Soundproofing and Acoustic Treatment: What’s the Difference?

Yeah, the world is a big noisy place, we know that, but what can one do about it? As a matter of fact, one gets the right picture of how many sounds are there only when one starts building a studio.

It’s a terrifying moment indeed because you realize that you are about to be in a real battle – human vs sound! But, the good news is that, with my useful tips, you can actually be a winner.

Here I shall tell you more about soundproofing and acoustic treatment in general. Are they the same thing? Which is the most successful way of dealing with various sounds from different sources? These are just some of the questions we shall try to answer.

The big question of acoustics is the one that troubles all musicians, and having a top-quality equipment is not always helpful, if the room properties themselves do not allow sound to be well distributed.

How to Soundproof a Room for Music (Listening and Recording)

Soundproofing a room can be a challenging job. Whether you are making your own mini-studio, or just blocking out the noise from your teenage kid, making of the soundproof room might take some time.

The biggest problem is when the age gap between your older one and the baby is 14-15 years. As you may know, 14-15 years is where everything starts being interesting.

You need to balance between your teenager’s revolt of listening to the music at high volume, and your baby’s peace.

Since I was in this position not that long ago, my husband and I decided not only to soundproof the nursery room but the room of our older kid as well.

In that way, both of our kids got their peace, whether is that listening to a really loud music or napping.

In this article, you can find some of the methods that I used to soundproof a room for the music, as well as some other methods that I also find useful for the purposes of soundproofing.

Restaurant Noise Reduction: 9 Ways to Soundproof Your Diner

Did you know that your customers are likely to complain about the noise in your restaurant than they are about lousy food?

Noise complaints rank up high, second only to poor service.

Some restaurants that are located in busy and noisy areas can become so loud that it makes it difficult for customers even to hold a proper conversation.

Distracting noise is unpleasant to customers and, in return, unfriendly for your business.

To retain your customers and ensure a high rate of return visits from them, you need to find ways to deal with the issue.

One step at offering high-end service to your customers is making sure that your establishment provides a conducive environment for your customers.

So, how do you go about it? Soundproof your restaurant; that’s the answer. But let’s face it; it isn’t that easy.

Shop Vac Noise Reduction: How to Make a Shop Vac Quiet

Shop vacs have always been great to use for your own home. They are portable but much stronger than regular vacuum cleaners.

However strong they may be, they all have one downside; and that is that they are extremely loud.

If you happen to have used it in a somewhat empty space, like your garage or similar, you must have noticed how loud they are. It is just like they are echoing all around.

This just makes vacuuming very unpleasant.

Nevertheless, they are quite handy, so it would be the best if there was a way to somehow reduce the noise they are making.

Well, is there a way?

Of course there is, but you would have to keep in mind that machines as powerful as shop vacs can never be completely soundproofed, but the only thing you can do is reduce the noise they are making.

Before I tell you how to reduce the noise, let’s give a look at why they are this loud in the first place.

How to Soundproof a Dog Crate and Stop Dog Barking in Kennels

I have always been a dog person (Well, that is an understatement, seeing as I have five of them at the moment). Usually, I prefer adopting them while they are still puppies so that I have all the time to get attached to them and teach them a couple of tricks.

Dogs are just loveable creatures and most households will own one as a pet at some point or another. However, the one annoying thing, besides cleaning up after them, is the constant whining and barking especially when they are still pups.

With my first two puppies, I had to go through the torture of their barking and whining. It was so bad that I even considered giving them away. The whining was especially terrible at night as I prefer not to bring them to bed with me.

While trying to find a solution to all the noise, I stumbled upon the dog crates. The fact that I could make them soundproof seemed very lucrative and I immediately bought one. I worked on soundproofing it further and I loved the results.

Although you can not make the dog crate 100% soundproof, it certainly helps in reducing the noise levels in your house.

If the barking and whining of your adorable creature get on your nerves, then this article will be of great help to you. Here’s how you can solve your problem.

How to Soundproof a Garage (for Band Practice)

What better place for band practice than your own garage? Well, there’s one problem with it – the neighbors.

Most of the time, the neighbors will not hear the clear sound but the drums, as their sound is the most problematic one to isolate.

As a part of a teenage band, I jammed a lot. Then, the neighbors started whining almost every single time we started our session. You could hear the doorbell in the middle of our song. No doubt, it was really annoying for both sides – us and them, so we started looking for a solution.

However, as every teenage rock band, we were short with cash, so we needed a cheap and fast solution to our problems. As back then there were no developed networks of articles like this, we started searching for the possible solutions in the books, asking our older ones, and even some architects.

Basically, we tried some mixtures of solutions that you will be familiar with, shortly after you’ve read this story. And some of them worked!

Van Soundproofing: Noise Reduction in 5 Simple Steps

A friend had asked me a couple of years ago if I could help her insulate her van from noise. As informed as I am when it comes to sound insulation, many ideas came to my mind immediately. However, I wasn’t exactly sure how to help her, because I’d never insulated a van before – until then.

Of course, I did a lot of research and found an abundance of information. I determined what is the best way to do this and the results of this little project that we did in her van were amazing.

Now I want to share what I’ve learned with you since I believe there are many of you who might have a noise problem with their vehicle.

Whether you own a regular van or a camper van, there are many materials that you have to use for insulation and there is a lot of work to do, but you can easily do it all by yourself, as you’ll see. The easiest way to do this is to apply a sound deadening panel and then use some insulation over the top.

Noisy Neighbors Revenge: 10 (Harmless) Ways to Get Them to Be Quiet

Did you ever wake up from your peaceful sleep because of the sudden abominable noise coming from your neighbor’s house/apartment?

Have you ever tried to take a nap, or enjoy some peace and quiet after a long day at work, with a cup of tea and a book in hand, only to be thwarted by the banshee-like wail of your leaf blower? If that is the case, then, my audio-tormented brothers and sisters, I feel your pain.

But why should you suffer under the yoke of your noisy neighbors? It is time for some well-deserved retribution, and in this text, we will offer you some creative yet harmless ideas to do so. It’s time for the Empire to strike back!

How to Reduce Blender Noise: 10 Different Ways

Today, blenders are a part of a healthy everyday life. Most of us love to drink delicious smoothies, natural juices, fruit yogurts, and thick vegetable soups.

You are probably wondering why someone would need to reduce blender noise. Well, that question has not crossed my mind before I bought my new, ultra loud blender!

I decided to do something. My husband wanted to replace the blender with a quieter blender.

On the other side, I was satisfied with blender’s quality. Also, I didn’t want to buy a new blender and spend more money on something that I already had, but truth be told, that blender was really loud.

I decided to do a little research on this topic and find a solution, or at least reduce the noise that the blender was making to a tolerable level.

Here are some of the things you can do if you have this problem and at the end of this article I will tell you what I chose.

Sound Isolation Clips vs Resilient Channel (For Noise Reduction)

Make no mistake, these solutions are but one amongst many in the sea of soundproofing via decoupling methods. However, as they tend to be the most used and prominent, I figure it’s best to discuss them and how you might make a decision on what works better for you.

Discussions on how best to do this kind of soundproofing often come up relating to the home. I know I’ve experienced my fair share of issues with something that looked good and I wanted in my home due to that.

I’ve also had personal experience having to choose between these, as my parents wanted to install a partition in their games’ room. Of course, they came to me, and that is when I learned just how confusing and difficult picking between these can be.

That’s why I am going to do try my best to simplify it all and, alongside explanations, give you a succinct overview of what is better in which category and what you should ultimately choose.