The bedroom should, for the most part, be a place of seclusion and tranquillity. It’s here that you’ll be doing your sleeping, and the quality of sleep you get will affect your life in an enormous range of ways. Getting the place as quiet as possible is therefore an extremely worthwhile thing to do.
But exactly how do we create peace and quiet in the bedroom?
Start with insulation
There’s a basic principle at work here. The more material the sound coming from outside the room has to pass through, the less audible it will be inside the room. Thick walls that are stuffed with insulation will surely provide extra quiet – albeit at the expense of space inside the room.
Sealing the doorframe
One much easier change is the door. You can replace the entire door, or you can install compressible strips around the edges. Then, when the door closes, air (and, by extension, sound) will have a much more difficult time passing through. Install a draft excluder underneath the door, too.
One thing to bear in mind is your ensuite. If you entirely seal the door, here, then the performance of your extractor fan will be limited, as it will have an increasingly difficult time pushing through more air. If your significant other is waking you up with the shower in the morning, then it might be worth discussing the upsides and downsides, here.
Fixing cracks and holes
If there are any holes in the walls or ceiling of your bedroom, then they’ll not only allow draughts through, but sound, too. Getting them patched up is therefore more than worthwhile. You can do this yourself with the help of an inexpensive sealant gun.
Carpets
The thicker your carpet, the more it will be able to absorb sound. It’s largely for this reason that tiled rooms sound so much louder than carpeted ones: the sound will bounce around several times before dissipating. With a thick carpet, a much larger portion of these would-be reflections will be absorbed.
In certain properties, where there are lots of people passing outside the bedroom door on a regular basis, it might even be worth hanging extra curtains over the entrance, too.
Curtains
We should also note that heavy curtains serve the same function. When sound hits them, a portion of it will be absorbed. As a bonus, heavy curtains will also help to keep your bedroom dark. This can really help to bolster the quality of your sleep, especially if you’re working a night shift.
Replacement windows
Certain windows offer a superior quality of soundproofing. You might look at triple glazing in preference to double-glazing, but the truth is that the performance of the unit will vary a great deal. Look for an advertised figure for sound reduction in decibels.