Garages are more than just a safe parking space. Whether you are setting up an auto workshop or an at-home music studio, the garage could be the perfect place to carry out your passion projects. While the secluded interior space offers a great way to hone and capitalize on your skills, a typical home garage has a fundamental flaw – the lack of a soundproof garage door.
The constant traffic noise and honking sirens barging in from the garage door will leech off your productivity and focus. Or you live in the quiet suburbs, where your blaring miter saws or loud drumming may disturb the neighborhood. If you feel self-conscious about disturbing others’ peace or want to pursue your craft in a foolproof environment, we have summed up the most effective ways to soundproof a garage door.
A soundproof garage door filters incoming noise and prevents internal noise from leaking. To soundproof your garage door, block the air vents and seal the gaps and spaces in the door with weather-stripping and caulking sealant. Infuse fiberglass insulation and MLV sheets into the door to create a noise barrier. Layer the surface with acoustic foam panels to improve sound quality in the room. Don’t mind using sound-deadening blankets if you are short on budget.
Why Should You Soundproof the Garage Door?
With your basement already booked up as an in-house gym or office, the garage is all you have to explore and hone your creative skills. In fact, many have named garages as America’s favorite room, and why not? Turn it into an auto carport or a furniture workshop or renovate it into a music studio to master your favorite instruments; there’s no limit to what you can achieve from your garage.
Even though more than 63% of American households have a garage, the lack of soundproofing makes it challenging for most residents to use it productively. A noisy garage can affect your efficiency due to the excessive incoming noise. And if you are involved in some loud activity like music or woodcutting, the clamoring tools and equipment will impel your neighbors to file a noise complaint.
Now that leaves you with two reasons to soundproof your garage door;
- To reduce the external noise from leaking inside the garage through the door.
- To buffer the inside noise, eliminate echo, and prevent it from transmitting outdoors.
What to Consider When Soundproofing a Garage Door?
There’s no universal blueprint for soundproofing a garage door. Before you devise a renovation budget and source the relevant soundproofing equipment for the garage, do some practical planning. Here are some key factors you need to consider:
The Garage Structure and Layout
The construction design and layout of your garage determine the kind of soundproofing it needs. Most American household garages are built using a combination of metal, concrete, and sometimes brick. If the walls of your garage aren’t insulated from the inside, attach sound-absorbing materials to reduce noise transmission.
When it comes to the garage’s layout, doors and windows are considered weak points in soundproofing. Apart from the lack of insulation, the tiny gaps between the window glass and door frames allow noise to seep through without much resistance. While upgrading your garage, make sure to treat the vulnerable areas first.
Type of Garage Door
A garage door is the primary source of noise leakage in and out of a garage. Roll-up garage doors are typically made from steel and aluminum panels that produce a clamoring noise every time you open or close the gate. Not to mention, the thin metallic panels offer minimum resistance to sound waves as they propagate through.
While you are at it, figure out how frequently will the garage door open. For instance, establishing an auto repair shop will need soundproofing materials that slide up and down with the shutter. But if the gate is meant to stay closed permanently – like in a home office – you can easily block it off with insulation padding.
Intended Use of the Garage
Are you upgrading your garage into a home gym or treating it as a recording studio? Knowing how you want to use the garage will help determine the type of soundproofing solutions you need and where to install them.
If you are building a music studio, you will need acoustic treatment solutions that not only block external noise but also improve the quality of noise indoors. But if you simply want to stop the noise from leaking out, standard insulation panels and noise-blocking sheets will do the job.
How to Soundproof a Garage Door?
Soundproofing a garage door works in a manner similar to a regular indoor space. It focuses on two fundamental aspects; plugging the gaps and airways to block sound waves and reinforcing the inner walls with acoustic treatment solutions for better quality. Here’s a breakdown to soundproof a garage door in four smart ways:
Remove the Air Vents
Even though garages are secluded from the main living area, they have multiple air vents supporting a fresh airflow throughout. Most ventilation ducts pass through the garage door, making it susceptible to noise penetration.
Instead of blocking the ducts completely, you can instate multiple half-length acoustic barriers using insulation foam. Trim out small pieces of acoustic foam and mount them layer by layer on one end. Make sure there’s enough room for air to flow in and out freely.
Dualplex Foam Strip – This high-density foam strip is made from eco-friendly and non-toxic neoprene sponge foam. The thin strip-like design makes it easier to install in tight corners and spaces such as ventilation ducts.
Seal the Gaps
Besides the dedicated air ducts, garage doors have tight gaps and openings serving as air passageways. Such tiny gaps are vulnerable to airborne noise, which can easily penetrate both sides.
While most roll-up garage doors have visible gaps at the bottom and sides, many garage fitted glass doors also have minuscule gaps on the edges. They are ineffective in blocking noise completely. You can use multiple materials to bridge the gap with caulking sealant and weather stripping at the top.
Weather-Stripping Tape – This high-density neoprene foam has a strong adhesive backing that supports seamless installation in tight corners. The weather-stripping tape blocks airborne noise and dampens window rattle in glass-fitted garage doors.
Caulking Sealant – If the gaps are too tiny for weather-stripping tape to tackle, caulking sealant is the way to go. It uses a super dense formula with adhesive properties that seals away air, moisture, and noise for soundproof indoors.
