It’s 2 AM and you’re comfortably curled up in bed, all wrapped up in a snug blanket snoring away after a long, tiring day at work.

But the party animals two doors away are blasting loud music without any regard for all the sleep they’re disrupting.

You’re agitated and now want to go knock on their door or even call the cops on them for messing with your sleep. And just when your dreams were getting interesting!

Then it hits you. You’re probably just like them: you throw your very own one-person parties at odd hours of the night sometimes, and it definitely doesn’t help when you decide to practice the drums because you can’t sleep. 

Anyway, you come to the conclusion that your house needs serious soundproofing. Both, to keep sound in and to keep noise out. But a brief search tells you that it costs a bomb and you don’t have that kind of money to spend.

This calls for cheaper alternatives.

Using the simple soundproofing ideas in this article, you can jam and party to your heart’s content (or till you finally fall asleep) without worrying about an eviction notice from your landlord.

1. Foam It Up!

You know the upholstery foam that keeps your couch so comfy? Would you believe that you can get a near-studio like experience using only this?

No?

Well, believe it. Foam keeps loud noise from exiting your home and disturbing your neighbours’ beauty sleep, and also improves sound quality by reducing echoes.

So, head over to the nearest hardware store, get a couple rolls of foam and glue, pin, or staple them all over your walls and ceiling to keep your neighbours from finding out how discordant a novice drummer sounds.

Of course, your room might end up looking like a faded jail cell, but as long as you don’t get evicted and still get to make as much noise as you want, it’s a win-win situation for you.

2. You Will A-Door This

Doors are one of the largest openings in most walls. So, they allow sound to escape your room and don’t offer much in the way of protection from ticked-off neighbours.

If you have an old, creaky door, you might want to consider replacing it with a new one. Why?

Because most doors these days have a hollow-core construction with a lot of empty spaces between each layer of pressed wood sheet. This doesn’t help you stay quiet at all.

Instead, replace your hollow door with a solid, soundproof one and keep all the heavy metal to yourself.

3. Drape All The Sound Away

You’ve probably seen thick drapery being used in theatres to cover open doors. No, this is not because the doors might feel cold. The drapes block loud sounds effectively – like people (you) screaming during a particularly scary horror movie.

These drapes come in varying thicknesses and could potentially block more than 90% of the noise entering or exiting the room.

All the more reason to buy a couple of drapes right now and hang them on the walls, doors and windows to get your rock studio up and running.

4. Soundproof? Eggxactly!

Have you always thought that egg crates don’t have much purpose to serve once the eggs are gone? You couldn’t be more wrong.

Stack 4 or 5 of them together and tack them to the ceiling in a checkerboard pattern, leaving every alternate space blank. This will absorb a lot of unwanted noise and offer just enough of a barrier to fine tune the acoustics of the room.

Studio-like sound quality, peace of mind for both you and your neighbours, and a happy landlord. This can be truly life changing.

You don’t need expensive equipment to soundproof an environment. As this guide shows, some household items, a trip to the hardware store, and maybe some professional help is all that’s necessary.