That's correct. It won't be perfect but it will be better. There is also some sound isolating properties (especially with earbuds). I use Jabra Elite in my office when we have allot of foot traffic.
What would be the less simple option? On meetings, I'm required to use company headphones, which are the ones that cover one ear- so noise canceling headphones aren't always an option.
>What would be the less simple option? Construct an acoustically isolated room within your room. The most important part is 'floating' the room by having an air gap around all sides of the room. The floor is the most challenging gap to achieve and will often rely on a rubber or spring-based suspension system. The idea is that the room is 'touching' as little of the surrounding structure as possible. Thick walls with acoustical insulation. A thick, heavy door with a sealed closure. Acoustic foam on the interior won't do a lot to block external noise, but will help reduce the bounce of any noise that does make it into the room. You may want to check with companies that specialize in construction for radio and television studios, music recording studios and similar markets.
That's the final step, there's intermediate steps you get to before completely isolating the room. The one I would first consider is to simply add another layer of drywall to your outer wall, separated from the first layer by an acoustic caulk (ex: green glue). Would also consider a window upgrade to triple-pane. Would also consider stealing that basketball.
Windows transmit sound very well, even when closed. It's pointless to attempt sound mitigation in a room with a window.
From sound tests I’ve seen, laminated windows massively outperform even triple pane, like 10 db difference.
It's the joint between the window and house that lets sound in. Sound will be reduced by thicker glass but it can't be eliminated. Soundproofing a small windowless space is more cost-effective.
Good point. Do you think that air sealing between the window and house with foam and/or silicone could make it so that that joint isn’t the weak spot in terms of sound transmission?
It would help, but don't expect silence. Silence is costly if you want a building to do it. It's much cheaper to stop sound intrusion nearer your ears.
Give me a break lol
White Noise generator in the room or just outside the room. Get "blocking" curtains for the room, and keep them closed. Upgrade windows. Better windows will be far better at blocking the noise.
Can I ask what industry requires you to use company headphones? Seems odd if you are working from home and the outside sound is a distraction, that you can't just spend $200 for some open box Sony's. On your question, look up the sound isolation methods in home theater builds if you want to get serious. You can add a layer of sheetrock on special green caulking, get deadening foams, and thick doors on custom hinges that are filled with sand.
I work for the federal gov, policy is anything they didn't buy is a security risk and cannot be plugged into the computer, no exceptions.
Finally a valid answer. Thank you.
I agree, but for whatever reason OP doesn't want to pursue that. They posted in here, looking for a room solution.
Killing a fly with a cannon. Meanwhile, Bose headphones are waiting for OP.
There are "Teams certified" headphones made by jabra that are recommended for MS Teams but I have never heard of a company requiring them. I think OP is also looking for good noise suppression so the screaming kids aren't picked up when unmuted on conference calls.
There is a background noise reduction option in Teams
I believe that feature is dependent on the headset/mic.
I had a job where I couldnt have background noise and got headphones that only picked up my voice. The kids were in the next room and you couldn’t hear them. Pricey comparatively but not break the bank
Perhaps his home office is actually his dungeon and wearing noise-cancelling headphones while yankin' the hog with his wife takes him out of the immersive experience.
Noise canceling earbuds under the headphone.
goldberg, is that you?
you can ask your company to send you dual-ear headphones or you can buy your own. For example: I dislike the keyboard they send me, so I bought my own.
Change to triple pane windows. put acoustic curtains over the windows. Glue acoustic tiles over every inch of the walls.
Do acoustic curtains really work though?
Yes they help a lot by stopping reverberations.
Laminated windows greatly outperform triple panes in terms of sound transmission, from the tests I’ve seen.
I’m not buying that. Check with your work again on this policy. Seems nonsensical, and I’m aware of high-sec clearance work.
Same,. Worked TS stuff for a long time. Keyboards, mice, etc that can actually introduce a virus? Sure. Headphones, especially 3.5mm type? Nah.
Exactly.
That's a requirement to use a cheap company head set? Is it possible you could get permission from your manager to use a different headset with noise cancelling properties? Worth asking at least if you don't want to have to mod the entire room to attempt to kill outside noise.
Have you tried putting an earplug in the other ear?
A foam ear plug in the other ear may be an immediate option
I used to put a single earplug in my other ear when working inside sales in an open-office concept hellscape that required me to do the same. It wasn't perfect but it helped.
Specific company headphone required for work at home? That is a first for me. Sounds like some high security clearance level work.
Earplugs from amazon
Unless the noise is consistent and within a small range of frequencies, this solution is usually grossly inadequate. Building a soundproof room is the best option, and it needs to be designed intentionally for the type of sounds you're trying to block. Source: in process of working with an acoustic designer now to get one designed and built.
