What to use to sound dampen-proof walls in living room? (1 Viewer)

[Doobu Wang]

I want to sound dampen or maybe even sound-proof my walls in my living room so sound would be muted or eliminated from traveling into my bedroom to which it is adjacent. One of my problems is that of course there's a door on the corner on one side of my living room wall that goes into my bedroom so even if I do sound-dampen the walls sound may still come through the door. Another problem is I live in an apartment so I can't really reconstruct anything in the wall and I can't put any adhesive to something and stick it on the wall and I don't really desire to since I might move within a year. So what I'm looking for is something portable (ie some kind of panel) or something easy to setup with nails (I think that's the most they'll let me do to a wall). And of course I hope for it to be affordable. Any suggestions and links or storenames would be appreciated. And any suggestions on the door that would be affordable would be appreciated too. And when I mean affordable I mean in the under $1000 range and preferably under $500 for the walls for sure and for everything would be a plus. I really don't know how expensive this could get so I couldn't really say what affordable really is but basically as cheap as I can get while making a noticeable reduction in the sound traveling to my room

 

[Mark Nelson]

Doobu
At Home Depot there is a product that comes in 4' by 8' sheets and is 1/2" thick called Sound Board. It costs approx. $7.00 per sheet. It's made of compressed brown fibers and can be cut with a skill saw. Normally it is applied under the sheetrock during construction for excellent room/room sound isolation. I have used this along with rock wool insulation and R/C channel to completely isolate many Home Theaters.
I also have a number of clients who have used it successfully in apartments as a makeshift soundproofing solution. It is tacked up to the appropriate wall and door with small finish nails using as few as possible and then the seams are sealed with duct tape. The door should be sealed around the jam with rubber adhesive weatherstripping also available at Home Depot. If done with care, this is very affective and inexpensive and easily removable. I have an older woman customer who used a single 4x8 sheet placed against the wall behind her TV to stop the complaints from an adjoining apartment.
This is not pretty paneling, so most of my clients who did this wrapped the front surface of the sound board with a fabric of their choice. Then it looks like an attractive wallpaper.
Best of Luck
MTN

 

[Howard_A]

It sounds similar to what I used in my media room. My builder called it asphalt impregnated sheathing.

 

[Doobu Wang]

Is there anything else that I could use like an acoustical foam that is lightweight or any kind of foam that is lightweight, that is affordable and can easily be tacked onto the wall?

 

[Grant B]

You can get rigid insulation either in 3 or 5 inch thickness. I believe they are in 4 x 8 or 4 x 10 foot sheeta.
very light weight
I use one to prop up against the door on real loud movies.
Helps keep the death threats down to a minimum
good luck

 

[Doobu Wang]

Where can I get that rigid insulation you were talking about? What is it made out of? And is it affordable? Thanks.

 

[Armando H]

Chech this out : www.JaDecor.com . It won't sound proof the room, but it will help.

 

[Doobu Wang]

I can't apply any kind of paint to the wall or anything that would alter the wall since it is an apartment that I'm living in. They would only allow nailing something to the wall or using some adhesive to attach something to the wall that would easily come off without damaging it.

 

[ReneS]

Hey Mark,
Does that sound board have to be installed under the fiber board or can it be placed between the studs. I'm building a house and want to soundproof a room as best as possible. The builder will charge me mega extra $$ to put up an additional layer of soundboard before the fiber board, but will allow me to insert pieces of whatever I want between the studs before the fiber board is installed.
Also since I would probably have to put the sound board inside the walls should I put 2 pieces of 1/2" or is 1 enough?
Thanks.