Soundproof Flooring For Apartments
Nobody wants to deal with the noise of their house and sometimes it is from other’s house also who are living on the very upper floor of your room. Most of the noises produce because of floor vibration so, here are the best tips and strategies to soundproof floor in apartment.
Many of us want to soundproof the floor but we think that only professional workers can do this work but, this is not really the truth. Here are the ways which say how to soundproof a floor in an apartment individually without any professional need.
About Soundproofing Floors
Basically, the majority of the noise is caused by the floor of your room. So, this article is gonna cover soundproofing hardwood floors or tiles.
When you move the furniture on the floor like a chair or any home accessory, it creates a vibration on the floor, and the people who stay downstairs will face the annoying noise. Even you will face the same inside the room.
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to soundproof a floor in an apartment, these ways are way simpler and some of them you would have applied also in your room. You don’t need any special instruments to install the suggested products.
Note: The following ways are simple and inexpensive ways.
Why Soundproofing Hardwood Floors?
As we have mentioned above that, most of the noise is created by the vibration of floors and unlike the ceiling and wall, the floor is a way easier place to perform any task because on the wall or ceiling you need to hang or stick the things but on the floor you just need to put something on the floor.
If we talk with the money perspective also, soundproofing a hardwood floor is cheaper than soundproofing a ceiling or wall.
6 Best Ways To Soundproof Flooring For Apartments
So, here are the 6 best ways to soundproof the floor in an apartment, and some of these you may have applied also. So, check them out.
1. Using Rug Or Carpet
The carpet is one of the most commonly used things in a home. Many people love to have hardwood floors or ceramic tiles on the floors. There are plenty of choices for carpets or rugs online, you just need to know how to choose the best rug for your room.
The carpets help to soak and distribute the vibration throughout the area or surroundings so that the sound becomes lighter and doesn’t create any noise.
There the option of floor protecting materials if you think the carpet can damage the hardwood floor then you can use those floor-protecting materials on the floor and then put carpet over that.
There is a huge variety of color, length, and thickness of carpet is available in the market. You can take it according to your need but you must know that the more thickness means the better result.
It is always better and advised to have the padding underneath the rug because that will protect your rug as well as soak the sound in a better way. Just use the cleaning machines for cleaning the laminate floor and then keep the padding.
Note: High pile rugs help is deadening the sound in a better way than the low pile rugs because the high pile rugs are thicker.
If you need a carpet cum rug which will work best for your floor then we must suggest Andecor Soft.
2. Rubber Sound Killing Floor Mats
Rubber sound killing floor mats are highly effective when it comes to killing the sound. If the carpet is not being enough to prevent the sound from coming out then you must give this thing a look.
The rubber mats are generally used in high traffic areas like gym or factory just because of their awesome sound-absorbing capacity. There are many advantages of using rubber mats on the floor and some of them are
- comes under an affordable price
- Awesome soak absorbing capacity
- just doesn’t slip at all
If you are using any carpet then we will suggest you use the rubber mats underneath the carpet because it is quite cheap and highly effective.
There are no limitations in installing them in house and it is very easy to install also. It is the best option if you have the workout place in the home.
Note: If you use the rubber mat underneath the carpet, then the height will slightly increase but after lying everything down, it will not be noticeable.
We will suggest having Corporation 396S1624BK Heavy Duty as the best rubber mat.
3. Multi-use Mats
Multi-use mats are not ideally made for soundproofing the hardwood floors but they work very well for this. Most of the multi-use mats are used in the high traffic area and they are really effective on sound-absorbing.
They are not kept underneath the rugs or carpets, rather they do their job very well alone. Just clean the laminate floor(with the help of the laminate floor cleaner) or whatever floor you have and put on it.
Mostly they are used in the kids’ area or exercising places. These mats are very easily portable.
They come like puzzle pieces and because of this, it is very easy to pick up them within a couple of minutes and reinstall also. As they come like pieces of a puzzle, it can be installed in big places and in a small area also(use the number of pieces according to the area available).
As they come in pieces, if one piece tears, you can easily replace that with another piece.
They not only soak the sound but also protect the floor very nicely. I would suggest you have Angels 20 XLarge Foam Mats.
