How to Insulate for Sound Control

Wall insulation isn't just for climate control.

Wall insulation isn't just for climate control.

When most people insulate their homes, they are primarily concerned with climate control, but insulation is also important for regulating sound. Gaps and spaces through which air and moisture can pass also readily transmit sound, and poorly insulated walls are noisy ones. Keeping your house comfortably quiet may involve adding insulation to exterior and interior walls, and it also may involve modifications to doors and windows as well as plumbing and heating pipes.

Doors and Windows

Old doors that hang loosely in the jamb and windows that rattle can actually amplify sound waves that impinge upon them. If a window and door retrofit is beyond your budget, you can make a big difference by sealing old windows with silicone caulk and weatherstripping your doors to reduce the amount of vibration they sustain. Solid-core wooden exterior doors transmit fewer vibrations than metal ones, and double-pane glass insulates better than single-pane. You can also reduce vibrations by adding storm doors and windows, provided your existing doors and windows are designed to accept them.

Soundproofing Interior Walls

If you're in the middle of a remodel and your walls are uncovered, you have at least two effective options to acoustically isolate any room from the rest of the house. One is install fiberglass batts just as you would install them in an exterior wall. Faced batts should be stapled to stud faces while unfaced ones should be cut to size and stuffed between studs. Another option is to install resilient channel strips that acoustically isolate the drywall from the wall studs. Using these methods in combination can dramatically reduce sound transmission within shared dwellings.

Soundproofing Existing Walls

You don't have to uncover your walls to insulate them. Instead of installing batts or resilient channel, you can blow loose-fill fiberglass or cellulose insulation into existing walls. Loose-fill insulation also provides an effective sound barrier when blown into the attic. The equipment for blowing insulation is available for rental in most locations, and the procedure for insulating walls is straightforward. You simply cut a hole for the blower nozzle at the top of each wall bay with a hole saw, fill the bay with insulation, and patch the hole with drywall finishing supplies.


Effective soundproofing requires attention to detail. Sound can travel through gaps in exterior and interior walls that aren't properly filled, and it can also travel along furnace ducts and plumbing pipes. Placing buffers between ducts or pipes and the framing to which you attach them can reduce much of the noise they transmit. Moreover, appliances that vibrate excessively should be acoustically isolated from the walls. Soft building materials attenuate sound better than rigid ones. For example, you can reduce sound transmission through the floor by installing sound insulating tiles or carpeting. Acoustical tiles have a similar effect when used to cover the ceiling.

About the Author


Photo Credits

  • Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
Suggest a Correction