The first thing you'll need to do is determine what quality you're going for. If you want to achieve professional level quality, keep in mind that most professional studios have an STC rating in the 60-70 range. Our STC "floor" for a soundproof studio is a rating of 50, which is the most easily achievable. An STC in the upper 50s is better and is inching you closer to soundproof. To reach an STC rating of 50+, you’ll need to soundproof the walls, ceiling, and flooring.

All 6 surfaces in the “cube” that is your room need to be treated. Otherwise, the sound will “flank” around the surfaces you do treat and still escape. For that reason, it's important to have soundproof windows, soundproof doors and a soundproof ceiling to the best of your ability. Those can be the toughest to get right, but they're also the peskiest when it comes to soundproofing any room. The higher you want to get that number, the more work will be involved, so we've broken down some steps for you by the type of results you can expect to see (hear):

Steps to soundproof your home Studio

1. Choose Your Room. Some locations in your house will be a better starting point for soundproofing. Selecting a quieter or more secluded space will mean less investment in soundproofing (and fewer disruptions)!
2. Install a Soundproof Door. The best bang-for-your buck with interior noise is soundproofing your door. A solid core door with a door seal kit is plenty for most home studios. Higher end home studios will opt for the Sound Lock Soundproof Door.
3. Soundproof the Walls and the Ceiling. At the very least, you need to avoid serious detractors (unsealed walls, canned lights). Some locations (i.e. basements) will require RSIC-1 clips on the ceiling. Higher end studios or new construction should use RSIC-1 clips on both the walls and the ceiling.
4. Soundproof the Floor. When soundproofing a room, we have to consider all six surfaces. Depending on how you plan to use your home studio and the level of investment, not everyone soundproofs the floor. For new construction, we strongly recommend it.
5. Install Recording Studio Acoustic Panels. Every home studio should have acoustic treatments to fit the goals of the space. We have a variety of acoustic panels designed to hit any price point and aesthetic goal. One of our Second Skin professionals can help with optimal placement. Reach out with questions!

Step one: pick the best space for your home studio

It seems obvious enough, but the degree of difficulty in soundproofing your home studio depends on the starting point. Where is this room located with respect to the rest of the house? Perhaps you're in the basement, or maybe you're up in the attic with the squirrels. Consider the basic construction of the room and the sources of outside noise.

In most homes, the two biggest weak spots are doors and windows. Choosing a room with windows is awesome for natural light, but it also means you'll need a window insert if you have neighbors close enough that you can hear them mowing the lawn.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have a window or two to deal with (whether you have no other option or you can't vibe without that natural light), soundproof windows are a must-have. The Fantastic Frame window insert is the best option for soundproofing an existing window, as it will reduce noise through the window by up to 80%.

Step Two: Home studios need a soundproof door

With your space selected, you can start to get an idea of what you're up against. The most common sound leaks into rooms are windows, doors, and air gaps. For the doors, we've got several options for you—ranging from good, to better, to best.

Good:

Is your existing door a hollow core door or a solid core door? We strongly recommend every home studio at least upgrade to a solid core door (or something equivalent). This low-hanging fruit will be an automatic improvement of around 10 STC points. A solid core door has a 30+ STC rating compared to the hollow core door's paltry low 20s.

If you aren't up for replacing your door, the next best option is to utilize soundproof blankets for doors. Our Quiet Quilt™ Indoor Acoustic Blanket will reduce noise through a hollow core door by 7-8 decibels. It's lightweight enough that it's easy to hang, but heavy enough to actually block sound. If for some reason a solid core door doesn't make sense, the Quiet Quilt blanket is a good solution.

Better:

If you've already invested in a solid core door, a good way to improve your STC rating is to make your solid core door soundproof using our easy-to-install Sound Lock™ Door Seal Kits. It's worth mentioning that unless you have a solid core door, this kit won't do you any good. Sound will simply go through the lightweight hollow core door, bypassing the effectiveness of the seal. With the door seal kit, you can gain up to 20 STC points, with a maximum of STC 51, while most sealed doors are in the 40s.

