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You can become creative, messy, and noisy as you want. Thanks to the garage. It will give you the peace and space to do what you want. Whether it is playing your musical instruments, repair cars, or any other work, your garage will always be the perfect place.
However, this fun might be cut short. Blame it on the noise coming from the garage. But this should never be the case. You can soundproof your garage.
This article, therefore, discusses cheap and easiest ways to block garage noises.
First Start by Understanding Your Garage
Soundproofing a garage is not a copy and paste exercise. What works for your friend’s garage can fail in your garage. Different factors can contribute to this variance.
Therefore, before picking any easy and cheap way to block noises in your garage, understand it. Know everything about your garage. Consider the following factors before choosing any soundproofing technique for your garage.
The Purpose of Your Garage
How do you use your garage? Understand the main function of your garage. Do you put your musical instruments, cars, or working tool in the garage?
For some people, the garage is a place to store every tool. For other people, only cars live in the garage while others it’s their musical heaven. And to most people garage is a combination of all of the above. You will find cars, bicycles, musical instruments, and anything else that cannot be stored in the other rooms of the house.
The purpose of the garage will determine the level and type of noise coming out of the garage. The purpose of the garage will also determine whether there is any disturbance caused by the noise from outside.
Therefore, it’s essential to understand your garage. This will give you a good idea for Cheap & Easiest Ways to Block Noises.
The Garage General Layout
This is understanding the construction layout of your garage. In this section, you should understand basic things like garage design. Take note of the number of doors and windows. Know the type of material used to construct the garage. Find air spaces and where they lead to.
If there are windows, find out how many they are. Inspect the strength of the ceiling. Go to the nearest rooms and find out the noise level they are experiencing from the garage.
The layout will determine the level of noise coming in and out of the garage. Therefore, understanding it will help in choosing the most effective Cheap & Easiest Ways to Block Noises.
The Level of Disturbance
Do your neighbors complain about your garage noises? If yes, you need to find durable, soundproofing materials that can block the noise.
Find out the level of noise coming out of the garage. What is it’s the effect on the people around you?
Understanding how your garage is disturbing people around it will give you a clear idea on what to do. You will be able to use an effective technique and avoid further problems with your neighbors.
You may also like: 7 Best Ways To Reduce Bass Noise From Neighbours
Reason for Soundproofing
Why do you want to soundproof your garage? The following are the major reasons why anyone might consider soundproofing their garage.
Blocking Noise from the Garage: If you are getting complains from your neighbors, this is the solution. Or probably, when someone is working in the garage, they cause a disturbance in the entire house. Fortunately, no more disturbances with soundproofing. Block all noises. Keep the noise to yourself.
Stopping Noise from Entering the Garage: You could be using your garage as an office, music room, or workshop. Whether it’s one of this or not, you need to use your garage in peace. You won’t enjoy it when you have noises coming from all over. In case this is your concern soundproof your garage.
Improving Garage Acoustic Quality: If you are using your garage as a music room, drum room or recording studio, you might need to improve its acoustic quality. Different sound absorption technique will improve the acoustic sound.
3 Simple and Cheapest Ways to Soundproof a Garage
With that said, now you can choose the best soundproofing technique. Check the techniques described below and choose the most effective technique for your garage.
1. Soundproof the Garage Ceiling
Rooms above the garage are the first to be affected by its noises. This is why it’s important to start working on the garage ceiling. This is especially if you are blocking noise from the garage to the other areas in your home.
There are different techniques that you can use to soundproof the garage ceiling. For effectiveness, you will need to combine more than one technique. The following are the common techniques that will eliminate noise from your basement ceiling.
Adding Mass on the Ceiling
Adding mass to your ceiling is the easiest thing to do. The aim of adding mass is to thicken the ceiling surface. Thick surfaces do not vibrate. As a result, the sound does not travel through them easily. Adding mass would include pinning extra wood or installing more concrete materials on the ceiling.
Mechanical Isolation
Mechanical isolation is the technique of introducing air between two objects that transfers sound. The technique involves using double studded walls, resilient channels, sound clips, and staggered studs.
A good way to do this is by using drop ceilings.
