Insulate Your Home Against All That Racket

Noise is a funny thing. It’s invisible, so most people don’t even consider it an issue in their homes until they’re bothered by the ruckus.

So it goes with two of the most annoying noise problems facing homeowners and apartment-dwellers today: stereos and those darn airplanes.

Who was to know that the woman downstairs likes to crank up the surround sound at midnight? Years ago when many of the apartment buildings were being constructed, who could have anticipated the impact of stereo speakers on walls, floors - and neighbor relations?

Several Chicago area acoustical consultants shared their tips on how to muffle the music and the jet noise (or similar unpleasantness from trains and automobiles). We asked for ideas that make sense for people on a budget.

Ten years ago, Howard Schechter, formerly of the now-defunct Office of Noise Abatement and Control of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, did some soundproofing of his own, on a budget of a lot less than $15,000. The improvement was “dramatic,” says Schechter, noting that the strategy would work for fighting off auto and train noise as well.

Air conditioning

“I would do air conditioning number one, even if I had old windows, just so I could close them,” says Schechter. Keeping your windows closed will make a significant difference in how much traffic noise you hear.

Cost: $350 to $500 for a quiet-running window unit, depending on the size of the unit; $1,500 to $3,000 for central air for most homes.

Solid-core doors

Put them in every entrance. Could be wood, could be metal, says Schechter. Be sure to caulk around the frame - both inside and out - to seal off the leaks. Ordinary caulk will do, but look for acoustical caulk from drywall material suppliers which performs better as a soundproofing material.

Cost: $150 for a basic lumber-core door to as high as $1,000 or more, depending on how decorative and soundproof the door is; from $230 for a metal door. About $1 a tube for ordinary caulk; $3.40 a quart-tube for acoustical caulk.

Cost: $65 to $200 for a storm door.

More caulk

“Caulking is very cheap,” Schechter continues. Sealing up even the smallest of cracks can make a big difference. Caulk around window and door frames, on both the inside and out.

Cost: Schechter estimates that most homes can be entirely recaulked for $200.

Attic insulation

“I always look at this (insulation) from an energy conservation standpoint and a noise standpoint,” says Schechter. He recovered the $500 that he spent on extra-thick (8 inches) house insulation within two years on his heating bill.

Cost: about $42 for a 10-piece bundle, which comes out to about 54 cents a square foot.

Thermal pane windows

New windows can be a huge expense, definitely in the thousands of dollars. Again though, in the long run, they will end up saving you money on your energy bill, in addition to providing quiet, says Schechter. Storm windows and caulked all around them from the inside and out would also help.

Cost: $90 to $150 a storm window.

The best way to stop noise is at the source.

Ask your neighbor to take the speakers off shared walls or to lift them up off the hardwood (or other type of hard) floor. Speakers that are flush against a surface like a wall or floor transmit the music as energy into the structure of the building. Once it’s in the structure, noise can spread like an electric current on a track.