Best:

Look, you're planning on going all out with this project, and you want to take all the necessary steps to compete with the top dogs. We get it! If you're investing in this room, you need to invest in a soundproof door. Afterall, your soundproofing is only as good as your weakest point. Fortunately, we have a guide for picking recording studio doors and windows. Our Sound Lock™ Soundproof Door is a beautiful wood interior door with an STC value up to 56!

Step Three: soundproofing the walls and the ceiling

Next, we're going to fix the "cube," starting with the walls and the ceiling. Most residential walls have an STC rating of 28-34. That's plenty for your typical home but not good enough for a home studio. Let's take another look at a good, better, best.

Good:

The easiest way to have more sound proof walls is DIY-friendly and will not require any serious construction to an existing room. Use acoustical sealant to seal up any gaps in your existing drywall (around outlets, vents, pipes, and between the floor and the wall). By sealing gaps, you can gain at least several STC points with relatively low effort.

If you are constructing a room, you can hit an STC 38 by using ⅝” drywall, filling the 2x4 cavity with batt insulation, and sealing the wall with acoustical sealant. Don't commit any "own goals" by having unsealed openings or canned lights, and your home studio should have acceptable soundproofing and no additional hit to your budget. You're not setting any soundproofing records, but your home studio could be good enough depending on external noise levels.

Better:

The next solution will require some construction because you’re starting at the studs or adding to an existing wall, but the results are worth it. We can use sound isolation clips (either to the existing wall or directly to the studs) to SIGNIFICANTLY boost the soundproofing of the walls and ceiling.

When someone is constructing a new home studio or has a location that will be loud (like the basement), RSIC-1 clips are the way to go. The best performance involved installing the RSIC-1 sound isolation clips to the studs in your walls with 25 gauge aluminum channel snapped in. Install ⅝” drywall on top to get your wall and ceiling STC rating in the mid-to-upper 50s. Seal up any gaps with acoustic caulk. The RSIC clips stop impact and airborne sound transmission through wall and ceiling assemblies by isolating your drywall from the structure of the building. If you are dealing with structural noise above you, installing these into the ceiling assembly is the only way to stop unwanted footstep noise above you from ruining your recordings.

For those of you with existing drywall, yes the RSIC-1 clips can go directly on top of the existing drywall. You'll still get around an STC 53.

Best:

For a professional recording studio level of soundproofing, start with the RSIC-1 clips and 25 gauge aluminum channel on the studs of your walls/ceiling and add your first layer of ⅝” drywall. Just like before . . . seal up gaps with acoustic caulk. Next, apply Green Glue to the back of a second layer of ⅝” drywall and screw that on top of the first one. If you opt for a wall with RSIC-1 clips and two layers of ⅝” drywall, your wall will be right around an STC 60. By adding the Green Glue between the two layers of ⅝” drywall, you'll bump your home recording studio up to the mid 60s for STC.

Step four: soundproofing the floor

In the interest of minimizing construction, maybe you decided not to treat the floor, and that may be okay depending on your goals, the recording studio location, and the building’s structure. For new construction on a home recording studio, we always recommend installing soundproof flooring. For a retrofit home studio, the cost may not make sense. The answer will depend on the amount of impact noise you expect to need to mitigate.

To treat the floor, you'll need to install our UnderBlock™ Rubber Floor Underlayment to stop unwanted impact noise and significantly improve both the STC and IIC rating. To install the rubber underlayment, you simply roll it out on the floor. The finished flooring then goes on top. You have to treat the floor if you want to have professional-level home studio soundproofing!

Step Five: install recording studio acoustic panels

We've covered the difference between acoustics and soundproofing, and we'll always be careful to distinguish between the two. At this point, you've soundproofed your home studio to prevent noise from traveling in or out. The natural next step is to acoustically treat your new home studio to guarantee that you're getting a high-quality recording space on the inside.

To do that, you'll need to install recording studio acoustic panels. Again, we have options for every budget. If you still have questions on how many you need or how to effectively install them, we highly recommend reaching out to one of our experts to get the right product for you.

Call us at 1.800.679.8511