How is it that you’re going to soundproof the wall when you don’t even own it? How are you going to add an extra layer of drywall onto the wall to stop those sound waves, so you can’t hear your noisy neighbors anymore?
There are a few things that you can do, even if you’re renting, that can reduce some of the noise, and they apply to reducing noise in homes and businesses across New Jersey.
Why Acoustic Foam Is Not the Answer
There’s a lot of information online telling you to just add some acoustic foam onto the wall, and that will solve all of your problems. The thing is, acoustic foam is a sound absorber, it’s not a sound blocker. All this will do is reduce the echo in the room that you’re in.
Soundproof Solutions for Home & Business
It’s not going to stop the sound waves from your noisy neighbors from coming into your unit, so acoustic foam is not really the way to go for reducing noise in your residential property or business.
Add Mass With a Full-Wall Bookshelf
Yes, you can add mass on a wall in a rental, but it all has to be temporary, because you have to take it down when you leave. One thing that can add mass to the wall and actually block some of the sound waves from entering or exiting the room is a bookshelf, a unit that covers the entire wall.
The trick is to have it from ceiling to floor, from side to side. Cover the entire wall and then add books onto the shelf. It’s going to be a great barrier, and this works in any New Jersey apartment, house, or office.
Mass Loaded Vinyl Behind the Unit
These sheets of fake wood aren’t really great at blocking sound, but what you can add between the wall and the sheet of fake wood is mass-loaded vinyl. Attach it directly behind the sheet of wood, so there’s an extra barrier between the other room and the room that you’re in.
After that’s done, you fill it up with books or with decorations, but having that mass-loaded vinyl in between is basically the key to stopping the most noise.
Heavy Blankets and Drapes
If you don’t want to use mass-loaded vinyl and you want something a lot cheaper, you can hang a heavy blanket, heavy drapes, or even a moving blanket, something that is heavy and thick. This is good at absorbing noise, but it does block a little bit of noise too.
Seal Your Electrical Outlets
Another thing that you can do to help stop noise from coming into your unit from your neighbor is look at your electrical outlets, and this applies to reducing noise in commercial properties and homes with shared walls.
Before doing that, go to your breaker panel and shut off the electricity, just in case something happens. Then take the face plate off, look inside, and most of the time you’ll see a big gap between the electrical outlet box and the wall, and in those electrical boxes, there are a lot of holes. A lot of the time, between apartment units, there is no insulation.
Soundproofing Windows
If you are trying to soundproof an exterior wall that also has a window, that can create a challenge in a rental, because you can’t really go ahead and change the window.
Acoustic Window Inserts
One thing that you can buy is acoustic window inserts. If you have an odd-shaped window, it might be difficult to bring it to your next dwelling, but if you have a standard-sized window or a smaller window, it won’t cost that much, and you can bring it to your next unit or your home.
If you have a single-pane window, tap it with your nail and you can tell there’s just one sheet of glass; the window insert works very well. However, if you have a double or triple-pane window, if you tap on the window, it’s quite hard; it doesn’t make any echo, then it’s not going to work as well, because there’s already a lot of noise being blocked by the window itself.
Sound Deadening Curtains
If the window insert is not what you’re looking for, you can buy some sound-deadening curtains. These are also called blackout curtains. There are two layers, and then in the middle, there’s a black felt, so it blocks out the sun a lot better than it blocks out noise, but it does help a little bit in blocking noise.
FAQs
Does soundproofing a rental work both ways?
A lot of renters not only want to stop hearing their noisy neighbors, but they might not want your neighbor to also hear you, so it kind of works both ways.
What is mass-loaded vinyl?
Mass-loaded vinyl comes in a roll, it’s very heavy, it’s thin, it’s a rubber-type material, and it works well at blocking noise and also absorbing some noise, but really, it’s more of a noise blocker.
How much do acoustic window inserts cost?
They are custom-made and do cost quite a lot of money, between $300 to upwards of over $1,000, depending on the size of the window.
Do sound-deadening curtains block outside noise?
Sound-deadening curtains are good for deadening the noise inside your unit, but they do help a little bit to block some of the noise coming from outside. It’s not a miracle, but it does help a little bit.
Why does a bookshelf need to cover the entire wall?
You have to cover the entire wall, because if only half of the wall is covered, it’s not going to be effective enough that you’re actually going to be satisfied.
Conclusion
That’s pretty well what you can do that works relatively well to drown out some noise, whether it’s reducing noise in a home or a business anywhere in New Jersey.
