Peace and Quiet in NYC With Soundproofing Walls
by: Kelvin Prufwall on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 at: 8:34 AM Go to: Previous Article Next Article
There are few cities in the world which have as much to offer as New York City, but a fact of life in NYC is that it can be a noisy place to live as well. Whether its traffic noise from 149th St, your neighbors loud backyard barbeques in Bed-Stuy or the sounds of the elevated 7 train in Sunnyside, living in one of the worlds greatest and busiest cities often means coping with noise.
Theres no question that the wide variety of entertainment and culture available at all hours make NYC a wonderful place to live. New Yorkers tend to enjoy the liveliness of the street; but only when theyre on the street! When you go home, you want it to be a place where you can find refuge from the noise and frenetic activity of the city and relax. Street noise belongs on the street, not in your home!
Soundproofing walls is the best way to achieve peace and quiet. But how can you accomplish full soundproofing in such a crowded environment? Of course, the most expensive way is to hire a contractor in who specializes in soundproofing walls and floors and even HVAC piping! However, construction for the sake of soundproofing walls, while the most effective way to soundproof, can be extremely pricey for the average person.
There are some widespread myths out there about soundproofing walls. You may have heard that carpeting, Styrofoam or egg cartons placed on your walls can reduce outside noise. However, these materials are by and large ineffective. The amount of sound they dampen is minimal and of course, they look awful. Foam, heavy fabrics and some other materials can provide more soundproofing, but this can be expensive and time consuming to install " and again, its probably not the look youd prefer to have in your home!
Most people working to soundproof walls dont do so well at it because they dont really understand how soundproofing works and they immediately turn to the idea of covering their walls. As it happens, having heavy furniture such as sofas and thick rugs can be more effective (and attractive) than covering your walls with fabric or egg cartons. This will reduce some of the street noise and the sounds coming from your noisy neighbors, but not eliminate it altogether.
Soundproofing walls will always be tough. Unless you can get inside your walls and add insulation or other soundproofing materials, your only real solution is to dampen the sound with some sort of professional soundproofing material like soft sound acoustic panels. You can paint or decorate these and it won't look as bad as carpet or egg crates.
Soundproofing your windows can be done in a few ways. If installing double paned windows or acrylic framed windows isnt an option, then you may want to consider drapes which dampen sound or window plugs. What are window plugs, you ask? These are pieces of soundproofing material cut to the size of your windows; when you want to shut out traffic and other street noise, you can just put them in your windows and enjoy the silence!
With these simple tips you may be able to take the edge off of your noise problems. The trick is to balance materials that actually work and still look good. You don't want to tack carpet to your walls and have it start to stink after a couple of months. Invest some proper thinking and some proper materials and you might start to enjoy a quieter life!
About the Author
Before you go crazy living next to a loud neighbor, you should consider placing soundproofing walls in your apartment. Even if your lease does not allow permanent construction, you can install special temporary walls that serve the same purpose without causing any damage to existing walls.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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