Living in an apartment with loud roommates? The apartment you live in is small and all noises come straight into your bedroom. Is there an easy way to lessen the noise and soundproof my door and room myself? Yes there are many things you can do when it comes to soundproofing to get your bedroom door (that is most likely hollow) to absorb and block the loud sounds. If noise cannot be stopped from the source, you need to block and or absorb it. Living in an apartment makes it so you are unable to replace things like doors. We are going to show you a few ways to successfully soundproof a room that has a cheap hollow door.
The first thing we recommend is trying to dampen the sound near the source. If the living room, dining room or kitchen has tile or wood floors, the sound has no way of being absorbed. The easiest thing to do in this situation is buy some cheap rugs for the kitchen or one big rug for the living or dining room. This will help absorb the sound before it can enter your bedroom.
A sheet of thick sound absorbing foam or 3/4 inch medium density sound deadening fiberboard cut to the size of your door can make a big improvement. You can install this yourself without leaving a big mess to repair when you move out of your apartment. All you will need to attach the sheet of foam or fiberboard to your bedroom door is 4 wood screws. If you install the foam on your door, put washers around the heads of the screws. The washers are needed so the screw heads stay on top of the piece of foam.
You can also install removable door gaskets to cover any parts of the door where sound may be entering. These install on the perimeter of the door frame blocking any sound that may enter. They can easily be removed when needed or moving out of your apartment.
A heavy set of acoustic drapes can also help if installed over or to the left and right of your door. At night when you are in bed and ready to sleep, you can slide the drape in front or on the sides of your door to help block and absorb the sound waves.
Some other ideas to deaden sound in your bedroom…
Place bookshelves on either side of the door to help absorb the sound can really help.
Move your bed to the opposite wall away from where the sound is coming from.
Get a large rug for your bedroom or a runner if the floor is wood or tile.
A white noise machine can help by producing a constant sound that will cover up any other intruding noises.
Buy a set of earplugs and put them in before you go to bed.
A small fan running on low setting near your bed can help mask sounds.
Soundproofing materials for rooms and doors
Need some tips on soundproofing your room or door? Let us know below and we will be happy to help!
Written by Keith Schneerer
Certified Appliance Tech · Founder, RemoveAndReplace.com
Keith has spent 28 years repairing machines, starting as a military mechanic and later maintaining food processing equipment before moving into appliance repair. He founded RemoveAndReplace.com to share field-tested repair advice.
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I am currently building a music studio in a walkout basement. I have thin paneling on the walls. I hung 3×5′ Military Service flags on the walls and hid 2.5′ x 4.5′ sections of 2″ eggcrate foam behind each flag. Then placed rigid foam in the window sills and thick drapes over that. This greatly improved my acoustics in there.
Let’s say I buy that sound board from Home Depot.
Do you recommend I put it on the outside of my door, or on in the inside?
I mean inside my room or outside my room?
My door just not seem to be hollow. But the home I live in has all wood floors through out the floor I live on. The noise carryall quite a bit. What would be the best idea to dampen sound. Is there something I can put under the door.
My doors are 82″ x 80″ x 1 7/8″ Great Stuff is exactly what the name implies, but it is not inexpensive. Are there any other product you would recommend?
Great!! Doing this tomorrow. Thank you!!
Miko,
The acoustic panels can be cut and applied to your college room door. A hollow door needs something to block the sound and acoustic panels will work. You can try a vinyl sheeting too. You buy it in sheets, cut to size and apply to your door. Here are a few links to some good soundproofing for your college dorm door.
Mass Loaded Vinyl 4′ X 10′ 40 Square Feet 1 Lb MLV Acoustic Barrier
OR
Acoustic Wedge Studio Soundproofing Foam Wall Tiles
-RR