How to Soundproof a Door: 23 Best Ways to Make it Happen!

However, the need to soundproof the doorway to my home office quickly arose. This article will walk you through on how to soundproof a door in detail.

The most common problem is the under door noise which is sometimes a bit tricky to eliminate as the door frame itself is not easy to modify.

The reason it’s tricky is that there are a lot of products out there that seem like they might work, but don’t work all that well. For example, a door sweep is a cheap door addition, but at best you’re going to block about 3 decibels.

To truly soundproof a door, you need to do two things:

1. Confirm that you have a solid core door. Most solid wood doors have it. If the door is hollow, it’s not dense enough to block sound and needs to be upgraded.
2. Use a Sound Lock Door Seal Kit to seal the entire perimeter and bottom of the door around the door frame. These adjustable door seals will perfectly fit into your door if installed correctly, and are the only true “soundproofing” option without modifying the door frame.

A solid core door with a Sound Lock Door Seal Kit will typically have an STC rating of around 45.

Now… if you do want a truly soundproof door, take a look at the Sound Lock Soundproof Door. This interior wood door has an STC rating of up to 56, and is a go to option for recording studios, music rooms, offices, military bases… anywhere where the soundproofing really matters. Look at that wood finish!

However if the buget is out of your range, you shouldn’t leave it as it could end up bothering you more than you could imagine.

Anyone who works from home will tell you how important it is to have a suitable working environment.

Any noise, even the smallest of sounds will be a distraction, and you may end up not being productive for an entire day. No one wants to listen to noisy neighbors after all.

Having soundproofed my home office's windows, I realized some sound was getting in through the doorway especially when everyone else was moving about in the hallways. The door sweep was simply not doing the job.

I set out to soundproof the doorway to my office and the results were more than what I had hoped for.

Even though this door part is tricky to sound proof – there are items such as noise reducer for door which make things easier.

In this article, we will take a look at some soundproof of the easy steps for soundproofing door.

Although some of the steps may require you to invest some money in products such as a door quieter, door sweeps, or a new solid core door, most will need very little capital.

So, take a look at the steps below, decide on what will work best for you and embark on a door soundproofing project that will make your home much quieter and forget about that noisy neighbor next door.

Hopefully, at least one of these tips will help in showing you how to make doors quieter while keeping the investment minimal.

What Is The Importance Of Soundproofing Doors?

Door systems often cause noise and are an essential part in all acoustic treatments.

The biggest gaps on walls — and their weakest link in soundproofing — are doors. Sometimes there are leaky doors in the vicinity of the door. And the room beneath the door can often be a larger gap than the room on either side so that there will be more sound leaking.

The problem is that almost all interior entrance doors are hollow. This means they have a hollow core. Although this increases their efficiency it also increases noise issues. Even the doorknobs leak sound. Soundproof doors are one way to solve such problems.

How to Soundproof a Doorway

What You'll Be Needing:

1. Seal all the gaps and cracks

This was the first step I took and I highly encourage you to start with this first when trying to soundproof a door. This is my favorite soundproofing method. You will need a tight seal on your existing door to get a fully soundproofed room.

It is advantageous in that it is quite affordable and does not require much time and energy to seal the gaps or use expensive soundproofing materials.

Gaps and cracks in your doors will be the main culprits in letting sound through the doorway. They play a big part in how much noise comes through.

Most doors have cracks and gaps and when looking to soundproof the doorway, you should first try to seal these.

If the gaps and cracks are not that big, it may be difficult to locate them.

To do this, turn off the lights in the room and ask someone to hold a light on the other side of the closed door. The gaps and cracks will let some light through.

USE INSULATING SEALANT TO SEAL GAPS

If the gaps on your door are smaller, the Great Stuff Big Gap filler may not work for you. For smaller gaps of less than 1 inch, I suggest using Red Devil Small Gap Foam for sealing air gaps.

It may not seem as much to do to soundproof the doorway, but I noticed some change once I had all the gaps and cracks sealed. There was noticeable sound reduction as well.

USE RED DEVIL SMALL GAP FOAM FOR SMALLER GAPS

USE DOOR GASKET TO SEAL GAPS AT THE JAMBS AND THE HEADER OF DOORS

They are also a good option as you can easily put them up or bring them down when you do not want to use them.

