6 Cheap Soundproofing Materials for Budget DIY Attempts

Did you ever get surprised after Googling some soundproofing options and seeing how expensive certain products are? I definitely did. The world of soundproofing often gets complex with all the heavy-duty products that are made to get the job done.

Luckily for us, there are some things we can use for soundproofing that are very affordable and accessible. Without further ado, here are some materials you can use in your DIY soundproof setup.

Furniture

The first thing on this list potentially won’t even cost you anything. If you’re living in a house or apartment, you’ll most likely have some furniture that is placed around your living space. Thick furniture items play a big role in controlling the sound that comes and goes.

So, you can move the couches and drawers into optimal positions that will block off sound that is leaking through. The best places to put these are against shared walls and the walls that are facing the street.

The more furniture you add, the more sound will be insulated. Think of how a room echos when there is nothing in it. In terms of soundproofing, it’s better to have more than just one couch in a living room.

Moving furniture around is the most subtle way of soundproofing without adding anything drastic to your living area that will stick out, meaning it’s the best place to start.

Carpets

Another piece of material that you may have already would be a carpet. Most people without carpeted floors will add rugs to their living areas to add a sense of decorative warmth. Those rugs will do wonders in eliminating some unwanted sound.

If you don’t have a small carpet, you should get one. It will add some flavor to the space while doubling up as a soundproofing solution. The best place to put a rug is near a doorway.

Most doors have fairly large spaces at the bottom, causing them to let a lot of sound to get through. The carpet that is placed near that space will insulate the sound that gets through.

The thicker the carpet, the better it will work. You’ll need to do some digging to find a thick rug that will fit the aesthetic appeal of your home.

Moving Blankets

One common solution that studios use for soundproofing is hanging thick blanket panels on the wall. There are several fantastic soundproofing blankets available to buy. However, they’re mostly very expensive.

A great way of making a budget version of these blankets is to use moving blankets. The blankets that you wrap all your belongings in when you move are extremely thick. The thicker the blanket is, the more soundproofing it provides.

These Sure-Max blankets work extraordinarily well at soundproofing and insulting a room. As they’re just designed to wrap around large items, there’s no initial way of hanging them up on a wall like you would do with the expensive soundproof blankets.

Now’s the time for your DIY skills to be tested. You can hang them on the walls by using nails or glue. You could also cleverly hang them over objects to keep them securely in place.

Soundproof Curtains

The problem with the moving blankets is that they won’t look subtle. Although they work very well, they tend to stick out and many people don’t like that. A good alternative would be soundproof curtains.

These curtains work the same as the moving blankets, except they’re just hung like normal curtains on a rail. Once they’re hung up, most people won’t even realize that they’re different from normal curtains.

The big difference is that they’re a lot thicker than standard curtains. Many soundproof curtains are designed to look sleek and modern in a living area.

If you don’t want to buy a set of soundproof curtains like these from NiceTown, you could try make some yourself by layering standard curtains together. This will make a thicker surface insulate sound.

Soundproof curtains unfortunately aren’t as effective as blankets that are hung up on the wall. However, they’re a lot more attractive to look at.

Sealing Materials

The two main sources of sound leakage are the door and the windows. You can purchase some sealing materials to fill in the gaps that are left in these two areas. One fantastic material to use is weatherstripping tape.

This tape allows you to seal all the small gaps that are present by the windows and doors. It keeps them airtight when closed, eliminating a lot of sound from getting through.

Another good thing to use is a rubber door stopper. It will keep the gap underneath the door sealed and it will also have the added benefit of stopping the door from slamming.

Cheap Foam for DIY Panels

If you’re somewhat of a handyman, you could make your own soundproofing panels. To do this, you’ll need to get hold of some insulating materials and then construct frames to place them in and then hang them on the walls.

One of the cheapest materials to get is acoustic foam. You can then attach the foam to a wooden frame that is of a similar size. Once the foam and frame are attached, you’ll need to cover the panel with something that fits the aesthetics of the space you’re putting it in.

If you don’t cover it, it will stand out like a sore thumb on the wall. You’ll need to make a few of these in order for them to have a big effect on the soundproofing of the space.

Conclusion

These cheaper ways of soundproofing can become very effective if you utilize them together. The more soundproofing methods you apply, the better results you’ll get.

It’s important to know that you won’t be able to completely soundproof a room as well as a soundproof studio room by using these DIY hacks. It takes an hectic amount of effort to do that. However, these methods will do the job well enough for most people.

Whether you’re a loud musician or you’re just trying to not hear your neighbors, placing padding all over will always do the trick.