Well, everyone loves to have parties at home, but it also comes with lots of noise, be the loud music or friends hooting loudly during performances and people enjoying the togetherness. As amusing as house parties are, they often cause considerable noise.
Indeed it is also true that no one would be leaving an entertaining party to make some peace and silence for other people’s convenience. Also, there is a small probability that people at the parties would like to have a reduced music volume as it will take away the soul of the parties.
While organizing parties in houses, the biggest problem is noise troubling the neighbors and their complaints that spoil the party’s excitement and mood. The problem increases even more if you live in an apartment or shared house. Party animals cannot avoid organizing or attending parties and look for solutions to their question “How to soundproof a house for a party” to enjoy the party without worrying about someone else’s inconvenience.
Many people are looking to minimize the noise as much as possible for numerous purposes, and the topmost priority is making sure that they do not trouble the neighbors. Moreover, these noisy parties often do not encourage having a conversation.
If you are also a party animal and love to organize parties, this article would be a treat for you. Here are some precautions that one can take to minimize the noise from the parties so that the neighbors would not be bothered.
These techniques or precautions can be well worth the effort for reducing the noise or soundproofing the house; however, they will take a significant amount of time to complete.
So, let’s see How to soundproof a house for a party and enjoy parties without troubling other people. But before this, what areas of the house need to be focused on for soundproofing.
Areas One Must Focus On For Soundproofing The House:
Certain critical areas require special attention when it comes to temporarily soundproofing a house for parties.
Even though people should focus on adding soundproofing materials in the house wherever possible, some areas like walls, windows, and doors must be focused more.
Indeed, one should also add soundproofing materials to the floor, but if the party is in a house instead of an apartment or building, the effects of noise traveling through the floor is not the main concern.
After securing walls, doors, and windows with soundproof material, one should pay attention to brush off the amount of airborne noise such as noise people talking and shouting, music, etc.
If you are also looking for methods to soundproof your house for a party temporarily, here are some tactics that will help you. Scroll down to know How to soundproof a house for a party.
Add extra carpets to the main party floor: The house floor is most likely one of the least important areas while soundproofing a house unless it is a flat or apartment or a shared house and someone is residing below the party areas.
So, the floor is a quick and straightforward area to start with soundproofing a house for the party.
Laying a thick carpet or adding extra carpets to the floor can significantly help manage the auditory range. So, doing this rather than thoroughly blocking sound can be an effective alternative.
But how to soundproof a house for a party with carpets? Well, here is a simple scientific phenomenon related to sound.
Typically, sound waves bounce back from smooth and hard surfaces causing them to echo around the room and intensify the amplitude. Floors such as hardwood floors and tiled floors are some of the best surfaces responsible for echoing sound waves. Hence, it is worth dulling them with a soft, uneven, and bristly material.
That is why carpets significantly help in reducing the sound effects. The structure of the carpets is genuinely good for reducing echo as it stops sound waves from bouncing back compared to the flat surfaces, and the texture of carpets traps sound waves to an extent or absorbs the sound waves. Moreover, carpets are even helpful in reducing footsteps and Bass from subwoofers, unexpectedly which can travel far.
Now comes, can all the carpets do the work of reducing the sound? This question can be answered as carpets can reduce the sound effects, but the thing here is that the thickest possible carpet can work best in reducing party noise. The thicker the carpet will be, the more it’ll diminish sound waves from bouncing back.
However, it is very obvious that no one would agree to buy expensive shag carpets that cost thousands of dollars for a temporary solution.
Luckily, there is a tactic to overcome this issue and get awesome soundproofing for the party. First, try to find discounts on the new or used carpets. Then, if not possible, go to a scrap yard and pick up some old carpets. It might sound a little bit disgusting and uncultured, but it will be an absolutely free solution. Also, people at the party would be plodding over old and used carpet than the expensive flooring.
Even if one has a carpeted house, they should lay more carpets as more mass on the floor will better inhibit sound.
1. Tackle windows cautiously:
Windows are the main problem when temporarily soundproofing the house for parties accompanied by doors. However, getting reliable solutions for soundproofing windows is challenging when people look for how to soundproof a house for a party as they open and close.
Practically, windows cannot be made soundproof permanently, and the problem is the same for temporary soundproofing.
But, we can deal with an obvious and easy solution of closing the windows. As sound outflows mostly through open windows, close all the windows in the house if there are no suffocation issues.
