Proofing from external sounds

[JesseHumphry]

Hey all. My wife and I life in Chiang Mai. She's a pretty light sleeper; we have 4 cats (who like to play at night) and I tend to work overnight as well. I want my wife to be able to get a good night's sleep, and I want to be able to sleep during the day without awakening during the normal bustle of the day. 

We have 2 PVC doors: one to the bathroom, and one to the living room. I suspect we'd need to seal them as well as get a heavier door.

We also have 2 windows. I suspect the same there as well as double-glazing? 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to preventing external sounds from getting into the bedroom, as well as where in CNX we might be able to acquire these things? Thanks in advance!

[freedomnow]

latex earplugs..am not joking. To really do what you are wanting will cost a small fortune.

Been there done that.

[JesseHumphry]

6 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

latex earplugs..am not joking. To really do what you are wanting will cost a small fortune.

Been there done that.

How much is "a small fortune"? I make pretty solid money. 

[freedomnow]

You get 2 different thicknesses of glass panes with a double glazing window for a start as that eats the noise transmission vs matched thickness.. and no airvent on the frame of the window itself for a start...'lead-like' lined curtains integrated into a frame...etc etc.

 

If you had to soundproof a wall, I'm not even sure if Thailand has materials

to fit a floating wall...wall is held by a metal frame and the joint virbrate any incoming noise into motion heat..so the entire wall shakes the noise through itself and dissipates it...look at soundproofing websites in the west and see what you can get in Thailand.

 

With single core walls that makes things harder vs double leaf walls.

A door behind a door etc etc.

It's a real tough one, as you need to treat sound like water and how to stop the dam bursting at various leak points.

[JesseHumphry]

21 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

You get 2 different thicknesses of glass panes with a double glazing window for a start as that eats the noise transmission vs matched thickness.. and no airvent on the frame of the window itself for a start...'lead-like' lined curtains integrated into a frame...etc etc.

 

If you had to soundproof a wall, I'm not even sure if Thailand has materials

to fit a floating wall...wall is held by a metal frame and the joint virbrate any incoming noise into motion heat..so the entire wall shakes the noise through itself and dissipates it...look at soundproofing websites in the west and see what you can get in Thailand.

 

With single core walls that makes things harder vs double leaf walls.

A door behind a door etc etc.

It's a real tough one, as you need to treat sound like water and how to stop the dam bursting at various leak points.

Yeah I was definitely thinking something a bit more casual, so maybe sound mitigation is a better phrase than sound proofing. I'm not looking to build a recording studio here, just a relatively quiet bedroom LOL

[stubuzz]

46 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

latex earplugs..am not joking. To really do what you are wanting will cost a small fortune.

Been there done that.

I found that the wax earplugs from Boots were the most comfortable.

[sometimewoodworker]

7 hours ago, JesseHumphry said:

Does anyone have any suggestions as to preventing external sounds from getting into the bedroom,

Sound reduction involves mass + mass + mass while stopping transmission through air gaps. Unless your PVC doors are high end they will need to be changed. To effectively reduce sound transfer through walls you need floating walls added on noise isolation mounts. For the ceiling a couple of extra layers of sound isolation plaster board will do wonders. For windows you will need double or better triple glazed units with different thicknesses of glass.
 

Noise reduction is not cheap or easy, if you don’t do it right you will burn money with very little benefit.

 

 

 

 

[papa al]

Hang mover's quilts all around.

Works good.

[Kwasaki]

8 hours ago, JesseHumphry said:

How much is "a small fortune"? I make pretty solid money. 

Have double or triple glazing installed.

Have secondary door fitted either inside or the outer side of the existing room doors.

Insulate the ceiling if not already done so. 

If the walls are thin insulate them with foam board & plasterboard sandwich construction from inside.

If you can and prefer you can space the outside wall with brick ties, insulate and have an outer finished brick wall built.

Put thick heavy curtains that are also lined to windows and also to inside of the doors. 

If you have to ask how much will it cost you can't afford it. 

Edited October 3, 2021 by Kwasaki

[Artisi]

Move houses often the best remedy. 

[Yellowtail]

Tape cardboard over the doors and windows on both sides. This should give you an idea of what the maximum benefit you can get from changing them.

 

If you have typical cement/brick walls they let a lot of noise through.