Sound Dampening: Muffing the Outside World
Introduction:
You may think your walls are thin, but your home is under-insulated. Cars driving past, neighbors talking, dogs barking, emergency vehicles honking, teenagers jamming to music in their room are all noises you may hear at a higher decibel level than necessary. Insulation has sound deadening qualities that reduce noise in your home to give you a quieter space. Although completely soundproofing your home is not possible, sound dampening is possible and will muffle the noises in your home so that they are less distracting. Retrofoam injection insulation can reduce sound transmission by up to 80%!
The Impact of Noise
There are two distinct types of sounds that can influence your comfort levels: Airborne and impact sounds. Impact noises come from within the household. This includes footsteps and sounds or vibrations of appliances like your washer, dryer, and dishwasher. Airborne noises come from the outside and from the inside. This includes traffic, sirens, lawn mowers, neighbors, tv and music.
Studies have shown that noise can cause physical and psychological discomfort that lead to stress on the body. Stress is correlated with common health issues such as headaches, irritability, high blood pressure, heart disease and fatigue. Along with the annoyance of outside sound, high decibel levels can lead to hearing loss. According to the CDC, noise above 70 dB over an extended period might cause hearing damage. Although more rare, noise above 120 dB can cause immediate harm to your ears. To give perspective, your washing machine and dishwasher are at 70 dB.
An additional measure of noise in your home is the STC (Sound Transmission Class) which is the single number rating used to explain the effectiveness of sound resistance between walls.
- STC 25 – Easily understood
- STC 30 – Fairly understood
- STC 25 – Audible but not intelligible
- STC 25 – Must strain to hear
- STC 25 – Barely audible
- STC 25 – Inaudible
Although insulating your walls does not mean completely soundproofing, the levels you are hearing noise between your walls can decrease up to 80%. Once sufficiently insulated, you will be shocked at how these nuisance noises are muffled!
What can Insulation do for Noise?
Blown-in fiberglass and injection foam are the types of insulation that can audibly reduce noise within the levels of your home and outside noise. Unlike other forms of insulation, like reflective, these types of insulation trap the sound vibrations between the walls.
The video below demonstrates the sound dampening qualities of RetroFoam insulation.
You will notice that as soon as the alarm gets set off, the sound jumps to almost 90 decibels, which can cause almost immediate hearing loss. The alarm is then set in a box insulated with injection foam and automatically decreases to normal sound levels of 25-30 decibels. The alarm is barely audible. Insulation in your walls works the same way and will act as a barrier between your walls and the outside world. This will leave you and your family more comfortable and at ease in your own home.
Conclusion
Primary Home Improvements can help you with any insulation needs. We provide high quality wall and attic insulation with 1-day installations on most projects!
For walls, our Exclusive RetroFoam injection foam insulation is added to the existing walls of your home without the mess of a remodel. It can be used on multiple wall types and has many benefits such as: a 30% higher R-value than traditional insulation, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, class 1 fire rated and has sound deadening affects. Even though RetroFoam has been around for more than 35 years, it is a more effective and innovative insulation solution because of how well the foam air seals in wall cavities.
For attics, Primary Home Improvement uses premium fiberglass insulation that will not change from its intended R-value over its lifetime or settle. Premium fiberglass insulation is resistant to moisture, fungus, and mold growth. This means that the R-value will not change or sag, preserving thermal performance over time. Attic insulation is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to reduce energy loss - and save up to 15% on heating and cooling costs!
Begin your Insulation Project with a Free Estimate
Primary Home Improvements can help kick-start your home insulation project.
If you live in Northeast Ohio, call 440-610-4792 or request a free estimate appointment for a detailed quote and advice from our Energy Consultants.