Interior doors come in a range of styles and sizes to choose from, but one of the most impressive things about an internal door is the ability to yield some soundproofing benefits - providing you know what you're looking for...
Whether you're shutting out external noise pollution in a busy city centre or you're trying not to disturb your neighbours or family members with loud music, there is an abundance of different reasons to soundproof a home. From foam tiles to sound absorbing paints and gap sealing, modifying your existing door or a whole room to make it soundproof is a good idea, but an often overlooked and undervalued soundproofing method is actually in choosing the correct type of interior door for maximum sound insulation.
Although standard interior doors won't deliver the kind of high performance soundproofing needed for professional spaces, few homeowners are aware of the noise-reducing abilities of interior doors for everyday soundproofing requirements. In fact, those looking to dampen down sound in their home using an interior door can enjoy great soundproofing benefits all in a single purchase.
So, what are the best doors for soundproofing?
In our latest blog, Door Giant will let you in on our soundproofing secrets, offering advice on the exact core type you should go for and what you can do to your existing door to make it more soundproof.
Solid Core Doors
If soundproofing is a requirement for your home, you'll need to opt for a solid core door. You'll know your door has a solid core by the high quality feel and the sheer weight of swinging it open and closed. A solid core door is fully filled with either wood or an engineered or composite wood material inside the frame to create a dense, sound-reducing surface that will help to diminish unwanted noise travelling around your home. If your room has multiple solid core doors, they can work together to provide layers of soundproofing, blocking out noise much more effectively.
You may still need a few additional accessories for significant soundproofing - and professional soundproofing is a different matter altogether - but solid core doors are certainly weighty enough to solve a lot of your domestic soundproofing dilemmas.
The LPD Vancouver 5 Panel Pre-Finished Oak Solid Internal Door is a modern, solid core interior door with a sleek five centre panel design that's crafted from high quality materials. It also comes with a pre-finished oak wood grain, giving the door a rich and attractive appeal while the solid core construction will provide you with durability, longevity and some soundproofing benefits.
Are Hollow Core Doors An Issue For Soundproofing?
The majority of sound related issues in flats, apartment buildings or multiple occupancy housing usually stem from the incorrect use of hollow core doors, which have likely been installed instead of solid core doors for expedience, cost-saving and budgetary limitations. Hollow core doors consist of thin wood or fibreboard layers and a honeycomb interior core, typically comprised of cardboard or plastic. Although they're perfect for bathrooms, closets and similar rooms where noise issues aren't a central concern, living rooms, bedrooms and front doors must all be solid core to provide you with the best soundproofing benefits.
What If I Already Own A Hollow Core Door?
If you already own a hollow core door and you don't want to replace it, you can purchase door sweeps or magnetic seals to close up gaps, leaks and similar spaces around your door to prevent sound from travelling through.
You can also look into soundproofing door covers or acoustic 'sound blocking' curtains which help to absorb and reduce unwanted noise or loud audio levels if you're working in a recording studio or performance area. Soundproofing can also be achieved by using sound absorbing paint which works by creating a noise barrier that can be reinforced by adding further layers of the paint to your door. Although effective, sound absorbing paint is best applied alongside other soundproofing accessories and particularly in conjunction with a solid core door - so it's worth bearing this in mind before purchasing.
At Door Giant we offer a wide variety of internal doors to suit the exact requirements of any modern or traditional abode. Browse sleek glazed doors, richly detailed pine doors, beautiful coloured internal doors, bi-fold options and so much more...