What Is The Cheapest Way To Soundproof A Door?

If you live(d) in a townhouse or apartment buildings, you can relate to hearing your neighbors talk in the hallway loudly, slam the door, or even hear traffic outside your house. One of the worst ways through which noise can enter your home is the door. As a result of the need to stop the noise from entering the house, you must soundproof your door. However, soundproofing can be expensive. This makes it imperative to identify the cheapest way to sound a door.

The cheapest way to soundproof a door is using a very thick and heavy blanket or quilt that you have in your house already and not using. All you have to do is turn it into a form of a soundproof blanket and hang it over your door. It is the cheapest because you will not be buying anything since you already have the blanket in the house.

In this article, I will be looking at why doors allow a lot of noise into your house and why it is challenging to be soundproof. I will also be examining seven different ways through which you can soundproof your door on a budget. 

Why Doors Allow In A Lot Of Noise

When you moved into your place, you were probably expecting to deal with your neighbor’s noise from above and beside. It is because we believe that the biggest soundproofing problem is shared walls. However, this is not true as doors are most likely the most overlooked noise source in houses.

Builders can buy and install acoustically rated sound doors, but we all know that they are extremely expensive. As a result, most houses have thinner, cheaper doors that allow all forms of noise to be candid. Renters are probably going to get a door with cardboard or honeycomb MDF core or a hollow door. 

Most of the interior doors in houses are hollow doors, and this type of door is a good sound conductor as it is full of air. If you find that your door is one of the noisy, thin doors, you must start looking at different options for soundproofing. 

Why Soundproofing Your Door Is Challenging

Soundproofing a door comes with a variety of challenges, and if you are not the owner of the house, it is not as easy as having the existing door replaced with one that is better designed to block out the noise. Some of the challenges associated with soundproofing a door are:

1. The gaps existing along the door edges (the door frame) are a path for sound.
2. The door is possibly very thin, and it allows noise to penetrate easily and end up in your apartment or home.
3. The gap at the door’s bottom is responsible for most of the noise leak.

Seven Ways You Can Soundproof Your Door On A Budget

From my experience living in different places with poor soundproofing, I have the requisite knowledge about handling situations of poor door soundproofing. Some tips on the doors in your home that you should soundproof that might be helpful to you include:

• Soundproof a door that is between two rooms.
• Soundproof the front door of the apartment.
• Soundproof a dorm door.
• Soundproof a double door.
• Soundproof interior doors.

In short, you need to soundproof all the doors in your home. As a result of the relatively expensive cost of soundproofing, here are the seven ways you can soundproof your door on a budget.

For more information, check out my Complete Guide to Building a Home Recording Studio.

Fill The Cracks And Gaps With Weather Stripping Tape

If you have a door that you can see the light coming in from outside through its crack, the first thing that you should do is seal up the cracks and gaps in the door. It is a challenge because you still have to open the door with relative ease while taking noise reduction to the maximum. With a couple of cheap materials and minimal effort, you can achieve this. 

To get the job done, you need foam weather stripping tape. Installing it is very easy because one side of it is adhesive. If you are renting the apartment, there is no need to worry as you can remove it easily anytime you want to move, and it won’t leave behind any damage. Weather-stripping seals gaps between the door frame and the door, and it also helps keep out heat and cold, which is excellent for your cooling and heating bills.

Fill The Gaps With Acoustic Sealant

If there is a gap between the wall and your door frame, that is another way that noise pollution leaks into your apartment or home. It is possible to fix this using acoustic caulking which is quite cheap. There is a variety of acoustic caulk in the market that you can choose from, but from my experience, I would recommend the Green Glue. You are also going to need a caulking gun.

Use A Draft Stopper Or Door Sweep

This product type was designed to keep drafts and bugs out; it works through the blockage of the gaps present at your door’s bottom. Even though it was not designed for soundproofing, you can block the noise from outside under the door with the door sweep.

There are various designs, including vinyl strips which you can apply to a door with the help of an adhesive strip with a fabric piece that you place in front of your door. From my own experience, door sweeps attached to the door’s bottom have the best benefits in sound blocking.

Use Furniture To Block Doors Not in Use

If a door in your home allows in a lot of noise, but you do not regularly use it, you can rearrange your furniture and block the noise. Furniture that is best suited for this is thick, tall furniture like entertainment centers and bookcases. It is also crucial that you do not leave the shelves empty. You can fill the shelves up with items that absorb sounds.

Use A Soundproof Blanket To Cover The Door

If you can afford to spend some money, you can buy a soundproof blanket. They are very thick and great at absorbing and blocking sounds. From my experience, the best soundproof blankets are those that are very thick and are used by movers with furniture. They tend to have industrial strength in blocking sounds.

Hang A Heavy Quilt Over The Door

If you do not have any money to spend on soundproofing your door, you can use items you have in your house. If you have any spare thick blankets or quilts in your house, you can use them to soundproof your door by hanging them over the door.

Hang Soundproof Curtains

If there is a door that you use all the time, and you do not want to put thick blankets or quilts over the doors, you should consider getting soundproof curtains.

Conclusion

Soundproofing our spaces has become necessary, but at the same time, they are relatively expensive. Employing the different cheap ways to soundproof your door at home can help you save a lot of money while also ensuring that you keep the noise out of your home. Doing something as simple as hanging a very thick blanket by your door can help keep the noise out.

Sources

1. https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-cheapest-way-to-soundproof-a-door
2. https://soundproofsilence.com/how-to-soundproof-a-door/
3. https://soundproofliving.com/how-to-soundproof-a-door/
4. https://www.audiolisted.com/how-soundproof-door/