Soundproofer Catford Greater London (SE6): If your property in Catford is being impacted by noise, perhaps you should look into putting in some soundproofing to bring tranquillity to your bedroom, lounge, studio or home office. You might also be concerned about any noise from a family room or home cinema room seeping out and disturbing others. No matter which soundproofing needs are required, it will be essential for everybody's peace of mind and sanity.
First it would be a good idea to get our heads around how sound travels and is transmitted before we are able to identify ways to reduce any excessive noise intruding into or escaping from your home.
Sound basically travels in two ways throughout your home:
1. By vibration of solid materials and objects.
2. Through the air by vibration of air molecules.
Sound also travels through water, but unless you are looking at soundproofing a swimming pool or aquarium we'll only deal with its isolation via materials and air.
SOUND TRAVELLING THROUGH THE AIR
Sound can be transmitted into and out of a room through gaps around doors, ill fitting windows, heating ducts and even light fittings and electrical sockets. All noise and sounds will initiate the vibration and movement of the molecules in the air, and this is what we hear. All sounds are moved through the air in this same fashion; it doesn't matter if it's children playing, aircraft, heavy machinery, music playing or nearby traffic that produces the sound.
It is helpful to imagine a room as a boat and carefully inspect it for leaks before sailing off into the sunset.
SOUND THROUGH STRUCTURES AND OBJECTS
We all know that sound is just the vibrations of air being picked up by the ear, but those vibrations are also transferred to solid objects. Sound will cause vibrations in the walls, floors and ceilings of your rooms, and may cause a resonating effect that is transmitted outside of the room itself. Even in a room that is encased in a dense material which is resistant against sound, such as a concrete lined cellar, the sound can be transmitted and possibly even amplified to other rooms in the dwelling.
How can we prevent these vibrations and sounds affecting other people? Soundproofing is the solution.
SIMPLE SOUNDPROOFING STEPS
If you've got bare floorboards or floors, think about covering them with carpet or laying a few rugs to help reduce any sound reflections and vibrations. Such a straightforward solution can enhance a room and help dampen down any noise to boot. Hanging wall coverings and curtains can also damp down sound reflections and vibrations through windows and walls without the need for a professional team of soundproofers.
Another inexpensive and do-it-yourself solution is to plug any gaps around light fittings, door frames, windows and electrical sockets. Stopping up the holes and gaps with an acoustic sealant found in many DIY and building material shops, will make a massive difference to sound transmission in your room. Acoustic sealants can be slightly more pricey than standard plaster or other sealant products, but their impressive soundproofing qualities far outweigh the small additional cost.
If the room you are working on is an empty canvas and you're soundproofing while you decorate or renovate, consider installing a layer of soundboard or plasterboard, (also called sheet rock, gypsum board or drywall). This is a dense type of board that's a perfect and economic soundproofing material. It's excellent for areas like home cinemas, studies or music studios being built within your house in Catford. It's preferable to hire a reliable contractor near you to fit the plasterboard unless you have some experience in this kind of work.
One final simple soundproofing remedy is to check the materials your doors are made of. If you've got hollow doors fitted to rooms you will find that they can resonate and vibrate with any sound that they experience. Solid wood doors, whilst a bit more expensive, can do wonders for improving the soundproofing in a room.
PROFESSIONAL SOUNDPROOFING CATFORD
If the level of sound is high in your location, because of aircraft flying over, or traffic noise from a nearby road for example, then more serious methods to deal with the excess noise will need to be explored. This is where hiring the services of an established soundproofing installer will deliver the most effective results.
Expect to answer the four following questions during a review of your soundproofing needs:
- Is it external sounds or internal noise that you want to deal with? i.e. To cut out passing trains, noisy neighbours or street noise, or is it from internally generated sounds from a home cinema or music studio for example.
- What is the area you want to soundproof made from? (i.e. a brick wall, a stud partition wall or a fully lined concrete wall).
- How big is the space you want to have soundproofed?
- Precisely where is the principal source of the noise coming from? i.e. Above, through the flooring, walls, doors, ceiling or windows, or a combination.
A specialist soundproofing contractor in Catford will look at all of these factors to provide solutions to your sound problems over a range of budgets. There will be distinct remedies for each of the key areas the space you want to soundproof.
PROFESSIONAL SOUNDPROOFING OF WALLS, CEILINGS and FLOORS
To soundproof any sort of room requires 2 key components:
- Maximise sound absorption.
- Reduce sound reverberation and amplifying.
This will require a site survey to ascertain which areas require enhancing from the present state.
The experts will work out ways of adding materials with different masses and densities to maximise the sound quality of the room. Soundproofing will be boosted by the addition of acoustic rubber and foam which absorbs soundwaves and enhances and the sound quality of a room.