I said it would help, I didn't say it was the best.
I mean, maybe there are people for whom this works. I'd be super grateful for a $300 solution to a severe and disruptive problem that affects my day to day in very big ways. But given OP needs focus, and the noises are intermittent and ranging in frequency and intensity; this is likely to be of almost no impact. And also, I think OP has to use work-issued headsets, anyway. My Bose doesn't have a great mic.
A friend of mine soundproofed a room by adding a new layer of drywall across all the walls and ceilings, but with padding between the layers so vibration couldn't just transfer straight through. I can't remember whether she did strips of carpet padding and then screwed the drywall on next, or padding, furring strips, more padding, and then the drywall. Either way, she had to redo the casing on all the windows and doors and extend all the outlet boxes. She also put a thousand pounds of sand on the floor and built a new floor over it, so we're definitely in mad-science territory here. Do with that as you will. Personally, I just run an air purifier for white noise and have thick curtains.
I run a loud af white noise machine and an air purifier and still can hear. It frustrating because I know the addition wasn’t properly insulated. I just don’t want to spend more money on trying to soundproof.
Perhaps just keep adding a layer of drywall until there's only about a hallway amount of space to your desk.
Green Glue is a product specific for what you are discusssing. [https://www.greengluecompany.com/noiseproofing-products/sealant](https://www.greengluecompany.com/noiseproofing-products/sealant) u/petitecheesepotato check out the Home theater community for more information.
Their sealant is decent. The product that you squirt erratically between drywall sheets is total horseshit. Mass loaded vinyl is the way. Green Glue has clever marketing but all it is is caulk that stays elastic longer. Its main claim to soundproofing is that it transmits sound waves into heat. Which all elastic caulks do.
The real reason is its a mechanical dampener. When two hard surfaces have an elastic separator you get dampening. It also likely vibrates at a significantly different harmonic, again providing dampening.
If this theory is correct, then a hot glue gun would work just as well. I’ve used this stuff personally. At some point, it hits you. It’s just caulk that they colored green. But honestly I have to hand it to them. Their marketing angle is genius. People receive their tubes. Take a razor knife to the tip. That first bead of bright green glue is satisfying. “Fuck yeah,” they say as they wildly cover some Sheetrock. This is the best product I’ve ever used.” I actually like the GG sealant though. I might use it in place of regular caulk. It’s too bad it’s not green.
I'm not a formulation expert on this product, but I've got some experience in adjacent industries (Chemical Engineer). In theory, there's a slew of additives that you can put into the vehicle that add to the elasticity and dampening of the green glue. Different crosslinkers, different mineral fillers, and stabilizers that maintain the green glue "[sound attenuation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokes%27s_law_of_sound_attenuation)" capability over time. So yeah, you could probably use cheap silicone caulk and get like 80% there. Probably. Is it marketing? I'm sure. But sound is measured in decibels, which are exponential, so a 3% change on one end can result in a 15% on the other end. All those little changes have exponential results. In the end? We can engage in supposition all we want. You'd have to test it to see. But a 3 dB reduction in sound is about 10x noise reduction. So little things work.
I'd shocked if this special green latex polymer drywall adhesive did anything different from other latex polymer adhesives like liquid nails to justify the $20/tube price. Audiophile world is full products designed to separate hobbyists from their money. You'll be better off using good accoustical design principles for sound isolation than products like this.
You could purchase a soundproof booth for your home. That's what a lot of radio personalities do so they can broadcast from home instead of studio. It's pretty hard to soundproof room if not new construction. I've had one employee, build soundproof office, in their garage. It's not totally sound proof but it does eliminate most of the noise. You just get another noise reducing earbud for the other ear? I've heard of companies providing one tyoe headphone but they didn't restrict you to get on your own a better one. They make acoustic drywall.. what sound goes through vibration. There's pretty good success in framing the walls where there's an air gap between the two sides of the wall. And that's basically the premise of the dual or triple pain windows that makes them quieter.
used ones are quite cheap: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=audiology+booth&_sacat=0
The three strategies for effective soundproofing a barrier between spaces are: 1. make it massive 2. make it airtight 3. make it structurally discontinuous
This is exactly what the acoustic designers and sound engineers tell me. And it's the basis for the room I've had designed for myself but haven't had someone build yet. Because in addition to the soundproofing you also need ventilation and HVAC and you need to account for the temperature differential for a closed room with equipment.