Install Insulation Sheets
Once all potential leakages are capped comes the main part – casing your garage door with insulation. Typically, garage doors do not have any noise-treating insulation, whether built from metal sheets or wood. With no padding, they are defenseless against airborne and impact-driven noise.
The best way to buff up a garage door against unwanted noise is by installing a layer of dense insulation padding, such as sound-deadening mats and MLV sheets.
Mass Loaded Vinyl Sheet – With their super-dense vinyl fabric that has a high noise-soaking capacity, MLV sheets shelter your indoors from the external ruckus. Fasten it with nails, staples, or caulking glue, and elevate the STC rating of the room.
Sound-deadening Insulation Mat – The noise-canceling mat uses a thick layer of fiberglass that blocks heat, moisture, and air. Besides filtering airborne noise, the thick foil mat helps absorb high-impact noise vibrations.
Use Acoustic Foam Panels
If you are conscious about polluting the neighborhood with your noisy miter saws and drills or ill-timed music rehearsals, you must set up some acoustic treatment solutions. Besides filtering the penetrating noise, these panels remove resonance and echo inside the room.
While many think acoustic panels are exclusive for music studios to improve the sound quality, they soak up the sound waves propagating inside the room. Thus, allowing you to hear the other person in the room while the drill is running.
Fstop Acoustic Panels – Made from premium-quality polyurethane, the Fstop foam panels are acoustically designed with thick padding and deep ridges. These engravings help muffle down and absorb high-intensity sound waves.
Soundproof a Roll-Up Garage Door – Cheap Alternative Methods
If you want to make your garage workshop or studio-friendly on a tighter budget, we have lined up some cheaper alternative methods as well:
Lubricate the Roll-Up Mechanism
The roll-up garage doors seamlessly coil up on individual rollers when you open the door. However, these metal rollers get dry and rusty, which results in a loud clanking noise. If you hear such a noise, consider lubricating the rolling mechanism for smooth working.
Layer Up with Acoustic Blankets
If MLV sheets and acoustic panels seem expensive to you, layer up the garage door with sound-deadening blankets. These acoustic blankets exhibit a blend of cotton and polyester with thick pores for effective sound absorption. Sound-deadening blankets are a cost-effective substitute for acoustic foam panels, making them the cheapest way to soundproof a garage.
Tips for Soundproofing a Garage
Not all garages are used as carports. In fact, every one in three garages is used as a storage room or an additional living room in the home. If you are someone who can cope with parking their car on the porch, we have some tips to help you turn your garage into a workshop or music studio:
Soundproofing a Garage Workshop
While you may perceive musical instruments as loud, your workshop gadgets are equally loud and even louder. A standard hammer drill produces around 114 dB of sound – loud enough to damage your eardrums without necessary precautions. Here are a few ways to upgrade your garage door to make it workshop friendly.
- Attach sound-absorbing panels – Acoustic foam panels best absorb high-intensity sound waves. Cover at least one or two walls with sound-absorbing panels to limit noise transmission.
- Mount isolation blockers – Besides the ear-wrecking noise, workshop machines produce unsurmountable vibrations. Use isolation blockers to separate tools from their mounting board to block vibrations.
- Place rubber mats – Providing the same benefit as isolation blockers, except this time, it blocks vibrations from the workstation spreading to the floor and from there to the walls.
Soundproofing a Garage for Music
No matter how melodious it sounds to you, rehearsing a musical piece or instrument doesn’t sound the same to bystanders. The loud decibels and heavy bass is set to annoy anyone in a close enough radius. Save yourself from any neighbor complaints by:
- Building a room inside the garage – Also known as decoupling, introducing newer walls for your music studios will help block the low frequencies from the drums. Reinforcing the walls with acoustic panels will also help absorb high-frequency sound waves.
- Installing resilient channels – Be it the air or any physical object, sound waves need a medium to propagate. In the case of heavy bass music, it usually travels through vibrations. Using metal beams as resilient channels between the wall studs can absorb these vibrations.
Is Soundproofing a Garage Door Worth It?
Who wouldn’t want the freedom to work on their passion project whenever they want?
Do you want to work on a new music piece after midnight? So, be it! Or to pull another all-nighter on the furniture item? More power to you! It is only possible with a soundproof garage. Let’s take a look at some benefits of soundproofing a garage door:
- A fully insulated garage door will block external noise like the never-ending traffic hum, occasional police sirens, and blaring horns. A soundproof interior can help you stay more focused and productive in your art.
- Soundproof garage doors act as a noise barrier for indoor activities. It doesn’t matter if you want to practice your new drum set or cut through large wood planks; a soundproof garage door is all you need.
- You can turn your garage into a personal music studio by cladding the indoors with some advanced acoustic treatment solutions. Record your favorite pieces with zero reverb or resonance.
People Also Asked
Here are the quick answers to the most common questions.
What is the cheapest way to soundproof a garage door?
Placing sound-deadening blankets is the cheapest way to soundproof a garage door.
How much does a new garage door cost?
It depends on the doors’ size, quality, and opening mechanism. Still, a new garage door costs between $500 – $1500.
Can I turn my garage into a music studio?
Yes, you can renovate your garage into a music studio, soundproofing the garage door and walls. Install some insulation padding to the door and layer it with acoustic foam panels.