6 Simple Ways to Soundproof Attic Floor
Even though it sounds hard and difficult to achieve, you can soundproof your attic floor in a few simple steps.
The attic can be a great place to quietly work at home, or study.
However, the attic floor is sometimes not that well-built. It releases a lot of the noise and prevents you from doing your job.
Soundproofing an attic floor might look like the devil’s work, but really isn’t. It is similar to any other floor soundproofing.
Also, it depends on which noise you intend to prevent.
If airborne noise is in the matter, then you can solve your problem by adding some density to your floor.
Otherwise, if the impact noise is a problem, it will require an additional effort to block these vibrations.
No matter what your problem is, you will be able to find the solution in this short article. So, let’s offer some.
How to Soundproof Attic Floor
1. Install floor floaters
Well, this one can’t really be used in any other floor soundproofing due to its special construction.
When it comes to attic floor soundproofing, it does quite an amazing job.
Floor floaters are an effective way of dealing with attic floor noise.
The secret behind is simple. These joist isolators are constructed with the strong rubber.
Once put between your joists, it will provide an additional support and prevent vibration or unwanted movements of your joists.
With that said, floor floaters will effectively deal with those annoying vibrations, loud bass, or drums that can disturb your peace.
Floor floaters are one of the best solutions when it comes to the impact noise.
They are surprisingly easy to install. You can do it within several hours by yourself.
Just make sure to place them correctly beneath each joist.
If you make a distance of 16 to 24 inches between each floater, you will probably get the best results.
Considering the amount that you get and the price, these are highly valuable products.
All in all, it’s a good construction solution for your attic floor.
>>> See more about Floor Floaters here <<<
2. Soundproof the space between the joists
Needless to say that the space between your floor joists make a huge difference when it comes to noise passing through.
Empty space between these joists acts like a resonating box on the guitar.
Preferably, you should fill this space with something. But what helps soundproof it?
Well, of course, there are mineral wool batts. It will show a great power in dealing with both airborne and impact noise.
How shouldn’t it when its density goes up to 2.5 pounds per cubic foot.
With 2 inches of pure soundproofing material, you will easily block even the loudest noises.
In order to install it properly, and fill the gaps between the joists fully, you can use a knife to cut these batts to size and place it in between until there’s no space left.
The more you cover- the more effectively you will soundproof.
For those in need, the following video can help you realize how mineral wool batt works and how to install it properly.
As you can see, this can be a really cheap solution to your problems.
Of course, it all depends on the size of your floor.
If we take into consideration the normal sized room of 10x10, you will need no more than $200-$300 to deal with the noise problem.
3. Use soundproofing tape
Before installing the subfloor you should probably tap the top of the joists with some soundproofing green glue tape.
This is a highly affordable way to prevent the noise.
It will effectively deaden the noise produced between the subfloor and the joists while you are walking.
Yes, sometimes the main source of the noise might be just you.
Walking on the floor when there is a gap between it and the subfloor might be really annoying for your ears.
However, here is the solution and once you finish it; you will have no such problems.
For a better explanation and how to do it check out this youtube video:
4. The subfloor is a great solution- try it!
I mean, every layer improves the insulation.
With that said, there is a solution to build a subfloor. As it name says this one goes under the visible floor.
It requires to be attached firmly on the joists.
For that, you should use screws or nails. There are few dominant materials used for the subfloor.
For example, you can go with plywood, OSB, and MDF panels.
They will drastically increase the insulation; they reduce both, impact and airborne noise.
If you are aiming for a cheaper solution, you should go with OSB and plywood. Plywood is the most affordable one.
Otherwise, if you are craving for the quality, and for even better-guaranteed insulation, then you should go with MDF panels.
Add some green glue, and these materials should work out great.
This method of soundproofing is, frankly, the safest one and the most certain to achieve some results.
Of course, that triggers a bit bigger investment and effort needed, but all in all, it is a highly valuable solution.
You might also like: What You Need to know about Acoustic Flooring
5. Use green glue
You might be wondering how some glue can impact soundproofing, reduce noise, etc. Well it most definitely can.
Especially it works if you use it for the right purpose. This is the best impact noise blocker.
It will cut vibrations and bass in half. For example, if you use green glue on the subfloor, you will prevent the vibrations.
With its amusing power, the green glue will attach all the parts with enormous strength and leave no possibility of vibrations due to unsteady attachments.
Most of the vibrating noise is caused because there are some unsteady parts that dingle beneath you.
Therefore, spread green glue across the subfloor.
Once done, you can use some panels to cover the area. Screw them down and secure steadiness.
After everything done, you can enjoy your attic peace, work or sleep undisturbed.
6. Put soft material on the floor
Once you have soundproofed your attic floor and done everything that you can, there is just one thing to do in order to prevent every single noise.
You need to prevent echo noise coming from yourself, and the footsteps noise.
This can easily be done- two birds with one rock. Just get some soft rug like this or interlocking floor tiles.
Both are great echo deadeners and it depends only on your preferences which one will you pick.
Soft rugs are well-known, but not many know what interlocking floor tiles are.
These tiles are actually wood mats with great thickness, and high density, which will block not only the noise but keep the temperature a bit higher than it would regularly be.
It is extremely easy to install them, as they are like puzzles. The simplest puzzles ever seen.
Preferably, you should cover as much area as possible. The more you cover, the less echo and footstep noise will be produced.
Rug pads are kind of more popular option, but when it comes to soundproofing both are credible solutions.
Nevertheless, they are great thermal isolators and will save a lot of energy.
7. Think outside the box, soundproof your floor from the room above
If you find these solutions kind of drastic and hard, you might be interested in some interesting solution.
You can soundproof the attic floor just from the other side.
If you have a room underneath, you can go with soundproofing its ceiling.
For example, putting some acoustic panels on top of it might decrease the outgoing noise, and you can solve your attic floor insulation with solving your ceiling problem from the room below.
You can use some acoustic panels.
They are commonly used in the music industry to block outgoing and incoming noise as well.
Foam panels are thick and can prevent any kind of the noise.
Also, they are quite cheap, and you can find them on Amazon for an affordable price.
All in all, you should not spend more than 200-300 bucks for soundproofing that ceiling and it can solve your attic floor problem.
Of course, it would be a good thing to put some carpet, rug, or some thick material on your attic floor just to prevent the echoing noise or footsteps.
The goal is to use as many layers of defense as you can. The more, the better.
On Soundproofing Attic Floors
Simply speaking, these are the methods of soundproofing your attic floor.
You might not like some of them since they are a bit drastic, but if you want to see some results (like in anything else) you are going to need some effort investment.
However, these are some methods that you can learn now and use later while constructing your attic floor.
Most of the solutions are actually prevention for the noise.
So, once you have done the construction right, you should not worry about the noise later.
Hopefully, this article gave you some insight on how soundproofing attic floor works.
6 Simple Ways to Soundproof Attic Floor
Are the footsteps from the attic disturbing you? Learn 6 simple ways to soundproof attic floor in our guide. No complicated renovation required.
Instructions
- Install Floor Floaters
- Soundproof The Space Between The Joists
- Use Soundproofing Tape
- Build A Subfloor
- Use Green Glue
- Put Soft Material On The Floor