Improve the sound insulation of your door
How do you improve the sound insulation of your existing door? Read the tips and tricks below. Doors are often a weak link in partition constructions. This is partly because the door is usually lighter than the wall in which it is installed, and partly because there are often gaps and openings around the door leaf. Especially in situations where the frames do not fit well and/or no threshold has been applied, the risk of sound leaks is high.
Approach
1. Listen carefully to the sound source. The character of the sound is crucial for the result to be achieved. Very low tones, for example in a listening room or a home cinema, require different measures than mid- and high-frequency tones.
2. Check the fit of the door in the frame. Are there any gaps visible, for example? If so, seal these with door seals or rubber buffers. Often these are self-adhesive and easy to apply in the frame. Tip: Choose seals of the correct thickness. Too thick seals may cause the door to close poorly.
3. In many modern buildings, no thresholds are used. This often results in a gap at the bottom of the door. Choose a sound-insulating drop seal to close the gap at the bottom. A drop seal lowers itself once the door is closed. Tip: A drop seal is recessed into a door leaf that is at least 4 cm thick. The execution of this requires an advanced DIYer.
4. Especially in spaces with many hard, sound-reflecting surfaces, the noise level is amplified. Reduce this sound box effect by applying sound-absorbing materials. For a technical room, a product like EASYfoam is sufficient, but for a living space, other solutions are more aesthetically pleasing.
5. If the sound is low frequency or very loud in nature, sealing gaps is usually not sufficient to achieve a good result. A lightweight door can be weighted down by adding a heavy wooden panel. This should be applied flush. Due to the additional thickness, new door hardware may be necessary. In combination with steps 2 and 3, it is also worth considering purchasing a new soundproof door. This comes with a frame that fits perfectly, achieving sound reduction of up to 48 dB (rw).
6. Align the door with the construction it fits into. As mentioned earlier, the soundproofing of the wall is only as strong as its weakest link. A very heavy, well-made soundproof door in a lightweight plaster wall will not deliver maximum results, because in this case the wall itself is the weakest link.
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