Besides this, the best way to soundproof windows temporarily for a party is to attach heavy drapes or curtains to windows and as many as possible. These heavy curtains will help diminish the sound waves before they escape from the windows or even reach the windows. Logically less sound would leak outside the house directly through windows. People can also buy soundproof curtains if they often organize parties.
If soundproof curtains are not possible, people can try a thrift store and see what they can pick up secondhand soundproof curtains or heavy drapes.
So, begin with the heaviest drape materials possible, such as velvet which is an excellent material for dampening the sound because it creates most blackout. Additionally, sticking several curtains together can make a thicker drape or sheet and dull more sound waves.
If nothing is possible, hang thick blankets on curtain rails by putting in some extra effort as it is not easy.
Most importantly, while soundproofing, windows use drapes that cover the whole window, such as curtains touching the floor with a bit extra length. Also, ensure that the curtains are broader than the window so that they can be pulled together without any gaps.
While all these tactics can be very expensive to temporarily soundproof windows or only keep neighbors trouble-free while partying, a simple way is to use extra curtains on windows as much as possible.
2. Use some bass traps:
Loud music is an indispensable part of a party, and this directly means heavy Bass whose sound can transmit to a wide range. This is because Bass has low-frequency sound waves that travel the farthest as they use less energy to vibrate through the air and surfaces.
Generally, people can tolerate and deal with loud voices to a greater extent, but traveling bass feel is much more irritating and troubling to the ears. Therefore, hammering Bass is also what neighbors are most likely to complain about if the soundproofing is improper.
So, if one is searching for how to soundproof a house for a party, consider the bass sound as a big trouble. And probably there is only one solution to control the Bass – Bass Traps.
Bass traps are like a category of acoustic treatment. They don’t completely block sound but avert it from bouncing and amplifying like the carpets.
Bass traps provide a surface that is not suitable for sound waves to bounce back and amplify. Instead, they simply “trap” bass sound waves and prevent them from echoing further. The bass traps are particularly designed for low-frequency sound waves like Bass, but one can also get the same technology for other frequencies. It is recommended to use at least four bass traps in the speaker room.
Bass traps are definitely worth buying as they make amazing soundproofing levels.
Place the bass traps at a 45-degree angle across the corner in the room as it would be the best place to start. To test them, play high bass music and leave the room; if there is no change in bass sound, keep changing their positions till the results are achieved.
3. Damp down the Doors:
Like Windows, doors are also the most challenging areas to soundproof the house for a party temporarily. Also, closing or locking doors would not work in reducing the noise outside the house.
One lead we have to soundproof a house for a party is that we only need to focus on external doors as they are made from composite materials and usually provide better thermal insulation and considerable soundproofing when closed.
So, here is how to soundproof a house for a party and deal with the doors.
One should try to keep people inside the house as much as possible because it is much easier to control inside the house. Hence, avoiding frequent opening of doors and keeping the doors shut as long as possible can reduce the noise pollution moving outside.
Soundproofing the external doors temporarily by hanging heavy curtains or drapes in front of them can be pretty helpful, like in the case of windows. The heavy drapes or curtains will add mass to the doors and effectively dampen the noise. However, hanging heavy drapes or curtains in front of doors is practically challenging.
One can also fix blankets to the external doors as an alternative. But it cannot deal with the gaps between the door and the top frame. Unpredictably, sound waves or noise pollution can leak through these tiny gaps and fail the entire soundproofing. Nevertheless, one can fasten heavy curtains or blankets above the door frame.
In case using curtains or blankets for external soundproofing doors, have some extra length of material bunching around the bottom of the doors, as it can deal with the gap between doors and floor.
If the curtains or blankets are attached correctly, people will be able to use the doors normally. However, it would be better to try and stop people from doing.
Additionally, try to keep interior doors closed if possible as it can isolate noise within the house and make it difficult to escape the house by keeping rooms blocked.
4. Contour the walls with heavy fabrics:
Doors and windows are the most horrible areas from where sound or noise can escape a house. Still, walls are not to go with; they also need considerable attention while soundproofing the house for a party.
Even though the exterior walls are not a big problem, walls can generally transmit both impact noise and floating noise.
Heavy fabrics are the best answer to how to soundproof a house for a party when it comes to temporarily soundproofing walls.
Soundproofing the walls also depends on who needs to be blocked from the party sound or noise. For instance, if one wants to block or reduce noise for neighbors, concentrating on exterior-facing walls is good enough because these walls are where sounds escape outside the house. And if one needs to soundproof the walls for someone inside the house, they need to deal with soundproofing the interior walls.
