Top 10 Soundproofing Tips

We list our 10 most popular soundproofing tips here to help usher you through to a world filled with more peace and quiet.   The majority of our clients represent one-time-only soundproofing projects.  They are filled with the same up-front questions you have.   Hopefully these tips can help unlock some of your questions, while showing you how to soundproof your project. You can trust the insights, they are based on 26 years of prescribing our soundproofing treatments.

1. Discard Onsite Help

Don’t pay for expensive onsite acoustical consultants or custom installations unless you need it.  Remember that the soundproofing treatments found here on our website have stood the test of time, and are successfully  replicated over and over again around the world.    Each application is tailored to match a room’s shape and size,  the frequency pitch and description of the noise source, the surface textures in the room, and a variety of other issues that will combine to trigger  the  acoustic values you seek.   These are bits of information that we can secure from you without the need for an onsite visit.

While there are times when the threat of litigation or OSHA fines may require acoustical testing for documentation, the majority of sound proofing treatments do not.   Remember, our approach is not to generate a “cure“, but simply afford you better “control” over your acoustics.  Human ear will be the judge and jury to our soundproofing treatments, not some expensive sound measuring device.   If your goal is to control both your costs and your noise,  trust the treatments, products and advice packed into this website.

2. Don’t Be Oversold

If you are here because of poor room acoustics, you simply suffer from reverberation times that are too long.   A room not treated for sound control will typically have a standing Reverb Time ranging between 4 and 10 seconds. This is the length of time it will take for echo to die off in your space.  The problem is that human ear can tolerate just 1.5 to 2.0 seconds worth of reverberation before the echo turns to noise.

By collapsing the Reverb Time, you lower background noise and improve your room’s acoustics.  NetWell will help  guide you, coach you, and define your treatment.  We will ensure  that you target  the right soundproofing product mix, and  the appropriate quantities  designed  to trigger the 2.0 second  reverb.  Don’t be oversold on your treatment by suppliers wanting to sell you more material than you need to trigger a stronger reverb drop than you need.

3. Don’t Under-Treat  Your Room

Many times the prescribed treatment for sound control will conflict with a budget.  The question will often surface regarding the quantities needed to trigger the targeted results. While  NetWell  has no minimum order requirements, we do warn against installing less than the recommended quantities.  Acoustic results will deteriorate exponentially. This means that if you install 80% of what we recommend, you might get 75% of your affect. But if you install 25% of what we recommend, you might trigger just 5% of your result. We strongly encourage our customers to follow our advice on quantities closely, do the full treatment up-front to trigger your results in full.   If need be, work with us to break your payments out, not your treatment.

4. Source First, Path Second

Absorption products target the  path  of a sound wave and lower decibels by controlling the reflections of sound back into a room. Barrier products target the  source  of the noise and lower decibels by blocking the original sound from becoming airborne in the first place. Whenever possible, attack the source of the noise first. You will typically trigger a more favorable result with less material required. Also be forewarned that absorption products such as foam should not be used as a barrier product. Putting foam on a wall, for instance, will not protect the  next door  neighbor from your noise.

5. Shop for Longer Track Records

With the advent of the internet, it can be dizzying trying to determine which online resource to trust and work with on your acoustic project. New suppliers surface every day offering the same set of raw materials designed to abate your noise. Our recommendation to you is to work with suppliers who pre-date the internet explosion. Their treatments have stood the test of time, they have stronger track records based on more experience, they work with more volume which can trigger better price breaks, and they understand which product will best serve you based on your application.    Note that  NetWell  has been prescribing soundproofing treatments since 1990.

6. Buy the Treatment, not the Product

Be warned!  Most soundproofing suppliers sell products by posting them on front page of their web  site and expect you to call and order. Fewer sites take the time to spell out how to soundproof, answering all of your questions, and leading you to the appropriate product mix and quantities required later.   Stay focused on the treatment, let the correct product mix rise to the surface.

If you are unsure, simply call our help desk  at  1-800-638-9355.   Remember, we cater to  an audience that are  first time callers.   Our goal isn’t to sell you product you don’t need, but deliver a good acoustical treatment that will stand the test of time and trigger quality results and referrals.

7. StartSmart

Sign up for our free email course  called  StartSmart.    This is an  8 day  program designed to feed you valuable insider tips on saving money with your soundproofing project.    Help take the guesswork out of your treatment before you start, and avoid those  costly mistakes  so common in the sound control business.   A simple series of  emails are posted in your  inbox (Saturday’s and Wednesdays) over the next 4 weeks.  Each  email  will  deliver  its own message designed to help control your pocketbook as well as your noise.   If you are new to soundproofing, this  popular e-series is a must!

8. Soundproofing:  Like Before You Leap

Like every other vendor out there in today’s world, we have Blogs,  Facebooks, Linked In, Pinterest and Twitter accounts designed to help propel your conversation forward.   You are not the only one who has your same sound issues, there are others just like you.   Reach and share, learn and grow.  Check for the social links throughout this website.   We welcome you to the  conversation.

9. Soundproofing:  Learn Before You Leap

Discover the treatment most closely aligned to your own in our soundproofing Treatment Guide.  There you will find the definition of your same noise issue that we’ve been successfully treating over and over again spanning back more than 30 years.    From this application page, we will then link you to the appropriate soundproofing Product for your project!

10. Soundproofing:  Look Before You Leap

Visit our  Case Studies library and our Soundproofing Blog section. NetWell  strongly encourages its alumni of customers to post their results back to  NetWell  for your review. Learning how to soundproof is all about the art of replication. We will do for you, what we’ve done for countless before you. Take a look, and call our help desk for any questions related to what you discover.