For many, the home is a safe haven away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. However, recent trends of building big on small blocks of land, along with an increase in both the size and scope of home entertainment systems, has meant we are living with greater noise levels both inside the home and out.
A good night's sleep can make the world of difference to your mental and physical well being, and disrupted or a lack of sleep can often be directly linked to surrounding noise. Sleep deprivation can cause mood swings, high blood pressure, affect a child's performance at school and even have a negative impact on mental well-being.
Home insulation has long been recognised as an effective method of reducing the level of noise coming in from outside or flowing between rooms and different storeys. As a bonus, it can improve acoustic performance in home entertainment areas and even reduce your heating bill.
The professionals at CSR Gyprock have the following suggestions for insulating specific areas of your house.
- Walls and ceilings: poor wall quality enables noise to travel quite easily throughout a home. Insulation not only reduces noise levels but can keep rooms up to 7 degrees cooler in summer and 10 degrees warmer in winter.
- Doors can be a considerable source of sound flanking. Gaps underneath doors on hard surface flooring such as tiles, slate or timber need to be sealed with an appropriate system. Perimeters of all doors should be sealed by appropriate door jamb seals.
- Junctions and Flanking Paths: small gaps between the wall, floor, roof above, skirting and cornice, as well as flanking paths with little or poorly installed acoustic installation can substantially reduce the efficiency of noise reduction wall or ceiling systems.
- Floor coverings: Floors in multi-storey homes should be covered using carpet with good quality underlay. Where hard surfaces like timber, tiles or vinyl are used, rugs can substantially improve performance, though floating floor systems will be necessary for a good result.
- Windows: Poor quality glass and air gaps increase the sound levels from external noise. Double glazing and thick curtains can be used to minimize the effect.
- Check the roof, as gaps in roof tiles can also increase external noise levels.