USE SOUNDPROOF BLANKETS TO MAKE GOOD SOUND ABSORBERS

The greatest disadvantage of using soundproof blankets is the lack of aesthetic appeal. These blankets are usually not visually appealing.

You may, therefore, choose to use for doorways that you do not care much for such as the one to your laundry room.

You might like: Best Soundproof Blankets and Buying Guide

You will have to drill and screw the sweep's fastener into the door.

Using a door sweep comes with several other advantages as well. Besides blocking out sound, the sweeps keep away insects and dust.

They are also energy efficient in that they prevent cold air from your air conditioner from escaping. Less energy is, therefore, required to keep the room cool.

USE DOOR SWEEP TO SEAL THE GAP BETWEEN DOORS AND FLOORS

6. Place a Rug

You may decide to place a rug near the doorway to reduce the amount of sound from the other side.

Using rugs as sound absorbers not only dampens the sound but also add to the visual appeal of a room.

Rugs, especially heavy ones, absorb echoes and therefore, help in reducing the impact of sound.

However, rugs may not be as efficient as other soundproofing doors methods.

USE RUGS AS SOUND ABSORBERS TO DAMPEN SOUNDS

7. Get some soundproofing curtains

These sound absorbing foam panels, therefore, reduce the amount of sound that passes through them.

Just like the soundproof fiberglass blanket, all you have to do is hang the foam panels on your doors and you are good to go.

When you are putting up the foam panels, using nails may cause damage to the door. You can try out this adhesive spray.

Not only are they safer for your doors but are also very easy to use.

However, they are not visually appealing and so you may want to use them in rooms that are not constantly used. You can also try to arrange the panels in various panels.

USE ACOUSTIC FOAM PANELS TO ABSORB NOISE

Although cheaper mass loaded vinyl is available, purchasing this may not be effective.

They are often black so for homeowners who do not like the color, it may be a setback.

USE MASS LOADED VINYL TO MAKE A GOOD SOUND BARRIER

11. Buy a new solid door

Most doors used in homes these days are usually hollow. Hollow doors are light and great amplifiers of sound. This is something you definitely do not want in a soundproof door.

Of all the steps in this guide, buying a new solid core door is the most expensive.

However, when you decide to get a new door, you will certainly notice the difference, especially with a solid wood door.

Solid core doors are thicker and rather than amplifying sound, they will dampen any sounds that pass through them.

If you are ready to spend a bit of a fortune on your soundproofing project, buying a new solid door is a great option for you.

The Sound Lock Soundproof Door is a 400 pound wood door that comes pre-hung with everything you need. All you need is a double studded opening to install it in and you’ve got the best door soundproofing money can buy.

12. Paint The Door With Soundproof Paint

It is rare to see soundproofing manufacturers using soundproof paint for sound protection.

One reason sound deadening paints have long disappeared has to do with its focus on mid frequencies. A mid-range is a frequency that corresponds primarily to normal speech.

The disadvantage of soundproof painted surfaces is the low frequency interference.

It's not very effective in the lower frequencies, either in aircraft or other vehicles noise.

It is harder to detect sound in large-scale paints. These paints are known to create raised surfaces that result in substantial textures.

13. Use Gap Foam

Gap foams can be effective in door soundproofing.

The gap foam grows with the foam expansion, thereby making it a significant barrier to the inside of the house and the other rooms.

The thicker the foam the better it becomes at blocking noise.

Start spraying foam onto the exterior doors, gradually moving toward the outer walls as you cover any existing gaps. It can be used in hollow door knobs because many of them have holes in the center.

Gap foam should be applied after you've installed Vinyl Sheets, Door Sweepers or other suggested solutions. Gap foam can be ordered online through Amazon.

USE GAP FOAM TO BLOCK NOISE

14. Install Soundproofing Composite Material

Another thing you can use in your door soundproofing project is composite materials.

They can be placed under the doors or on floors. They are manufactured as thick dense sheets, which serve as an excellent barrier against all incoming sound sources.

You can also apply these to the door if they are used in an area where the door has a gap.

One other way is by buying custom doors with sound insulation composite inside them. You can attach it to the door in the room where the sound proofing system is installed.

Get your soundproofing materials from Soundproof Cow.

15. Place a Fiberboard Over Your Door Frame

The fiberboard material resembles sound proofing composite materials, because both materials can be installed inside the doors core and around the door frame.

