We have a disused doorway, on one side of which is a bed and the other side
of which is the food preparation surface in the kitchen. The door remains
in place, but is hemmed in by the kitchen units. It's a single
skin plywood panel door, so the panels are only a few millimetres thick.

All kinds of kitchen noises can be heard perfectly clearly through the door,
which is annoying. Blocking up the doorway permanently sadly isn't an
option. Without changing the door or modifying the fabric (so in a way that
can be installed and removed without marks) how might the soundproofing of
this doorway be increased?

There's plenty of space thickness available on the kitchen side, so I
thought about placing a second skin in front, perhaps another old door, and
then filling the gap with something. Thermal insulation (mineral) wool is a
possibility, but how good is this for sound rather than heat insulation? As
the noise is primarily low frequencies I imagine I want something that's
layered but denser than fluffy foam (like books rather than candyfloss).
(And, as I can't seal it, loose fibreglass floating round the kitchen isn't
so great)

Any ideas?

Thanks
Theo

On 14 June, 13:29, Theo Markettos
wrote:
We have a disused doorway, on one side of which is a bed and the other side
of which is the food preparation surface in the kitchen. *The door remains
in place, but is hemmed in by the kitchen units. *It's a single
skin plywood panel door, so the panels are only a few millimetres thick.

All kinds of kitchen noises can be heard perfectly clearly through the door,
which is annoying. *Blocking up the doorway permanently sadly isn't an
option. *Without changing the door or modifying the fabric (so in a way that
can be installed and removed without marks) how might the soundproofing of
this doorway be increased?

There's plenty of space thickness available on the kitchen side, so I
thought about placing a second skin in front, perhaps another old door, and
then filling the gap with something. *Thermal insulation (mineral) wool is a
possibility, but how good is this for sound rather than heat insulation? *As
the noise is primarily low frequencies I imagine I want something that's
layered but denser than fluffy foam (like books rather than candyfloss).
(And, as I can't seal it, loose fibreglass floating round the kitchen isn't

You can get high density mineral wool designed for acoustic
insulation.
Simon.

Bren wrote:

"Dave H." wrote in message
news:iXrRn.20477$Ha1.5966@hurricane...
Another factor in good soundproofing is mass, particularly for low
frequencies, so it's worth making the second skin from something fairly
heavy, e.g. 12 or 18mm ply/OSB/MDF with a couple of layers of
plasterboard screwed on one or both sides.

Agree about the plasterboard - 3 or 4 layers preferably. The link below
makes interesting reading -
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul0...aqacoustic.htm

Thanks, that's really useful. That suggests using a fire door which is
prefilled with plasterboard: saves me having to construct the layering
myself, though whether it's feasible for me to cut one down to fit the inner
doorframe dimensions I'm not sure. (The fire-door-ness is also useful too,
in case there's a kitchen fire)

If I screw things into the door (eg hooks) is that likely to damage the
soundproofing a lot?

Theo

On Jun 14, 1:29*pm, Theo Markettos
wrote:
We have a disused doorway, on one side of which is a bed and the other side
of which is the food preparation surface in the kitchen. *The door remains
in place, but is hemmed in by the kitchen units. *It's a single
skin plywood panel door, so the panels are only a few millimetres thick.

All kinds of kitchen noises can be heard perfectly clearly through the door,
which is annoying. *Blocking up the doorway permanently sadly isn't an
option. *Without changing the door or modifying the fabric (so in a way that
can be installed and removed without marks) how might the soundproofing of
this doorway be increased?


Could you unscrew the door and store it, so you can put it back
later? You could then fix two double plasterboard planels inside the
frame with rockwool in between. As others have said, you need mass to
stop the low frequencies and fibre filling to stop the highs. You
need good caulking around the edges and you must have no mechanical
link between the two heavy panels other than along the edges.

Perhaps you could bolt the two panels together along the edges so as
to grip the doorframe but without damaging it.

Robert

"Theo Markettos" wrote in message
...
Bren wrote:

"Dave H." wrote in
message
news:iXrRn.20477$Ha1.5966@hurricane...
Another factor in good soundproofing is mass, particularly for low
frequencies, so it's worth making the second skin from something fairly
heavy, e.g. 12 or 18mm ply/OSB/MDF with a couple of layers of
plasterboard screwed on one or both sides.

Agree about the plasterboard - 3 or 4 layers preferably. The link below
makes interesting reading -
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul0...aqacoustic.htm

Thanks, that's really useful. That suggests using a fire door which is
prefilled with plasterboard: saves me having to construct the layering
myself, though whether it's feasible for me to cut one down to fit the
inner
doorframe dimensions I'm not sure. (The fire-door-ness is also useful
too,
in case there's a kitchen fire)

If I screw things into the door (eg hooks) is that likely to damage the
soundproofing a lot?

Theo

I don't think it would make much difference to the soundproofing unless you
completely bridge the space between the front and back of the door.

Double layers of cement board?

One issue is the architrave and door frame.
You need to pull an architrave off and fill it with expanding foam
(acoustic foam?) because otherwise you have a very easy path for sound
to "slip around" whatever you do. Architrave wood of 2x 19mm, then an
air gap pretty much.

Likewise I assume the door is not a stud wall - no point creating a
"super door" if the rest of the wall lets it down.

js.b1 wrote:
Double layers of cement board?

That's possible. I also notice that the access to the kitchen side of the
door is constricted (units in the way) so getting in panels could be tricky.
I'll have to grab a bit of wood and test the angles.

One issue is the architrave and door frame.
You need to pull an architrave off and fill it with expanding foam
(acoustic foam?) because otherwise you have a very easy path for sound
to "slip around" whatever you do. Architrave wood of 2x 19mm, then an
air gap pretty much.

As I can't damage the fabric, pulling the architrave off isn't an option
I think I'm going to have to live with leakage around the sides. Apart from
conduction through the architrave wood, is there typically an air gap
between it and the end of the wall?

Likewise I assume the door is not a stud wall - no point creating a
"super door" if the rest of the wall lets it down.

It's loadbearing, so I'm pretty sure it isn't stud. There's also a chimney
in it (opening only into the bedroom), so I'm not sure what that's doing for
the acoustics (other than piping down sounds of pigeons sitting on the
chimney pot).

Theo

On Jun 16, 12:53*am, Theo Markettos theom
wrote:
Apart from conduction through the architrave wood, is there
typically an air gap between it and the end of the wall?

Hole in brick wall.
Fit door frame loosely in hole.
Fit wooden wedges between wall & frame and align.
Screw through frame into brick wall with frame anchors.

Thus there tends to be a gap between the door frame & wall, on older
houses it can be quite large (0.75") whereas on modern it is most
likely somewhat smaller.

A more direct noise route is of course around the door - draught
excluder can help considerably.