8 Effective Ways to Soundproof a Hollow Door (That Works)
Your door serves as a barrier against many factors. First is security and safety. The second is privacy. And lastly, sound or noise.
There is nothing more annoying than if the sound from the outside or even noise coming from other rooms in the house continues to bug you.
What are these sounds that give you hell?
- Barking dogs
- Slamming doors
- Domestic rifts
- Loud music from the other room
- Ongoing construction
However, there are ways to soundproof hollow doors. You don’t need to apprehend every situation to shut them up and burn bridges with your neighbor or family members.
But no matter how nicely your door is built, if it is hollowed, it is not an acoustic door, to begin with to satisfy your peace of mind-thus, you should keep the noise at bay.
What is Your Door Made of?
When noises pass through the door, it means you have a hollow door. But the thickness of the hollowed door depends on the loudness or softness of sound you hear at a constant distance.
Next Read; How to Prevent Doors From Slamming? (12 DIY Hacks That works)
An insulated interior door depends on how your door is built. Understanding your door’s composition will give you insights into applying practical solutions to keep the noise away. Before you can soundproof an internal door, it is important to understand the door mechanism. But if it is an apartment door, ask your landlord about it.
Doors are attached to a door frame and jamb to let it seal a room. But air gaps can still be present. The only space left in your interior door when you think it is firmly sealed when closed is the door body.
- A door’s body can be made of MDF wood. MDF stands for medium-density fiberboard.
- The fibers in the MDF are glued together to form the board. Even if the collected sawdust fibers are made into a board, the finished board isn’t a hundred percent solid with the micro air gaps in between.
- Though MDF doors are durable enough to serve their purpose, they are not viable for soundproof door.
Before making your door soundproof, you must know the following:
- How to hollow door construction
- Soundproof a hollow door completely
- Know things you need to know to soundproof a hollow door
- Fill hollow core door
How to make a hollow door soundproof? Check out these beautiful suggestions.
8 Easy Ways to Make a Hollow Door Soundproof
1. Add Mass to the Door.
Adding another layer of sound-absorbing material to the door means you have to consider the concept of MDF wood. Did we say that MDF is not a good option for insulating door sound?
Enhancing an MDF door may look somewhat complicated, but it is not, and you can do it. An additional layer will thicken the core of the door, minimizing the sound that passes through.
Ensure that the added weight is enough for the jamb and hinges to hold.
Acoustic foam is also an effective sound insulator, but this works mostly on drywall. That’s why foam insulation is a better option.
2. Seal the Cracks in the Doorframe
Cracks in a door frame are a gateway for air, wind, and moisture to set in. If you apply a door seal, your door will be free of cracks. There’s no room for foreign elements to enter.
Use a sealant or acoustic caulk to seal air leaks. While they are both effective solutions in piping, they are also applicable to doors. An adhesive is more appropriate for a house components like doors and other movable parts because it is more elastic, waterproof, and soundproof.
PRO TIP: Sealant is more elastic than caulk because it contains more silicone and less acrylic, responsible for shrinking and rigidity.
3. Weatherstrip the Door
Weatherstripping is another way to block the sound coming through the corners and cracks of doors and in between them. A weatherstripping tape also prevents the door from slamming.
There are different strips available in the market, and you can purchase them based on thickness, length, and material. Make sure that the strips you intend to stick on the doorframe and jam will not hamper the correct alignment of your door during closing and opening.
PRO TIP: Good thing about weatherstripping is that they are self-adhesive and effective in soundproofing and energy saving, such as heating and cooling.
4. Use a Door Sweep
Similar to weatherstrips, a door sweep is a type of door soundproofing piece that can eliminate sound. Door sweeps fill the gaps at the foot of the door, leaving no gaps between the door and its threshold.
Depending on the material you choose, door sweeps can be in the form of plastic, vinyl, acoustic foam, metal with a rubber loop, nylon, or sponge to effectively block the sound and ward off dirt and even insects away.
Rubber and formwork are best as insulators for a metal door.