Fiberboard is not as flexible as composite material, so there are no bends.

Fiberboard is the most efficient for use inside and outside doors or for wrapping them with strips around cracks and edges. If possible, open up the door to the core and add a fiberboard here.

Look at these fiberboards on Amazon.

16. Use Dense, Heavy Mass Foam Tiles

The tiles are to be arranged in the same fashion as puzzle pieces. This makes it the best possible customization option when trying to soundproof a door.

Some doors are different sizes, so a thick foam floor tile would be a perfect fit for your door.

Note that it is not possible to use traditional tiles and floor puzzles.

Heavy weight will prevent the sound from coming in and bounce the majority of low sound waves.

Floor puzzles reduce sound absorbance, but don't block sound as effectively as heavy-packed foam tiles. Find this item at Amazon.com.

17. Install Acoustic Door Thresholds

Like sweeping doors, acoustic doors thresholds are meant to reduce the amount of vibration under a door.

Although you might seal the gaps with best high-quality vinyl sheets, the space beneath the door frame is important too.

It’s a different system for doors to be installed in a door sweep than a door threshold.

It allows you to open and close the doors without moving the sweeper on the floor.

This threshold is suitable for soft areas which cause noise when opening the door using the door sweeper. You can get acoustic door thresholds on Amazon.

19. How To Soundproof A Metal Door

There are a few steps you can take when soundproofing metal doors.

In order to find the spots, you can turn off the light in the room and use a spotlight to reveal where the light travels through the cracks.

Mark the spots for treatment.

If the gap is small you can use neoprene rubber strips. For larger gaps you can use fiberglass, rigid insulation, backer rod, or rock wool.

This will do the job to keep off those unwanted sound waves in your metal door.

19. Fill A Hollow Core Door With Foam Insulation

One of the ways to soundproof a hollow core door is to fill it with insulation foam.

The only thing you'd need is an insulation spray bottle.

First, drill holes in the hollow core door for the best result. The holes should be the size of the straw included in your sprayer kit. Place the door on a flat surface and allow the foam to expand and solidify.

20. Use Meeting Stiles For Double Doors

If you use double doors for the bathroom or the bedroom, the sound isolation may be difficult to achieve.

Meeting stiles can be an effective way of protecting doors every time they touch one another (for example an exterior door in a music studio) and act as double seals.

To install meeting stiles, you simply have to select your ideal size, screw the screws in the places where the door meets. That's it!

They work similarly to door sweeps except for their vertical orientation. Those can be found at tmhardware.com.

21. Fill The Door With Sand

This alternative for door soundproofing is not so common and neither practical.

You must prepare for this to be done properly. As the sand is quite heavy it is not easy to load it on top of a door. That being said, the end result is surprisingly good.

One important fact is that door hinges need to be strong and durable to provide the necessary stability for the heavy sand door. A sand-filled door panel reduces noise significantly if installed properly.

22. Use Sound Isolation Padding Tape

Acoustic isolation tape can also be used to seal cracks on doors.

Tapes for sealing doors can also be used in the absence of weather stripe and gaskets.

The padding tapes are self adhesive and widely used for wall mounting.

The sound isolation padding on the tape breaks the sound waves and helps reduce the sound transfer from walls into door frames.

23. Install An Automatic Door Bottom

An automatic door bottom utilizes a concealed flat spring mechanism.

When an automatic door bottom is closed, a plunger works as a compressor against the door frame.

This activates the mechanism and lowers a neoprene seal which pushes against a doorway threshold until it seals the gap. 

Also, while your focus should be on the door panels, you shouldn’t forget to install noise cancelling door seals which are placed in between the door and its frame to reduce sound leaks.

All in all, the above steps will help reduce the amount of noise through your doorways. And get rid of those annoying loud neighbors!

The trick is to identify how much sound you want to block out and get a method that will work for you without causing a strain on your finances.

To get the best results, I suggest you try out at least two of these soundproof door methods.

And hopefully, this post is clear enough featuring plenty of information, possibilities, and even products you could use among many available soundproofing solutions.

And of course, we hope you’ve now successfully learned how to soundproof a door.

Take on a couple of these steps and you will be amazed by the results!

You might also like: How to Stop a Door from Slamming