Adding mass to the walls and removing their smoothness are the easiest things one can do to soundproof the interior as well as exterior walls. Typically, it would be with special products such as mass-loaded vinyl, but this is expensive and permanent as well and not worth investing money only for a party. So, we’ll obviously look for some more solutions in this case.
Hanging blankets on the walls are probably the best, temporary, and easy-to-manage solution as we can probably have several blankets in our houses. However, if those blankets are not enough, try to arrange them for some cheap or free sources like borrowing or renting them for a night.
One must try and use the heaviest or thickest possible blankets or layers of several thin blankets to make the soundproofing effective. One can use removal blankets that are the best as they are thick.
Alternatively, some layers of decorating dust sheets can also work the same as blankets.
The main problem is a tactic to attach the blankets to the walls temporarily.
In case one has materials such as at least 3 bits of timber, one shorter than the others, he can simply fit them together in a U-shape and make a simple frame that can be leaned against the walls, and blankets can be a nailed or stapled to the top of the frame. This tactic will save the walls from damage or marks of nails.
If the frame is not possible, directly attach the blankets to the walls, but it can leave marks on the walls.
Even though these tactics work enough to diminish the sound or noise inside the house only, remember that they will not do perfect soundproofing.
5. Unconventional wall coverings:
One can also cover the walls with camping or yoga mats and hang blankets or heavy drapes on the walls. These mats are pretty cheap and can be bought from almost any place or market. Or, just like blankets, one can borrow them or get them for rent.
Camping or yoga mats act both as soundproofing material and acoustic treatment. They are more dealing with Bass, echo, and reverberation; however, they manage to block a small amount of noise from transferring through a wall.
If one is looking for how to soundproof a house for a party through walls, this tactic is worth trying as it serves all the requirements for temporary soundproofing of the house.
The biggest advantage of camping these camping or yoga mats is their installation method. These mats are much easier to fix on the walls as one can effortlessly attach them to walls with thumbtacks or small pins that leave only tiny marks after removal.
One could get better and enhanced soundproofing by combining blankets and camping or yoga mats parallelly on the walls because more mass on walls means better soundproofing.
These solutions are worth trying if one is looking for a temporary yet effective solution to soundproof a house for a party.
6. Cover The Ceiling:
If the party is in an apartment, soundproofing the ceiling is vital to ensure that the upstairs neighbors are not getting troubled by sound or noise happening in the house during the party.
One can use several ways like drywall to make the ceiling completely soundproof. For example, if one installs drywalls on the ceiling of the apartment or house, it will also absorb most of the sounds or noise and will not let it reach the upstairs neighbors, disturbing them.
7. Rearrange the Furniture:
Rearrange the furniture to the walls is a good way to more mass to your walls. This is the first and the cheapest soundproofing tactic one can try to soundproof the walls for the party in the house. This is an excellent answer to “how to soundproof a house for a party” with no extra cost.
One just needs to push the closets and bookshelves to the walls whenever having a party at home. It will soundproof the walls and provide more space for guests to move around.
If someone is having a party in an apartment, he can place the furniture against the walls shared with neighbors on the same floor.
8. Organize a party in the house basement:
While this does not apply to all people as not everyone has basements in the house. Also, it is not technically a solution to how to soundproof a house for a party.
However, it’s a good alternative to soundproofing the house for a party. Organizing the party in the basement will make it much more difficult for sound or noise pollution to reach the neighbors as most of the noise will be lost in the earth.
Partying in the basement is an excellent alternative if it’s large enough to accommodate all guests or just a small group party. Additionally, one does not need to try soundproofing hacks that take lots of time and energy.
How Much Time Is Left For The Party?
Not only “how to soundproof a house for a party,” but the effectiveness of temporary soundproofing of the house for a party also depends on the time one has for installing all these things before the party begins.
It is important to consider how much time one genuinely has available to arrange and set up soundproofing solutions in the home. For example, some people might cheerfully spend three to four days soundproofing a house, while most people would not find any point in investing so much time only for the worth of one night’s entertainment.
Not only the time left for the party, time taken for installation of this much soundproofing in the house and removing them back is also on the individual.
However, these using soundproofing solutions are not only the way to soundproof a house for a party as they also act as a protective layer over the house.
Conclusion:-
Soundproofing a house temporarily for a party is not a straightforward task; it will take a lot of effort, time, and work. Soundproofing often requires lots of time and resources as it involves blocking low and high-frequency noise from escaping the house.
We may completely soundproof the house for parties; however, we can try plenty of things to reduce noise or sound escaping your house during the party.