Soundproofing with Acoustic Foam Insulation

My teenage sons got hooked on those Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games a few years ago. Not long after, they started begging for real instruments. One wanted to play guitar and the other wanted to play drums. I'm all for allowing and encouraging creative, artistic expression, so I decided to buy the gear and pay for lessons. Unfortunately, the neighboring houses are pretty close, which meant that noise would likely be a problem. That's why I read about soundproofing with acoustic foam insulation prior to getting those instruments.

There are many different ways to soundproof a room. Some ways are quite exotic and expensive, while others are more affordable but less effective. I think using acoustic foam insulation is a middle of the road approach as far as residential projects are concerned. I liked the price and the ease of installation, so that's the route I decided to take.

Anyway, acoustic foam insulation is that material that looks like the inside of an egg carton. You just put it up on the walls of whatever room you want to soundproof, and the stuff works immediately to absorb sound, prevent vibrations and keep things relatively quiet. There are different thicknesses and grades of acoustic foam insulation available, so you can choose the material that best suits your needs. Obviously the thicker stuff will cost a lot more. If you're looking to do something like that, you should expect to spend several thousand dollars to insulate a single room. The total cost will depend on how big your room is, of course, but even a small room can cost thousands.

If you want to check out the different kinds of acoustic foam insulation available, I recommend spending some time on the Internet. You can find all the information you need to get started and can even order acoustic foam insulation online. In addition, you'll be able to look at a few of the more popular alternatives, including do-it-yourself solutions such as nailing carpeting over your walls or making the walls thicker by putting up additional sheetrock. These alternatives are certainly cheaper and might work for some applications, but I felt neither of them would be good enough for a music room. Just remember to consider your own purposes and choose the alternative that will actually work. There's no sense in going through the motions only to find out that your actions had no effect at all.

The bottom line is acoustic foam insulation worked for my family. It doesn't block the noise out completely, but it dampens things enough so that we only hear very dull sounds coming out from the basement. Best of all, the neighbors haven't complained even once -- and that was what we were really worried about.