How To Soundproof A Door – Learn All The Ins And Outs

In modern buildings such as offices and new houses, many doors are constructed with a lightweight hollow core – these consist of a wooden frame veneered on both sides with little or no filling or ‘mass’.

The filling, or solid mass of a door is, in part, what helps absorb unwanted sounds. Hollow core doors, i.e. ones without a solid core, offer no density to block low frequency sounds.

Add in the fact there are gaps between the door, door frame and floor, and it’s clear to see how easily noise can enter in or escape from a room. In short, if air can travel through a gap then sound can just as easily.

As with all household improvements, soundproofing a door is not beyond the realms of a competent DIYer.

You can add mass to a door by cladding it with a layer of fibreboard on one or both sides. This mass loaded layer will make a difference to the transmission of sound through the door. You can also reduce sound leakage by fixing readily available, self-adhesive draught excluder strip around the inside of the door frame.

But it’s the gap at the bottom of the door that’s the biggest point of sound leakage. To eliminate noise creeping through at floor level, a sprung-loaded automatic door bottom or door sweep can be attached. But these are only temporary fixes and can take a while to be installed correctly. And, in addition, all these fixes will at best only partially soundproof a door.

If you’re not sure about the best solution for soundproofing a door, get in touch with the experts at Sound Control Services for FREE advice.

As designers, manufacturers and installers of industry proven acoustic solutions, we know exactly how to solve your doorway noise pollution problem professionally and permanently using acoustic door blankets.

To soundproof a door effectively means either changing the door and frame for a costlier acoustically rated door set, or adding more mass to the structure by installing an acoustic door blanket.

Typically, replacing the door for an acoustic door set could easily cost you upwards of £1,000 – an expensive undertaking if you need to replace several doors in an office environment or school, for example.

An acoustic door blanket on the other hand is a cost-effective way to retrofit a noise barrier without undue mess and inconvenience.

As experts in the field of noise control systems, Sound Control Services offer a range of market-leading acoustic door blankets designed to cover most of your sound attenuation requirements in industrial, domestic, commercial and other private and public environments.

We design blankets in fabrics and colours to complement your existing décor while remaining compliant with all Health & Safety regulations and fire-retardant standards.

Our blankets have high sound absorption front and rear layers in a quilted design. This quilted design provides reverberation control while the internal noise barrier core prevents sound transmission.

Quilted noise insulation blankets are the best choice for the media sector, including film and audio studios and music venues which demand a more aesthetically appealing appearance.

Our best-selling SC5P blankets, for instance, comprise five layers of composite with a high-mass membrane core surrounded by an absorbent layer on both sides. This is in turn encapsulated in a durable facing material, resulting in a high level of noise reduction.

The hand-stitched, hardwearing, acoustically tested fabric we use offers an acoustic rating of up to 34db – that’s quieter than a whisper! What’s more, these blankets are waterproof and are manufactured using fire retardant class 0 materials.

The acoustic door blankets are fitted with eyelets along the top for ease of mounting on hooks and Velcro® along all the edges allowing them to form a complete seal. The blankets are usually made 4cm larger on all sides than the doors they are designed for, allowing the door and frame to be fully enclosed making them extremely effective noise barriers.

And as a bonus, the installation of an acoustic door blanket will measurably reduce your energy bills.

The use of Velcro® and eyelets enable the acoustic blankets to be joined together providing a noise-resistant seal to cover wider doorways such as wheelchair-accessible entrances and large warehouse doors. They are also easily removable should you wish to move house or reconfigure your living space.

Soundproofing a door is something you can do at home yourself, to a degree. Adding mass and blocking gaps will go a long way to making a difference.

However, if you need better soundproofing, for a home office, sound studio, or just to make your world more peaceful, then acoustic door blankets are the cheaper and very effective alternative to a purpose-designed door and frame replacement.