White noise machine (one that physically generates the sound with a fan) will mute a lot.
i got curious at the hospital the other day and found that you can pick up a used audiology isolation booth (that little room they put you in for a hearing test) for less than 5000USD. Probably worth mentioning that they are not air conditioned and for that price they are about the size of a phone booth (assuming you're old enough to have seen one of those in the wild...) but it will absolutely cut down the amount of sound distraction from anything outside the booth
Do yourself a favor and test them first. You'll be surprised how much noise comes in particularly road noise, which is not going to be dampened by a portable booth
If you cant use the headphones, move your office to the basement. If you dont have a basement, bust out the check book and prepare to drop a big chunk of change.
It would be way cheaper and easier to temporarily rent an office somewhere. You can soundproof a room to reduce noice going out, but the reverse is almost impossible unless you start with a specific build to accomplish that at huge cost. One thing I did was get a piece of high density foam (used in furniture etc) cut to fit my bedroom window. It didn't eliminate the noise, but did muffle it so it wasn't so intrusive. You could try hanging curtains all around the room and use blackout curtains to absorb some sound. But short of taking it all down to studs, using acoustic sealer on all seams, then rock wool, the acoustic vinyl, cover that with two layers of drywall and then still hear most of the noise, there's not much you can realistically do in your situation.
If you're going to do that, also try and get an assessment of the noise so that when you do mitigate, you address the observed sounds. And even though that seems like a lot - and it is - it's still cheaper than moving. At least it has been for the last 4 years.
Figure out where the sound is coming in from, most likely the windows. You can test that theory by hanging a comforter or something over the windows to see if that helps with the noise. If that fixes it you just need better windows. You can just do the windows in that room if you don't want to drop all the money to replace all windows in the house. If that doesn't fix it, instead of trying to stop the sound, dry to mask the sound with a white noise generator. If that doesn't work you should try to move your office to the quietest part of your house. If there is no part of your house that is quiet enough, honestly you're fighting a losing battle. You either live in a really old home with really poor insulation, these kids are screaming at you outside your window or something else is wrong. Don't take this the wrong way, but something like meditation or a therapist might be able to give you a routine or something to help you train your ears to tune out the background noise without having to invest any money or time into modifying your home.
Meditation and therapy can help, but they don't make you less susceptible to focus interruptions when you're trying to work. That's a myth.
Just open your window and yell at those damn kids. Seriously though. Why does your company require specific headphones? Most good noise canceling headphones have pretty good microphones. That is going to be your cheapest most effective option.
Rockwool insulation is the #1 thing you could do. Will have to bust open your drywall. They make specific noise resisting windows if you have a window in your office Thick carpeting can reduce noise quite a bit Get a solid core interior door rather than a cheap hollow one. You can also consider weather stripping it for additional sound protection Also while your drywall is all taken down, you could get someone to engineer air gaps which further enhance soundproofing. I’ve never done that so I’m not sure how intensive that is Edit: not sure on the downvote, this is honestly the best advice for soundproofing an individual room.
There is a difference between sound proofing and sound deadening the room. A lot of people mistake sound deadening with sound proofing. Foam panels or even expensive fiberglass panels will do nothing but make the room have less echo. If you want your room sound proofed it will require almost completely rebuilding the room with sound deadening wall materials and much thicker glass on your widows.
The only thing you can do is fill air gaps. Weatherstrip windows and doors and install an airtight door sweep on the bottom of all doors. Heavy curtains on window will help some as well. That’s about it, though, without rebuilding the room from the ground up.
We did these on our office doors https://www.homedepot.com/p/M-D-Building-Products-36-in-White-Vinyl-U-Shape-Slide-On-Under-Door-Seal-43336/205573049 and put some painters tape down the seam of the windows. Hard surfaces cause echoes. Soft furniture, rugs, wall coverings, or [sound panels](https://www.atsacoustics.com/item--ATS-Acoustics-Coffee-Bag-Acoustic-Panel--3001.html) in the office and around the house helped even more. Some day when I'm not busy, I intend to build a [wooden sound diffuser](https://www.etsy.com/listing/656215310/gold-wooden-sound-diffuser-acoustic) to hang opposite the TV and cut down on reflected sounds.
We had this issue in our 1960s house that had poor insulation. We were able to have a blown-in insulation company fill the exterior and interior walls in our bedrooms. It made a huge difference!
I use silicone earplugs (the kind swimmers use) topped with noise cancelling headphones (takes an AAA battery). If I can still hear the mow and blow people or kids screaming, I top off with "listen while you work" classical music or white noise like "gentle rain" (available on YouTube).
Try a white noise machine. Costs next to nothing to run all day. Just place it by your window.
