Soundproofing poses many benefits for a commercial building. Noises coming from the external environment can disrupt your establishment's peaceful setting. Furthermore, having a noisy location can affect your employee's productivity and comfort, affecting your business. External noises can also affect your occupant's health, mitigating stress, which is worrisome, especially for people with known heart conditions.
Soundproofing your establishment can include rebuilding the whole area, which can be a hassle and require more labor costs. But luckily, there is an alternative! You don't have to tear down your walls to achieve a noise-free environment. Here's a helpful guide on how to soundproof a wall without all the commotion:
Principles of Soundproofing Existing Walls
You need to understand how soundproofing works before installing materials in your establishment. Soundproofing can be much easier than expected if you know the most effective techniques to stop the sound transfer!
Mass
Sound travels in waves and vibrations. When a sound wave touches a solid surface, it creates movement within that surface, allowing the sound to transfer. Soundwaves have less effect on oversized objects making it more difficult for a soundwave's energy to pass through the surface.
Absorption
Some building materials can negate and absorb the energy produced by a soundwave. An example of absorption sound reduction is the fiberglass insulation in the walls of your establishment. Absorption is more effective with sounds containing higher frequencies. Sound with low frequencies includes considerable energy and will need much more absorbent material to kill the wave's momentum and stop it from transferring to another area.
Mechanical Decoupling
One of the effective ways of minimizing how much noise is transmitted is by decoupling the surfaces. Sound vibrations can easily pass through two touching materials. You can drastically decrease how much energy will pass through by eliminating contact points and adding rubber decouplers where these surfaces meet.
Different Ways to Soundproof Your Walls Without Tearing Down Walls
Add Blow-in Insulation
Blown insulation is loose; recycled newspaper makes excellent, low-density cellulose insulation. This material has an STC rating of 44, signifying that it can effectively soundproof exterior and interior walls. It can be added to walls after construction, a task that is very difficult with other types of insulation.
Adding blow-in insulation to your existing walls will maximize their sound absorption potential. The cellulose works by trapping tiny air pockets, which trap sound waves and drain their energy, canceling the noise before reaching another surface.
Because it is blown in, unlike other forms of insulation, the cellulose insulation can fill all of the little nooks, crannies, and holes. Cellulose blow-in insulation provides many advantages. Aside from this material being environmentally friendly, it is also a very cost-effective way to help soundproof your interior walls.
Seal Cracks and Outlet
Sound waves will seek out any available entry points on a surface that they can pass through. Holes or cracks in your walls, windows, or even just the dead air space around outlets can be a form of noise leak, an entry point for noise entering your establishment. Installing sound-rated access doors and panels can also minimize the likelihood of sound transmissions through open spaces.
By blocking all these entry points, you can significantly reduce the amount of outside noise that seeps its way inside your establishment.
Add Mass Loaded Vinyl
Mass-loaded vinyl is a thin, rolled soundproofing material. It is manufactured with metal particles to create a high-density material with soundproofing abilities. MLV can halter the vibrations and damping sounds when installed between walls to help dissipate and absorb sounds from outside your commercial building.
MLV can be nailed instantly to your existing drywall. This material will block these open-air spaces where sound can seep through.
Acoustic Foam Panels
Acoustic foam panels can absorb and cancel sound waves. Recording studios use them to create quiet environments perfect for recording.
Acoustic foam panels are easy to install with a special adhesive spray made for these materials. You won't require any special tools to install acoustic foam panels. The installation process will only take a few minutes. These panels will block the sound coming in through your walls, but they will also help your room acoustics sound amazing.
Acoustic Fabric Panels
Installing acoustic fabric panels is also a great way to minimize the external noise coming into your establishment while beautifully blending into your area's interior. They come in different attractive colors to match the color scheme of your interior.
In addition, they also vastly enhance the acoustics inside your room by absorbing echoes and reverberations, making music, movies, and even conversations sound much better.
Ensure you choose the suitable material that will provide enough soundproofing for your establishment needs. Soundproofing your establishment will positively impact your business and create a comfortable and safe environment for your occupants.
You can find more interesting and helpful blogs at Best Access Doors! We also offer quality, high-quality products like access doors for any of your construction projects. You can contact us if you need any assistance at (800) 483-0823 for more details.
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