# Good soundproofing for a door **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 24, 2007, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589 "2007-11-24T06:44:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/1 "2007-11-24T06:44:12Z")
What’s a good suggestion for something relatively inexpensive that would mostly soundproof from higher frequencies, on an interior door? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/2 "2007-11-24T07:04:18Z")
Is it a hollow wood door? If so, I’d think that drilling a hole in the top (after taking the door down) and squirting in a can of expanding foam would be relatively easy and do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/3 "2007-11-24T08:56:12Z")
That’s a good point. If it’s already got a foam door, what could be done from there? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/4 "2007-11-24T09:02:08Z")
Not much, I don’t think. Unless you can somehow get the door apart. Then, and I don’t remember the details, so you’ll have to hope someone who knows about it comes along, but there’s a way to make holes in foam and other materials that deaden noise. Damned if I can remember any of the specifics, however. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/5 "2007-11-24T09:33:34Z")
As long as you don’t care what it looks like, you can use fiber board. My whole front room including the front door and an interior door has been soundboarded. It’s pretty quiet - not studio quiet, but it does the job. But it’s ugly as all get out. Or you might try some foam [soundproofing](http://www.soundisolationcompany.com/soundproofing-foam.php) tiles. On a little research, a more [attractive alternative](http://www.soundprooffoam.com/soft-sound-acoustic-panels.html). A bit spendy, though. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/6 "2007-11-24T09:58:35Z")
Not sure what you define as “inexpensive”, but you could simply replace the door with a solid wood door. They aren’t too expensive, and they are pretty easy to hang so long as the frame is reasonably standard sized and plumb. I’m not sure if solid wood is optimal for high or low frequencies though. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/7 "2007-11-24T13:46:27Z")
Cork tiles can be bought. Thick ones are great soundproofing. I’ve seen walls paneled with the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/8 "2007-11-24T19:34:48Z")
Sound travels through air, so improving the door’s seal around all four edges could have a larger impact, especially in the high frequencies, than changing the construction of the door. Start with weatherstripping. If you provided more detail about the situation, the construction of the building, and what kind of sounds you’re trying to block, we might be able to provide more effective advice. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/9 "2007-11-24T19:49:27Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] Sound travels through air, so improving the door’s seal around all four edges could have a larger impact, especially in the high frequencies, than changing the construction of the door. Start with weatherstripping. If you provided more detail about the situation, the construction of the building, and what kind of sounds you’re trying to block, we might be able to provide more effective advice. [/QUOTE] I agree with this. You can spend a fortune on materials and if there are any small breaks in an air seal, the effect of the materials will be greatly reduced. And you may need to consider more than the door. If there are electrical outlets on either side of the wall, sound will travel through. Also forced air heating vents. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/10 "2007-11-24T22:35:09Z")
That’s a good point about the cracks. I can attack that. What I’m talking about is the impending arrival of my nephew. I’m moving in with my brother and SIL. We’ll be on different floors, but the bedroom opens essentially onto the living room, even upstairs. I’d like to be able to shut out a good bit of the noise. What do you do with fiberboard? I think they’d like the door to remain the same, so I’m thinking that I would need something that can tape up to the inside of the door. [Soundinsulationcompany.com](http://Soundinsulationcompany.com) makes the point that what I really want is soundblocking, not absorbtion. I’d think that solid objects would work better than soft absorbing foam and so on. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/11 "2007-11-24T22:51:20Z")
There’s a product called Dynamat that’s used for sound dampening in cars. There are two versions of it, but both come in sheets, made of foil and a damping material such as asphalt. There are other brands with similar products. It would be ugly as hell if you put it on a door in a home, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/12 "2007-11-24T23:43:40Z")
I’ll look that up. I don’t really care about the looks, as it would only be on the inside of a bedroom door. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2007, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/13 "2007-11-25T03:23:24Z")
I don’t think Dynamat will help you. It’s intended to dampen noise transmitted by the car’s sheet metal body panels as it moves. The walls of a house don’t vibrate the same way. There is only so much you can do without major structural modifications. If the door is not solid, some of the suggestions made above to fill it with foam or replace it with a solid door might help, as long as you also install weatherstripping to create a good seal. Another simple and relatively cheap improvement might be installing very heavy curtains inside the door that completely cover it and extend six inches or a foot on both sides. You say you’re moving in with your brother and SIL, and the issue is the arrival of your nephew, an infant, I presume. So you’re concerned that the crying will keep you awake? If so, I’d say that rather than modify the building, visit your local sporting goods store and buy a pack of shooter’s ear plugs. A couple of bucks for a dozen pairs. They will provide orders of magnitude more noise reduction than anything you could possibly do to the room, even if you spent thousands. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-soundproofing-for-a-door/427589/15 "2020-04-28T13:29:05Z")
Reported.