4. Mass Loading Vinyl(MLV)
Mass Loading Vinyl is one of the most suggested products when it comes to soundproofing the floor. This is a great option for killing sounds and comes under an affordable price also.
Why is it so much effective? MLV is very much effective because of its high density which creates a sound barrier.
You can install MLV on the floor, wall, and ceiling also. MLV can handle the sound alone itself but if you use the MLV, mat, and carpet all along, then it will be way significant to use but normally in apartments, you will not need this much of a sound barrier.
The problem with the MLV is, you need to nail or screw it to the floor and because of this, it can be installed in your own house, not in any other’s apartment in which you are living now as they may not allow you to nail in their property.
If the owner of your apartment denies the plan of installing MLV in your room then you have to go with the normal things only like carpet, mat, and all.
I suggest going with TMS Mass Loaded Vinyl if you are interested to buy a mass loading vinyl.
5. Underlayment
Floor underlayment is again one of the best solutions to soundproof floor in apartment. They are very much budget-friendly and works so well on the floors.
This is a three-layered material, middle thin layer is sandwiched between the two materials. Mainly, they are used in the ceiling and floors to prevent excessive noise creation.
We won’t discuss installation in the ceiling. Let’s see about the floors. If you are using an underlay, you must use them on the laminate or engineered wood floor rather than on a solid wood floor because you need to nail them on the floor.
If you are going to use the underlay on the laminate or engineered floor then there is nothing called “best underlay”. The best thing will depend upon your need and application.
How underlayment helps in blocking th sound? Underlayment is able to do so because it is made of recycled fibers that absorb sound and prevent passing from one side to another side of the floor.
Check Out the video to understand how to choose the best underlay for your floor.
6. Soundproofing Compounds
If you are not at all interested to use the carpet and all for soundproofing the floor then you are gonna love this product which is called “green glue”. This is very much worth buying and the best value for the money.
You need to pay attention to the guide they provide for installation. They work so great in reducing the sound, even it can reduce the sound up to 58dB which creates a huge difference.
How to use green glue? Well, you need to paste them between the two layers of the subfloor, the layer should be moisture free and nails and all shouldn’t be there.
There is no particular pattern, you can apply the glue in random pattern on the sheet and paste over the another sheet.
The green glue is basically a flexible material unlike PL 400 and silicon caulk and because of this flexibility the sound gets rejected to go to the other side of the wall.
There are two sizes available, one is smaller(in the above pic) which is used for small spaces and another one is the five gallon pail which is used for the large area.
Note: The maximum result in reducing the sound you will get to feel after almost 30 days of installation.
FAQs On Soundproofing Floors
Can you soundproof between floors?
Yes, absolutely you can soundproof between the floors. The normal ways are using rugs, carpets, rubber mats, etc. But the most effective ways to soundproof between floors are insulation between the floors or use the green glue on the ceiling plates so that it creates a space between the walls and glue soaks the sound energy and doesn’t let it pass through the wall.
Are Floating floors noisy?
Yes, apparently the floating floors are noisy because obviously they are floating on the floor and not attached to the subfloor so because of the gap in between them, the noise produces when you walk. Sometimes it is the fault of the quality of the product you are using so always try to buy a costlier floating floor.
What materials can block sound?
As I mentioned the products above. If your budget is average then you must use the rugs, carpets, rug pads, rubber mats, underlay. These are the best options to go with in order to soundproof your floor.
What absorbs sound the best?
If we talk about types of materials that absorb sound best are, soft thick materials, thick rubber-type materials, insulation between the layers, etc.
Conclusion
So, these were the best and cheapest ways to soundproof the floors. These are the methods you can do without tearing things up in your house. If are interested to go beyond these techniques then they would be costlier and need professional help.
These were the 6 best ways to soundproof flooring for apartments and if you are having noise issues even after putting the carpet on the floor, try to use the pad of rubber mats underneath that. That would be an effective way.
We hope you got to know that how to soundproof floor in apartment and if still, any query is there, please comment them down. Every feedback is appreciated.
*DISCLAIMER: The above mentioned all the products are Amazon affiliated*
