Soundproofing interior door?
#1
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Soundproofing interior door?
We recently bought a house with a lower half-basement level. We are renting that lower level out to a couple college kids while our family lives upstairs. There's a separate entrance downstairs in addition to an interior stairway between levels. We agreed not to use that interior door so that they wouldn't feel like we were dropping in on them (or vice versa). So now it's just a stairwell and a door...unfortunately, it's a cheap hollow-core door, and sound travels through it quite well. They have been pretty quiet tenants so far, but we can hear their TV pretty clearly from our kitchen and bedroom if ours isn't on (and vice versa I'm sure). We can also hear their conversations if they're in the kitchen/dining area, and I'm sure they can hear ours. I'd like to replace the door completely with a heavier MDF version, or something similar, but my husband doesn't want to spend $90 on a new door.
Any other budget ideas for insulating/soundproofing that area without a door replacement? Because the staircase has a landing, it's not visible from downstairs. My husband thought maybe we could stack some boxes or even try acoustic tiles on the back of the door, plus maybe a weather strip or something that can cover the gap at the bottom of the door. Is this even worth trying without replacing the door first? It's also pretty easy for smells to pass through, if one of us is cooking on either end.
I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but I took my best guess. If there's a better place to post this, let me know and I can move it.
Any other budget ideas for insulating/soundproofing that area without a door replacement? Because the staircase has a landing, it's not visible from downstairs. My husband thought maybe we could stack some boxes or even try acoustic tiles on the back of the door, plus maybe a weather strip or something that can cover the gap at the bottom of the door. Is this even worth trying without replacing the door first? It's also pretty easy for smells to pass through, if one of us is cooking on either end.
I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but I took my best guess. If there's a better place to post this, let me know and I can move it.
#2
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You may want to try putting up a curtain rod just outside (inside) the door and hanging some heavy curtains or other heavy cloth. May even want two layers. Put the rod right up by the ceiling and have the cloth long enough to touch the floor. Has bonus that it can be moved out of the way if need be.
Another option would be to buy a piece of 2" thick solid foam insulation and screw it to the door frame (not the door). If you screw it to the frame in a couple places on each edge, it will seal far tighter than the door does.
Both of those should be pretty cheap to try. Hope this helps.
Another option would be to buy a piece of 2" thick solid foam insulation and screw it to the door frame (not the door). If you screw it to the frame in a couple places on each edge, it will seal far tighter than the door does.
Both of those should be pretty cheap to try. Hope this helps.