Drop ceilings are also known as suspended ceilings. Although the technique does not give your garage an appealing look, it works well in eliminating noise.
Start by filling the ceiling cavities. Fix the acoustic tiles in a hanging manner. Acoustical tiles are a porous material that dampens the sound by trapping it in its voids. After fixing the tiles, insulate them with a fiberglass backing.
Absorption Technique
Absorption technique involves using soft materials that absorb sound. Absorption material converts the sound to heat energy.
Ideally, you need to eliminate, cancel, destroy, or remove all noise from your garage. Therefore, in your basement, the absorption technique works perfectly. It cannot soundproof 100% of the noise, but it will eliminate most of the noise.
Use soundproofing blankets or foams to absorb all the noise from your garage. This technique improves the quality of internal acoustic from your garage.
Sound Dampening Technique
In sound dampening, you deal with sound before it travels to other places. You put a blocking material to the path of the sound. It’s reducing or changing the frequency of the sound.
Sound dampening materials block the sound and reduce the vibration. As the vibration reduces, the sound is dampened and cannot travel further.
2. Work on the Door and Windows
Garage doors and windows allow much of noise to escape from your garage. They have large air spaces that allow noise to pass through them. Therefore, start by soundproofing the door.
Most doors are made of cardboard. The material does not block the garage noise well. The garage door gaps are also to blame for the noise heard from outside.
So how can we soundproof the bathroom door? Below are top ways to prevent the noise coming from your bathroom.
First, inspect your door and windows. Understand the materials used on it. Find all the gaps and seal them.
Thicken the Garage Doors
Before trying doing anything else on the garage door, inspect it. Check its thickness and construction material on it.
When you knock, how does your door sound? Does it sound solid or hollow? If the door is hollow, that is the problem. Hollow doors are affordable but poor in soundproofing.
There are simple techniques for solving this problem. The simplest technique is to install sound dampening materials on the door. You can install moving blankets or sound deadening foams on it.
The most effective technique is to remove your light door and replace it. This technique will cost a higher budget, but it will give better results than applying dampening materials on the door.
However, if you live in a rented house or apartment, you might not take this method. If you must replace the door, talk to the property manager or Landlord. Your property owner might allow you to change the door. Others might not agree with this idea. But if you are lucky, your Landlord might replace the garage door on his own cost.
However, if you cannot be allowed to replace the door, install sound-deadening materials. It will help. Consider the techniques discussed below.
Related: Effective Ways to Soundproof Sliding Door
Use Soundproofing Seal
Seal all air gaps on your door. Check also for any space between the door and your wall. Use the soundproofing seals.
This method is the cheapest but yet among the most effective for soundproofing a garage door. The seals are readily available on Amazon. Buy one today and fix them. Below are systematic steps to install the dampening seal on the garage door.
- Measure the width and height of your garage door gaps.
- Use a handsaw to cut the weather-stripping into correct sizes.
- Place the cut strips to seal the door.
- Cover the gaps from inside. Covering from outside will make your door look ugly.
This technique will reduce the noise from your garage. It does this by blocking all the air spaces. However, if you don’t like it, other techniques can be used on dampening the door. Keep reading.
Buy the following seals on Amazon.
[asa2 tpl=”Flat_box_horizontal”]B07LB21S31[/asa2]- Foam Adhesive Strips
- 2-Inch-Wide X 1/4 Inch Thick
- Total 13 Feet Long
- Seal, Doors,
- Waterproof,
- Sound Dampening
- Craft Tape (33 Ft- 1/8″ x 2″)
Get Door Sweeps for Your Garage
A garage door needs to be opened and closed regularly. This is why there are spaces between the door and the garage floor. However, the same gap allows sound from the garage traveling through it.
The large the gap, the more noise it’s going to allow through the door.
Bring an end to this problem. Buy a draft stopper on Amazon and fix it under the door. The stoppers are also called door sweeps.
When installed under the door they slide nicely over carpets, wooden, and laminate floors. They leave no marks or scratches on the floor.
The role of the stopper under the garage door is to block all air spaces. As the air spaces are closed, noise from outside or in the garage cannot pass through the door.
