Did you know that a noisy environment can have a negative impact on your happiness? A peaceful and quiet environment, on the other hand, can help you unwind more easily, focus better and enjoy your home more. Wondering what you can do to make your home more quiet? Check out our top tips below.

1. Insulate Your Walls

Insulation is a great way to reduce your home’s energy consumption but will insulation soundproof a room? It’s true: specialised acoustic wall insulation can significantly reduce noise inside a home. Installed in the external walls, acoustic insulation prevents outside noises entering the home and keeps noises inside the home private. Acoustic insulation in the internal walls can help create peaceful and private rooms. Furthermore, when it’s installed between floors of a double storey home, acoustic insulation can help prevent noises from footsteps and appliances travelling downstairs.

2. Give Your Floors Some Attention

Hard floors can contribute a lot of noise to a home. Not only do they make footsteps sound louder, but other noises around the home will bounce off a hard floor surface and compound the problem. Two effective ways to combat this are getting softer floor coverings such as carpet and installing underfloor insulation. If these options are out of the question, consider laying down rugs and mats to help absorb some of the noise.

3. Seal Your Doors & Windows

Gaps around doors and windows give noise an easy access point into your home. Ensuring your doors and windows are sealed properly can help make your home quieter. You can get this done professionally, or make it a DIY project. Tightening any loose hinges, putting self adhesive rubber strips on the bottom of your doors or using sealant on your windows and doors can all make a difference. To reduce noise transfer through windows, consider installing double-glazed windows.

4. Hush Your Appliances

The white noise of appliances can be very draining. If your appliances sound noisy, check that they aren’t vibrating against any cabinets or other furniture. To reduce vibration noises through the floor, try placing a square of carpet under the appliance. If it’s time to upgrade your appliances, you might consider getting ones that are specially designed for a quieter performance. Keep in mind that 60dB is the level of a normal conversation, so you might want to go for appliances that run at noise levels lower than this.

5. Design For Quiet

If you are building or renovating your home, now is the time to make smart design choices for a quieter home. Those who live very close to neighbours, or in a high-traffic zone should consider sound blocking building materials. To reduce noise inside the home, you should consider the materials you use also as things like concrete and hardwood are not so good at absorbing sound. Don’t forget acoustic insulation can make a huge difference. Finally, consider the layout of your home and position rooms that should be quiet as far from the noisier rooms as possible.