One very important yet inexpnsive ingredient to successfully soundproofing on a budget is to use high quality acoustical caulk to seal both the gaps in and the perimeter of any soundproofing membrane.

Soundproofing On a Budget

Soundproofing your home does not have to cost a fortune. If you are under new construction we all know that money it tight. There are many common hardware store items that can be used for soundproofing that won’t break the bank. Most people don’t think of sand as a soundproofing material, but it actually a very good for soundproofing. If your walls are re-enforced, you can use sand in the stud cavities as a soundproofing material. You must be sure that your walls can withstand the weight of the sand. Always use refined or purified sand, not common beach sand that could cause mold or have other bacterial in it that will cause you problems down the line.

Let’s say you are in the middle of new construction on your new home and you know that one of the rooms is going to be your new home theater. You want that room soundproofed but you budget is already stretched to its limits. Did you know that you can use common rolled roofing material from Home Depot or Lowe’s? Rolled roofing is what is generally used on buildings like chicken coops and other roofs where aesthetics is not an issue but stopping leaks is. Rolled roofing generally comes in 30’ long rolls and is 3’ wide. I hear the little wheels in your brain spinning at a hundred miles and hour. What am I going to do with all this rolled roofing material? Well, I’m glad you asked. One of the best soundproofing agents on the market today is mass loaded vinyl, (MLV for short) Mass loaded vinyl is a high grade vinyl material that is impregnated with barium salts and silica to give it the same soundproofing properties as lead sheeting without the hazards associated with lead.

Now MLV can cost from $1.25 to $2.00 per sq ft and when you are building your new dream home that just might be beyond your budget. So now enters the rolled roofing material. I am suggesting that you stretch the rolled roofing material across the studs or the joists if you are soundproofing your ceiling. You will staple or nail the rolled roofing directly to the stud structure like a membrane across the face of the studs. The next section of rolled roofing should overlap the first piece by at least 1”. It is essential to caulk the over lap with an acoustical caulk (hey you have to buy something from the soundproofing guy for giving you all this free advice, right?). The acoustical caulk can be purchased from any reputable soundproofing company like Acoustical Solutions, Sound Isolation Company, or Soundproofing America. Any of these companies will carry a good quality acoustical caulk and can ship it to you. Now back to our soundproofed walls. Once you have the rolled roofing in place and you have caulked the 1” over lap, you will also need to caulk around the entire perimeter of the newly installed rolled roofing membrane. There is a little saying we have in the soundproofing industry, “Caulk is cheap”. I think you get the pun. The point is, use as much caulk as you need to seal every seam gap or crack in your soundproof membrane. You want this roofing material to be as sealed and air tight as possible. Now seeing as the rolled roofing does not have the same soundproofing horsepower as MLV, I would strongly suggest a second layer of the rolled roofing be applied to each wall and to the ceiling area that you that you are soundproofing. Stagger the seams wherever possible This is a small investment to have a soundproof room for your home theater or simply a quiet place to study.

Once you have your 2 layers of rolled roofing installed on your walls and ceiling and everything is caulked liberally, it is time for the finished layer of drywall. I would suggest installing a layer of 5/8” fire code drywall to finish off your soundproofing project. Don’t forget to tape mud and paint the finished drywall.

Now finally I would like to say a little bit about the acoustical caulk. Acoustical caulk is a cheap commodity when compared to the cost of other soundproofing agents, but it is one of the most essential parts of any soundproofing endeavor. Buy a good acoustical caulk and not some cheap silicone caulk. We are already being frugal with the soundproofing material; lets not skimp on the caulk. A good acoustical caulk is OSI-175 SC caulk or Tremco Smoke and Sound caulk. Both of these caulking compounds possess superb acoustical properties. If you have questions about acoustical caulk call one of the online soundproofing companies, they will be glad to help you.

Once the drywall is up and the rolled roofing is completely covered, you will discover that you have a well-soundproofed room and you did it a half the cost of using the professional soundproofing agents. That being said, today’s modern soundproofing products are extremely effective and I feel very reasonably priced compared to other specialized building materials. In this article I just wanted to show that there are other ways to soundproof a wall or ceiling with out using the more costly professional soundproofing agents. I hope this narrative has been informative; it was a pleasure writing it, as there is so little information out on the net about soundproofing. Once again, this is Dr. Bob…Out!

Soundproofing your car, truck, or motor home requires America mat; an electric carving knife; fine-grit sandpaper and an electrical sander; a pencil and butcher paper; a quality spray adhesive; and alcohol to clean the underside of you hood’s surface. Using these materials for soundproofing your car, truck, or motor home should take no more than four or five hours!

Soundproofing Your Car, Truck or Motor Home

There are a lot of products out there for soundproofing your car but there is precious little “How to” information out there regarding this subject. I am here to fill that void. When soundproofing any vehicle, the first order of business is to take care of the engine noise coming from under the hood. Most people don’t realize that a lot of the noise they hear in the passenger compartment of their vehicle is actually being transmitted from the engine and the road via the tires and shocks. In essence these sounds and vibrations are transmitted directly into the hood of the car which is a sheet of steel that simply transmits the noise through the hood I and into the windshield and ultimately to the passengers ears.

I know I know, you have some sort of fiberglass material attached to the underside of the hood, isn’t that soundproofing. I’m afraid not, basically that is a heat shield to prevent the heat of the engine from damaging the paint on the surface of the hood. It does work well for that, but it has absolutely no soundproofing abilities at all.

What I suggest is that you remove that fiberglass hood mat and then clean the underside of the hood thoroughly. You will then cut and glue in a piece of 1” America Mat which is a dense vinyl nitrile closed cell foam mat. What you want to do is trace out the underside of the hood using a pencil and butcher paper for example and trace out the cut that you want paying attention to the edges and the contours. How do I cut the foam so precisely you ask? Well I’m glad you asked. The absolute best way to accurately and precisely cut any kind of foam is to use an electric kitchen meat-cutting knife. These electric knives are readily available at Wal Mart or K-Mart and cost about $9- $12. It is well worth the investment if you plan on soundproofing your entire vehicle. Basically you would trace the pattern of the underside of the hood; you can actually cut the America mat to the same pattern as the protective mat that came with the car that way you know it will fit and look properly.

Once you have the America mat cut to your liking and the underside of the hood is cleaned down to the paint, I would recommend cleaning the underside with a terry cloth rag and some alcohol. This will insure good adhesion of the adhesive. You can also rough up the underside with a fine grit sand paper on an electric sander. Cover the engine with a towel or drop cloth to prevent adhesive of sand granules from getting into the motor. Now you will spray a good quality contact cement to the underside of the hood as well as to the smooth side of the America Mat. I like the 3M Super 77 spray contact cement. Keep the 2 pieces apart for as long as the instructions say and once the adhesive has tacked you will adhere the foam to the underside of the hood. You will want to use tape to hold the America mat to the underside of the hood until it dries enough to stick on its own. When the adhesive has dried you cam close the hood and drive off. The America mat can withstand temperatures of 240 Deg F and will literally last for the life of the vehicle.

This system can also be used on trucks and motor homes. We have many customers who have used the America mat to soundproof the “Doghouse” that covers the engine from the inside of their coach.

Now there are also materials that can be used for the floorboards as well as door panels and the back areas of station wagons or vans or the trunks of cars. We have also had people with classic cars use the America mat to soundproof their vehicles; it can make your Corvette sound a lot quieter with the top up. I hope this has helped you in your quest for a quieter vehicle. There will be more articles on car soundproofing in subsequent articles, until then, this is Dr. Bob….Out!!!