A DIYer's Guide to Soundproofing on a Budget

If you simply tell your building contractor in advance to reinforce your home's walls, you can pour purified, mold-free sand into its stud cavities and have inexpensive and highly effective soundproofing.

If you've decided to soundproof only one room in your home, you can simply use rolled roofing available in 30' x3' rolls from any Lowe's or Home Depot. If you've investigated soundproofing materials at all, you know that MLV, or mass loaded vinyl, is one of the best around, but it normally costs anywhere from $1.25 to $2.00 per square foot, and that can put a serious dent in any home building budget. MLV is permeated with silica and barium salts, giving it the soundproofing qualities of lead sheeting without any toxic properties.

Using Rolled Roofing When Soundproofing On A Budget

But you can make your own economical substitute for MLV by stapling or nailing a membrane of the rolled roofing across your stud frame with each section overlapping the previous one by at least one inch. You'll have to use acoustical caulk from a top soundproofing materials manufacturer like Sound Isolation Company, caulking not only the overlaps but the whole perimeter of the rolled roofing membrane, so that all the gaps in it have been sealed.

Your rolled roofing, of course, will not be soundproof as MLV, so I highly recommend that you staple and caulk a second layer over the first on both the walls and ceiling of you room. Stagger the seams where you can, install, mud, tape, and paint a final layer of 5/8" drywall which is fire-code compliant, and you'll have a soundproof room which costs
a fraction of what you would have otherwise paid!

The Importance Of Acoustical Caulk In Soundproofing On A Budget
The best method you have doing soundproofing on a budget is to use the best possible acoustical caulk. When compared to any other soundproofing materials, acoustical caulk is the least expensive, yet your choice of acoustical caulk can make or break the success of your soundproofing project. Don't try to save even more on your soundproofing by substituting a silicone caulk for genuine acoustical caulk.

Two high quality acoustical caulks are OSI-175 SC, and Tremco Smoke and Sound caulk. Either of these caulks will add excellent sound dampening properties to your soundproofing project. You can learn more about the different acoustical caulks by visiting the websites of soundproofing material manufacturers or calling them by phone.

There are ways to do your Soundproofing Tip on a budget, and I hope this article has given you the information you need to get your home soundproofing project underway!

You can also find more info on Soundproofing. Soundproofingbliss.com is a comprehensive resource which provide information about sound proofing item.

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