Any voids in the room might need some form of muffling material to be placed between them to reduce noise resonation. If you visualise a drum for example, you are looking at a sound increasing void enclosed within a resonating material; in essence what you might find inside ceiling and floor joists, or cavities in walls.
Soundproofing capabilities are enhanced if different densities and materials are used, rather than installing a single form of material. This is due to the fact that the various frequencies are absorbed differently by different materials, therefore a variety of densities, shapes and layers within your soundproofing panels are needed for the best results.
Part E of the Building Regulations regulate the soundproofing of residential properties, and will have to be followed by any soundproofing company in Catford. This regulation has the aim of protecting other residents in the immediate area from the effects of noise pollution.
Look out for companies showing the logos of the Association of Noise Consultants or the Institute of Acoustics to ensure you are using a business that is knowledgable and fully qualified in the soundproofing sector. A reliable soundproofing contractor in Catford will have been subject to a vetting procedure for the professionalism and quality of their work to have become a member of these organisations.
Government Grants for Soundproofing
Sound pollution and soundproofing grants have been offered over the years from local councils and Government. If you live near a busy road or motorway you should contact the Highways Agency who've offered grants in the past for soundproofing domestic properties in selected areas. It is recommended that you seek advice from the Government portal for current grants and compensation schemes to find out if you are entitled to any assistance with the costs of your soundproofing in Catford. (Tags: Government Grants, Grants for Catford Soundproofing, Catford Soundproofing Grants)
Soundproofing Foam Catford
It seems from doing some simple keyphrase research that a popular search on Google and Bing is for "soundproofing foam" and for local householders, "soundproofing foam Catford". This is somewhat baffling, because it would suggest a basic lack of awareness by local householders who seem to be of the opinion that their noise pollution issues can be resolved through the use of soundproofing foam products.
It's not my intention to be the bearer of bad news, but most noise related issues can't be helped by acoustic foam, and if you are aiming to filter out the din caused by noisy neighbours in Catford, you will have to look for something better.
The foam in the form of an "egg box" that you often see being sold in sheet or tile form is not actually intended for stopping the transmission of noise, but was really developed for use in music studios and comparable surroundings, to reduce echoing and resonation and improve the acoustic performance of a room. This sort of soundproofing foam is not efficient at preventing noise from passing through a neighbouring wall, or stopping sound from travelling around your house. Acoustic foam is porous and does not block noise, it absorbs it and actually allows sound to pass through it.
It may be that you're actually creating a music studio in your home in Catford, in which case this product may be extremely useful for you.
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Mass-loaded vinyl - article 421.
Soundproofing Near Catford
Also find: Horn Park soundproofing, Southend soundproofing, Ladywell soundproofing, Forest Hill soundproofing, Kingswood Estate soundproofing, New Beckenham soundproofing, Upper Sydenham soundproofing, East Dulwich soundproofing, Bellingham soundproofing, Brockley soundproofing, Honor Oak soundproofing, Grove Park soundproofing, Hither Green soundproofing services and more. All these villages and towns are covered by tradesmen fitting soundproofing. Catford home and business owners can get price quotes by clicking here.
Catford Soundproofing Tasks
There are a wide array of tasks that can be carried out by your local Catford soundproofing expert including soundproof curtains, studio soundproofing Catford, soundproofing walls in Catford, soundproofing supplies, window soundproofing services Catford, acoustic solutions Catford, soundproofing underlay Catford, domestic soundproofing, acoustic fencing, sash window soundproofing Catford, under floor hanger systems, timber floor soundproofing in Catford, ceiling soundproofing Catford, reduce noise from downstairs, resilient bar soundproofing, soundproofing plasterboard, soundproofing floors, acoustic mineral wool installations, door soundproofing, acoustic panels, echo reducing, independent ceiling systems, concrete floor soundproofing, noise control services in Catford, noisy neighbour soundproofing, acoustic treatments, soundproofing walls from noisy neighbours, soundboard installations, soundproofing consultations, basement soundproofing Catford, industrial soundproofing Catford, cheap soundproofing Catford, and lots more. These are just some of the activities that are performed by people fitting soundproofing. Catford specialists will keep you informed about their whole range of services.
Other Tradespeople in Catford Greater London: When your Catford home or garden is in need of improvements or refurbishing, many different tradesmen may be needed to finish the work, and despite the fact that your present search is for soundproofing in Catford, Greater London, you may also need the expertise of rubbish removal in Catford, roof cleaning in Catford, a plumber in Catford, a handyperson in Catford, a tiler in Catford, a plasterer in Catford, a carpenter in Catford, a window fitter in Catford, a floor fitter in Catford, a painter and decorator in Catford, SKIP HIRE in Catford, a bricklayer in Catford, metalworkers in Catford, an electrician in Catford, building maintenance in Catford, and possibly others.
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