5. Hang a Heavy Soundproofing Blanket
Using heavy blankets to soundproof your door is another way to get rid of nasty sounds around. Whether you are setting up a recording room and love to record your singing voice, or you don’t want to hear your neighbors’ consistent bickering, adding a soundproof heavy blanket or soundproof curtain is an effective and practical solution to your problem.
You can pin them instead of using adhesive and vacuum them regularly. Yes, you have succeeded in controlling noise pollution but not air pollution when the blankets have accumulated dust in time.
To order the correct soundproof blanket for your door, check on Amazon offers.
6. Fill the Door with Acoustic Insulation
What we mentioned here are all sound insulators. But adding an insulation spray foam to the door’s core will serve as soundproofing reinforcement and is a more cost-efficient and permanent solution to keep the noise away.
A hollow core door is made of a wood frame, two plywood foam panels on the opposite side, and a space. Adding spray foam into the hollow foam panels also adds mass to the thickness of the door, thus stopping sound from coming through.
Next Door: How to Reduce Noise Through Walls? (Explained for Beginners)
Another way to block sound is by using fiberglass panels. Fiberglass panels are another insulation material to dampen sound and control heating and cooling. Primarily added on wall panels but also applicable on doors.
But if you have a glass door in the form of a sliding door or french door, insulating it could be another way since an acoustic panel is more appropriate for walls.
PRO TIP: Can I spray form into a hollow core door?
Yes, you can. You don’t need to remove the panels to spray the foam. Temporarily removing the doorknob can do the trick as it will leave a hole for the tube to come through.
And then, fill up the core with spray foam until you feel the insulation is enough. Sometimes, you need a door gasket for the knob to re-seal.
7. Place Heavy Furniture Around the Door
One effective way to dampen a sound is by placing heavy furniture around the door. Sofas, cabinets, or bookshelves (with books, of course!) will absorb the sound before it reaches your ears.
So if you have a shared wall with your family members, put the desired furniture along the walls to achieve your silence.
PRO TIP: Do you know that you can use soundproof paint to add insulation to your door? A sound absorbing paint can still make a difference.
8. Replace the Hollow Door with a Solid Wooden Door
Doors in posh homes commonly have a solid wood door built into their house. Even the exterior door sometimes is made of solid wood or a door slab. In comparison, solid wood is the preferred material when you want a soundproof door.
Most solid doors are either oak or mahogany. Solid wood sourced from old trees is the most durable. And in terms of sound blocking, they are more effective than hollow doors.
Next Read: 11 Clever Ways to Reduce Noise from Upstairs Neighbors (Tested)
Telling a door if it is hollow or solid wood is by knocking on it. Hollow sounds give off a high timber compared to a rigid sound that does not echo. Having a soundproof interior door is a plus.
If you are up to soundproofing your door without worrying about the expenses, you may choose to replace your door with a solid one. And it is built around a sturdy frame and door jamb. A solid core door offers better safety, security, and peace of mind.
Soundproofing Hollow-core Door with Cellulose, is it Possible?
Blown-in cellulose is an insulation material used in soundproofing. It is a soundproofing material mainly found in insulating attics and ceilings to ward off sound from the roof and the noise outdoors. If you can use it in such a way, blown-in cellulose can block sound within the house on hollow doors.
However, this method could be tricky as you need to pull the whole panel out to fill in the door with cellulose with the correct density. Simply making a hole will give you less idea if you have filled all the gaps in the core.
Conclusion
So how do you stop a hollow door from making noise and have a soundproof door at last? Just follow the steps in this guide, and you will have a well-insulated sound blocker door.
Understanding your home environment and your door mechanism and construction will help you determine the cause of the noise and how to fix it.
Though we aim to provide a DIY solution to prevent further disturbances in the house brought on by noise penetrating the hollow doors, getting a solid door is an ultimate solution—quite expensive but straightforward and less hassle.
Adding a layer of protection against unwanted noise in the house will help you live in peace. At least you won’t be bothered in the wee hours of the night when there is a rampant sound from the garage door, front door, back door, bedroom door, or any door.