Check the following sweeps on Amazon
[asa2 tpl=”Flat_box_horizontal”]B07P5H842N[/asa2]- Under Door Seal for Exterior/Interior Doors
- Soundproof Door Bottom
- Weather Stripping
- Double-Sided
- No cold
- 36 Inch Foam
Use Soundproofing Blankets
Soundproofing blankets work efficiently. They are thick and do not allow sound or air to pass through them. The blankets are also readily available on Amazon. You can install them on yourself.
Pin the blankets on the doors. Install the blankets on the inside part of the door. Alternatively, hang the blankets like you would hang curtains.
Use the same blankets on the windows. However, on the windows, buy moving blankets with Grommets. Hang the blankets on curtain lines over the garage windows.
Sure-Max 12 Moving & Packing Blankets
[asa2 tpl=”Flat_box_horizontal”]B01GK6JTFE[/asa2]- Deluxe Pro
- Double-sided construction
- 80″ x 72″ (40 lb/DZ Weight)
- Professional Quilted Shipping Furniture Pads Royal Blue
- Effective sound absorption.
- Measures 95″ x 54.
- Great for recording studios, drum rooms, rehearsal spaces, vocal booths, and more
- Installation hardware included
- Deluxe Moving Blankets by Chean Cheap Moving Boxes
- Size: 72″ X 80″
- Double lock stitching and thick 1/4-inch material
- Ideal for preventing scratches and nicks to furniture
- Double lock stitching with four square finished corners
A soundproofing blankets also very useful to soundproof your room, air vents and many more. You can check this article about soundproofing a room with blankets.
Hang Soundproofing Curtains Over the Door
Soundproofing curtains work the same way with blankets. The only difference is that the curtains are hanged. Blankets can be hanged or pinned on the door.
Use the curtains either on the door or window.
We have tested the following curtains in our home. They are all effective.
[asa2 tpl=”Flat_box_horizontal”]B01CS31NDE[/asa2]- Noise Reducing Thermal Insulated Solid Ring
- Top Blackout Window Curtains/Drapes
- Two Panels,42 x 84 Inch.
- Thermal Insulated
- Noise Reducing
- Size: 52W x 54L Inch
Remove Unnecessary Windows
Most of the times, it’s not necessary to have many windows in your garage. Therefore, if you have several windows, remove them. Leave one window. That will be enough to bring in light and fresh air in your garage.
You can leave the windows only if you use the garage as an office or any other function that would require you to stay for more time in the garage.
3. Lastly, Work on the Garage Walls
If you have soundproofed your doors, windows, and ceiling but still hear noise from the garage, work on the wall. Thin walls with cracks can allow garage noise to pass through it. Therefore, seal all the cracks on drywall.
Try the following techniques to block all noises passing through your wall.[asa2_img img=”4″ size=”LargeImage” width=”500″ height=”500″ align=”right” show_title=”no” show_button=”no”]B010GPFRUQ[/asa2_img]
Add a layer to your garage walls.
If your garage drywall is thin, thicken it. This is the most effective technique to dampen noise passing through them. When adding the drywall, add sound dampening materials in between.
Sound vibrations will have a difficult time passing through a thick wall. As a result, all garage noise will be blocked from passing through the wall.
Use Acoustic Foam
Acoustic foam panels are specifically designed for music rooms. They can also function well on the garage walls. They absorb noise. As a result, they improve garage acoustic quality. This technique is perfect if you use your garage for musical recording or playing.
Check the foams below on Amazon.
Foamily 12 Pack- Acoustic Panels
[asa2 tpl=”Flat_box_horizontal”]B010GPFRUQ[/asa2]- 12 Pack covers 12 square feet
- Professional acoustic control
- Great for spot treating sound on walls
Mybecca 12 Pack- Acoustic Panels
[asa2 tpl=”Flat_box_horizontal”]B00TP7C9YY[/asa2]- 12 pack means
- Professional acoustic control Acoustic
- Sound deadening material
Final Thoughts
Garages noise shouldn’t be the cause of enmity in your neighborhood. There are easy and cheap ways to block all noises. First start by understanding your garage, then work on the ceiling, doors, windows, and ceiling. These are the four areas where most of the noise will pass through.
