My company just closed my office and I’m going to be working from home full time. I live in an old house with plaster walls, hardwood floors, and five kids. Even with the Bedroom door closed the noise can be too loud. Is there anything I can do to seal the door to let less noise through?
Mike K
Aurora,IL
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Replies
just move out to the shed. :)
It takes studs to build a house
What do you have on there now? Do you have carpet on the floor? Does the door swing in or out of the room?
I worked on a medical office with examination rooms. We used solid slab door that were 1 3/4" thick. Very solid doors.
Also the crack at the bottom will let a lot of noise in. Especially if there are hard floors.
You could take a towel and roll it up into cylinder and put it against the bottom of the door.
A more expensive solution would be to carpet your room. The thicker the better. It would be nice if your door swung out so when it shut it sealed against the carpet in your room.
You could screw some foam on your existing door if you think the noise is coming through it. Put some foam on it and make it into a bulletin board.
Edited 12/23/2007 12:06 am ET by popawheelie
Carpet? Are you kidding me? I have five kids. How long do you think carpet would last. We have hardwood floors on both sides of the door. I was thinking of putting some foam on the stops at the top and sides of the door that would compress when the door is shut. Is there any to seal the bottom?Some days I wish I did have a shed. Mike K
build the shed....
move the kids out there....
pass them around the 'hood on an extended lease.... say 15 to 20 years....
fire seal the door and add a weather seal threshold...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
You would put the carpet in YOUR room. If you can't keep them out why have a door or a room for that matter
My wife works from home and struggles with this. She has her own office but has a hard time staying out of everyone else's business. Then she complains she isn't getting anything done. If you have work to do, go in YOUR room, shut the door, and get to work.
Add a door sweep. Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
"Is there any to seal the bottom?"Um yeah Tons Scroll toward bottom of page.http://www.pemko.com/index.cfm?event=products.productListing&searchName=Lookup+by+Category&openFilter=loadCategorySearch&ratingIds=&categoryId=894&subcategoryId=&productMaterialId=
Reinvent,Thank You! Thanks just what I need.
Duct tape works pretty well ... but sometimes they get free and pull it off ;o)Jeff
HAve each kid drink about a cup of cough syrup each morning.
fire seal and cover the door with sound board with an air gap betewwn the board and the door...
and move the kids out to shed after ya put in wall to wall carpet with at least a #10 pad under it...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I saw a draft stopping device once that might help. It was made of a cloth material the thickness was the gap under the door. It was wider than the door a couple of inches on both sides and was pillow like on the surface not under the door. It had to be slid under the door while the door was open from the side and was designed to slide with the door as it opened and closed. I hope I haven't thoroughly confused you. Hope this helps. Jay
Well, You may be pretty much F'ed if you have hardwood floors everywhere. Nothing to really dampen the sound. May I first suggest a carpet runner down the hallway? Consider it disposable.
I did a few things to kill sound in our 1960 ranch. First, I replaced all our 1 and 3/8" hollow core doors with 1 nad 3/4" solid core doors, using a fire rated door jamb. This jamb has a foam strip around the rim that air seals the door when shut. That covers 3 sides to the door, you need to seal the bottom edge of the door too.
In addition, I placed a door at the beginning of the hallway (to the living room), that way I could shut that door and kill alot of sound at the source.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
If your hair looks funny, it's because God likes to scratch his nuts. You nut, you.
Besides soundproofing, you might consider working with a nice, comfortable pair of ear plugs, or even an ipod or just background music playing.
I have hardwood floors and ceramic tile everywhere in my house and my office is at home...area rugs and runners do help (with kids and pets everywhere the rugs are disposable).
how about a white noise machine ?
http://www.google.com/search?q=white+noise+machine&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
I tried and gave up - those heavy thuds and piercing screams will go through anything, and you can never tell if it's happiness, anger, or if they're on fire.
I finally just set up in our little camper in a shed. Happy as a clam out there.
Having said that, maybe a solid door and compression-type weatherstripping, and/or some Dynamat layered on, Maybe. Be shiny, too.
Forrest
Forest,Thing of it is my office is in what was originally the maid's bedroom, 8' x 10'. Perfect size for an office, but too small for a bedroom. I have a 28' a 14' finished attic, which would be a waste to use as and office. I'm going to redo the attic and make it a dormitory style Bedroom for the 3 boys.I guess I'll try weatherstripping the door and putting on of those long pillows under the door. Not much else can be done.Mike K
Aurora, IL
As mentioned by others, a solid core 1 3/4" door would be massive enough to greatly reduce sound transmission. Add weather stripping at top and both sides, a threshold and door shoe on the bottom and you will have done about all you can with the door.
A second layer of drywall on your side of the wall would help to reduce sound transmission through the wall itself.
Quick fix: Roll up a bath towel and put it tight against the bottom of the door. Wear foam ear plugs and headphones with music.
You can also buy headphones with active noise canceling but they're pretty expensive. Bose makes 'em, among others. They will eliminate all outside noise.
Edited 12/23/2007 10:57 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
Mike:
1) Employer got rid of overhead (former workspace) and now you pick up the tab. Will employer pop for noise mitigation costs? Is it worth it to you? Unemployment is pretty low. Maybe this is just a transition period and big bucks (to you) unwarranted.
2) I had an office adjoining a manufacturing plant. The door space was enough to where I installed a dualpane (exterior) sliding patio door. The noise disappeared. Maybe you don't own the house and don't want to spend much but your job might be worth it.
3) My wife runs a home day care. Lots of kid noise. Also hardwood floors or vinyl in places. We remodeled the basement into a kid playing area. Used acoustic tile on the ceiling and SURPRISE the same sliding patio door closing off what we call the "nursery".
4) I would imagine that you have some 6 panel doors and the panels are not very thick. If you think the noise comes through the door then I would consider modifying that entrance by hanging another door. I would guess the existing door opens into the room so the hinges are inside. Another door (exterior, double glass, or just a solid slab door can be hung on the outside of the existing frame.
An outward opening door (maybe into that hallway with the noise makers) will have to be opened with care. The white noise or radio is great. Also, there are segmented insulated drapes that could be fitted in the door jamb outside of your office. They usually roll up when a strap is pulled so you can pass through. If you have to go in and out a lot things get more difficult.
How about the old style ear muff radio phones? I just tossed a pair.
With an extension, mild music (that nobody else hears), you can do two things--block external noise and the music will distract you from external noise. I use full ear covering muffs on the job all the time.
Do some of the kids go to school for part of the day? We structured the daycare so after lunch the kids HAD to take a nap. That kept things quiet until about 4:00pm. You may have to work at a time other than days. I did that for years. Midnights are the quietest but could be a problem if you need to contact people during the day.
Your house sounds (no pun) like the one I grew up in with---yep, four other siblings. Good Luck, by the way I have a Travel Trailer in the drive...you could use it for vacations too Tyr