How To Soundproof A Home Office: 6 Easy Noise Reduction Tips

Working in your own home office is great because you get to enjoy all the flexibility and freedom that comes with it.

Unfortunately, noises can be a problem whether caused by your precious children, barking dogs or even loud neighbors.

This article aims to help soundproof your home office so that you can enjoy a quieter working environment.

Why Soundproof your Office?

Most people prefer to work in a quieter environment as studies showed that excessive noise can reduce productivity when compared to a silent quieter space which correlation studies reflected an increase in concentration and productivity.

Soundproofing your office is beneficial for your productivity and also for your overall mental health.

Here are some of the great ways to soundproof your office:

Step 1: Soundproof the Door

This is one of the areas that if you get it right, you can significantly lower the noises and sounds on your working environment Because a door has many visible gaps it makes an easy target for noise to come through it.

There are many things you can do to completely sound dampen your door, but here I will discuss the 2 methods that I find to be the most effective and cost-effective.

Seal the door gaps using soundproof weatherstrips

This is by far one of the most effective methods, and probably the easiest thing you can do today without hiring an acoustic expert.

Weatherstrips are great because not only they sound dampen the door but also insulate it, so you can work in a quiet peaceful and warmer office in cold winters.

One of the most surprising things about weatherstrips is how cheap they actually are.

How to sound dampen a door using weatherstrips

1. Measure the door frame
2. Cut the weather strips accordingly
3. Most of them are self-adhesive so you just attach them to the gaps
4.  Make sure every Gap is sealed
5. Test the door to see if it opens and close easily

Here we go! you see how easy it is to do it. The best thing is most people can afford it, and as you know by now that I like to find noise-proofing solutions that accommodate everyone and every budget.

2. Use Thick Sound Absorbing Blankets

If you really don’t have enough money to purchase the weatherstrip door kit, then the next to a free method is using thick blankets to block out noises in your office.

This is really simple all you have to do, Is get thick blankets and attach it to the wall. See our guide on how to soundproof a door using blankets here.

The downside with this is that it is not visually appealing and if you often get people coming to your office might not make a great impression, however, if it is just an informal office you can definitely use this method.

Step 2: Sound Dampen the Windows

As you expected, the next you might want to do is to block the noises and sounds coming through your window, Just like the door, it is important to stop the noises and echoes coming through the windows.

Fortunately, The DIY methods I will be discussing are really simple and pretty cheap too.

1. Install Noise Reducing Curtain

The name might make them sound expensive and fancy, but in reality, these are drapes that are created from thick heavy sound-absorbing materials, and guess what? they are cheaper too, just like the ordinary ones but these curtains will drastically reduce echoes and sounds.

Right after installing them you will surely notice the difference instantly. There are many different ones on the market but my personal favorite Nice town Soundproof Curtains.

2. Create Soundproof Window Plugs

I am not going to go in-depth with how to create these because I already wrote an article covering it.

Basically, window plugs are sound absorbing plugs that you create using cheap sound-absorbing materials. They are much cheaper given the fact that you make them yourself but a little bit time-consuming.

If you are tight on budget then this might really help you.

Step 3: Soundproofing the walls

Now, we want to combat the noises and low frequency sounds coming through the wall. There are effective ways to go about achieving this including:

 Adding a Drywall using Green Glue

This is one of the most effective ways to combat the noises on your wall. Green glue is a noise-proofing glue that is created with an intention to absorb any sounds.

This is slightly costly because it’s like you building a new wall on top of an existing wall however it is effective because the green glue is known to do wonders.

You will additionally be required to get drywall to use with the noise-proof glue. if you are considering using this option.

It is fairly easy to install, This video will teach you everything you need to know regarding green glue.

Installing Acoustic Foam

Another great office soundproofing idea is using foam panels, this is not as effective as adding drywall but it is more cost-effective and will get rid of some noises and echoes.

Acoustic foam panels are foams that I created to balance sounds, reduce echoes & reverbs and also lower noises. You often see them in studios.

It is important to know that acoustic foam is often used for acoustical purposes, I will certainly reduce the amount of the noise and prevent sounds from bouncing around creating echoes effect.

The best Acoustical foams that I personally used and recommend are Foamily Egg Crate.

What I like about foam panels is the fact that they can be used as a temporarily soundproofing solution.

And the fact that they don’t damage the walls makes it attractive.

 Hang Blankets (Cheaper method)

This is the cheapest thing you can do right now, You can alternatively hang thick blankets on your wall, again this is not good for aesthetics but will at least lower some of that disturbing sound, so you can work with full attention.

The key here is to use, thick sound absorbing blankets and moving blankets are what I would recommend you use.

Bass Traps

If you also looking to reduce the low-frequency sounds, then you might want to consider getting bass traps, as the name suggests bass traps are designed to absorb bass noise.

These are quite straightforward, all you have to do is place one on every corner of your office.

Step 4: Sound Dampen the ceiling

This is not as important, because if you start with the first 3 steps, you should notice a significant drop in the noise levels and echoes.

You can attach drywall using green glue to sound dampen your ceiling, however, there are alternatives here are cheap ways to soundproof a ceiling.

Step 5: Reducing noise on the floor

If your office has a hard noisy floor then you might want to work on it because that creates echoes and is noisy. you can go about achieving this by doing either the following:

1. Adding a Carpet: there are thick sound-absorbing carpets you can use and will surely reduce the footstep noises.
2. Add some soft rugs: this will combat the sounds bouncing on your floor.

Step 6: Sound dampen Air Vents

Due to the number of holes you can spot in the air vents, it is important to consider sound dampening it.

Other Tips on Sound dampening your home office:

These are other things you can do, to help and supplements the above methods.

• Get a white noise machine: this great because white noise sounds will help you also relax and help you focus and work effectively
• Get sound-absorbing plants: these are harder to find, but if you really into nature plants can help absorb sounds as well.
• Get a Quiet Keyboard for typing
• Consider Adding a carpet rug to help reduce the echoes

Final thoughts on Soundproofing an Office

I hope this article helped you soundproof your home office easily If you have any questions feel free to ask me. Good luck with your DIY project!