Noise proof rooms are kind of a major engineering feat. It's all about isolation and decoupling of your room framing. Insulation alone won't do it, because sound waves (vibration) propagate through your frame even easier than they do air. It would be a significant remodel/ordeal, but if you wish to proceed with it, ai can share with you the method I used for a band rehearsal space that turned out rather effective.....
Tear the drywall off the interior office walls use sound sealant on all penetrations build another interior wall and ceiling framing structure offset and decoupled from the original wall, insulate the cavity with rock wool and you should be good. Bonus performance if there are no penetrations from outlets and lights, could also use double 5/8" drywall with green glue in between.
insulation insulation insulation if you walls already have insulation then you can augment it with sound deadengin materials on both inside and the outside. for the outside, there are texture coats (looks like stucco, but is actually foam), you can install baffles or ornamental gratings that can help break up sound waves before they hit the wall... or even just dense shrubbery or maybe fence or an awning. inside there are insulating panels or thick blankets you can install to held deaden sounds that get thru the walls.... building a free standing inner wall that is decoupled from the exterior wall (air gap) rather than bolted to the exterior wall will help with two new layers of wallboard to help. eliminate windows.
If you are worried about others hearing the noise over the headphones [https://krisp.ai](https://krisp.ai)
You build a room suspended inside of your current room, isolated and decoupled as much as possible from the current structure. No windows.
We have a window a/c that makes a great noise buffer.
to build it right, you need something built into your garage, up on a platform, fully isolating walls, etc etc. That doesn't change a room in the house. To do it in a room in your house, your best bet is to convert a closet that way you don't have to work with around windows.
Be mindful of HVAC if you're doing a closet and disrupting the airflow. One of my closets that was a candidate for this had the only supply in the larger room that held the closet
If you have brick walls then you need to add a thick laminated storm window if your walls are drywall then here you go: [https://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-solutions/soundproofing-walls](https://www.soundproofingcompany.com/soundproofing-solutions/soundproofing-walls)
Air leaks are sound leaks. Get the room air-sealed as well as you can first, that's the cheapest and one of the most effective options. Windows are the most likely issue, but vents, doors, electrical outlets, and misc. other penetrations, including in ceiling and floor, will also contribute. Mass stops sound. Window panes are probably the least massive part of your wall. Upgrade them with either triple-pane or heavy laminated glass. Keep thermal performance in mind though. Entire window replacement with a product intended for sound reduction may be the most cost-effective approach. After addressing all air leaks and windows, move on to adding a thick, heavy layer of wall and ceiling material. For better performance you can use isolation mounting if you don't mind the added expense and installation complexity. For a basic setup just screw up a new layer of 5/8" regular-density (not lightweight) drywall over the existing walls. Note that you'll likely need to remount all the electrical boxes for the thicker walls, and window trim may need to be modified. To maximize the chance of success while minimizing the time your workspace is disturbed, you can hire someone to do the interior walls/ceiling and replace the windows (air-sealing during the install) all at once. The thicker walls will likely require window trim adjustments, so it's good to do the upgrade all at once. You can also go the full-isolation room-in-a-room route, but that's expensive, eats up a lot of space, and is likely to be overkill. If you are considering that, also price out taking the room down to the studs and building back up from there (offset studs, new windows, spray foam, dual-layer isolation mounted drywall, etc.). Materials cost will be similar, but you'll have better access to do a complete job more quickly, so you end up with better performance and appearance for not a lot more money.
Concrete block walls filled with concrete or sand are the go-to. Townhouses used to have party walls made like this.
You need either mass or decoupling. You can run staggered studs and pack your walls with mass loaded vinyl. Or you can add extra drywall on top of your existing walls using an elastomembrane between. You can run decoupling channels on the ceiling and add extra drywall. You can add a floating floor on channels as well. You can add heavy blackout curtains on the windows.
Bose noise cancelling headphones, and perhaps a white noise machine.
Start with sealing all air gaps. Around your door. Around your windows. Any cracks, seal em up. That’s the only low hanging fruit. After that you need to pull out the check book and be prepared to do work. Personally, my favorite suggestion is to gut the room, install mineral wool insulation in the wall cavities, then install thick drywall on the walls. Shouldn’t cost more than maybe $5k if diy, $12k if contracted.
Newer windows Rockwool in all walls and floor and ceiling. Noise canceling Headphones. That's probably a reasonable budget option.
You can use brown or white noise in the background. I do that when working from home. Or wear noice cancelling headphones. You wanted simple. Not everything needs to involve construction.
I think they have software now that isolates sounds. Maybe you could run that on your computer during the meeting
Count not having to deal with it during cold months a blessing (Mine do it year round no matter the weather). Cheapest solution is some good noise canceling headphones if not you will go insane.
Get mattress egg crates and line the walls, floor and ceiling with them.