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Soundproofing a garage is common among upcoming musicians who cannot afford to hire a recording studio for daily practice. Fortunately, you have many soundproofing options.
But how much does it cost to soundproof a garage? It costs about 2300 to 5000 to soundproof a garage, including door sweep, acoustic panels, soundproof window cover, bottom garage door seal, rug pad, and installing a soundproof garage door.
Suppose your goal for soundproofing a garage is blocking inside noise (from drum beats, singing, or other musical instruments) from disturbing people in the house and neighbors. In that case, you will need to combine sound blocking and absorption techniques.
Read on to find out everything you need to know to soundproof your garage properly.
You might also enjoy reading: How Much Does Soundproofing Reduce Noise?
How To Soundproof a Garage?
You can use cheap and affordable methods to soundproof a garage, but you can also invest heavily in the project depending on the garage’s noise level.
Remember that the costs of soundproofing a garage will vary depending on your planned revamping level. If you intend to install a door sweep, acoustic panels, rug pad, window cover, and door seal, you will likely spend between $230 and $450. However, if you want major installments involving purchasing a new soundproof garage door, the cost can go up by an additional $2700.
If you want to soundproof a garage for drums, you will probably need to utilize more soundproofing options to ensure less noise escape.
Let’s consider some soundproofing options for your garage and the cost involved.
1- Use Acoustic Panels
When musical instruments generate sound, it travels as wave vibrations, and when they hit hard objects or walls, they are amplified. Acoustic panels can help prevent this reverberation by absorbing the sound, thus minimizing the sound that bounces back into the room.
And since you can install the panels on the garage walls and ceiling, they can reduce the amount of noise escaping outside. And they come in different shapes, materials, colors, and sizes, which you can customize to fit your garage.
Covering an average garage with 3 walls and a ceiling with acoustic panels will cost between $100 and $300. Ensure you use quality acoustic panels like Audimute soundproofing panels for better results.
Other acoustic panels worth considering include:
- Foam acoustic panels are available in many colors, including charcoal grey, blue, red, and many others.
- Polyester fiber panels: These come in large and small sizes. You can use the small-sized option to cover one wall, but the large option can cover the three walls and ceiling.
- PVC plastic panels: This acoustic panel gives your garage a stunning look. It provides 3D effects on your walls while remaining affordable and easy to clean.
2- Use a Door Sweep
The garage door could be a culprit for allowing sound to escape from the garage to the house. The solution could be door sweeps. They seal the space between the ground and the threshold when you play with the door closed.
A garage door sweep will likely cost between $20 and $25. Of course, the cost will be higher if you install a new soundproof door with a sweep. A new soundproof garage door costs between $2000 and $3500.
3- Invest In a Soundproof Window Cover
Does your garage have windows? If so, you should soundproof them because windows allow the garage’s sound to wreak havoc on your neighbors.
How can you soundproof the garage windows?
Here are a few cover options:
- Install acoustic panel on the windows
- Buy and install noise-reducing curtains.
- Hang sound-absorbing or noise-reducing blankets on the windows
A soundproof window blanket costs approximately $40 to cover one window. Some garages have one or no window, thus reducing the soundproofing cost.
4- Place Rugs Or Rug Pads On The Floor
The chances are that your garage floor is cement. And because you will likely place the drums and other musical instruments on the floor, soundproofing the floor is essential.
The best way to soundproof the garage floor is to cover it with rugs. The rugs will absorb some sound, thus reducing the amount that wall and ceiling panels absorb.
You can place soundproof rug pads under the musical equipment, like the drums. These pads are often denser since they are made of rubber, helping with sound absorption.
Most eCommerce stores sell soundproof rug pads between $35 and $50. You can invest in rug pads from Amazon.
5- Use a Door Bottom Rubber Seal
The rubber seal works like a door sweep and can cover the bottom of the garage door, sealing the space between the door and the ground. While its goal is to protect your garage from water, you can also use it to soundproof it.
A door bottom rubber seal costs around $40.
6- Purchase a Soundproof Garage Door
If you live in your own home and want to use your garage as a permanent recording studio or teaching facility, you can save extra cash to invest in a soundproof garage door.
These doors are often costly, ranging from $2000 to $3500. They cost this much because they are thicker and made of plywood sheets, vinyl, aluminum, or steel on the outside. Inside the door is foam insulation to help absorb escaping sound.
The total cost of the above components ranges from $2230 to $3950 depending on the number of items you need.
If you already have a garage door or the garage does not need a new door, the cost of soundproofing it will significantly reduce. You may part with approximately $230 to $450.
Remember that larger garages with big walls will cost more to soundproof than small garages.
Other ways to soundproof a garage:
You can also soundproof your garage using the following means:
- Drywall layering
- Resilient channels.
Let’s discuss them.
7- Drywall Layering
Your garage already has walls that make up a room, but you can build another room inside the garage (room within a room) to enhance soundproofing. The more layers your garage wall has, the more mass and the higher the soundproofing ability.
If building another room inside the garage is costly, you can add more drywall layers to the ceiling, walls, and floor.
With a wooden pallet and drywall, you can trap high and mid-frequency sounds, thus preventing sound from escaping.
You can also improve the soundproofing capacity of your garage by adding fiberglass between the two drywalls. The insulating layers will make a huge difference in reducing noise from the basement.
A 10 x 10-foot drywall costs between $200 and $210, but if you include the insulation material cost, adding a drywall would cost around $1000.
8- Resilient Channels
When energy waves from the garage hit the wooden studs, it worsens, so preventing it from happening can help reduce the noise.
But how? You can add resilient channels to support the garage frames. Although most homeowners often add multiple layers to their garage’s drywalls to increase mass, the best way is to add resilient channels.
You can install these metal beams parallel to the floor, and since they come with many springs, they help hold the wooden studs and Shutterstock intact. They attach to the drywall but do not make contact, thus allowing the drywall to absorb sound without transmitting sound energy to the wall frame.
Generally, you will need 24 packs of channels to soundproof the garage. And this would cost between $200 and $700.
Now let’s consider what to remember when soundproofing a garage.
Factors You Should Consider Before Soundproofing a Garage
You could be excited about producing music in your garage or earning money from home. However, before tackling this grand project, you should consider some things.
Considering these factors will help to achieve your goal without a glitch.
1- Reasons For Soundproofing The Garage
What do you want to use the garage for? Some people soundproof their garage to turn it into a recording studio, home office, or a place for practicing musical instruments.
Knowing what you want to do in the garage will help you choose suitable soundproofing materials and equipment. Your plan will dictate your soundproofing techniques. Do you want to improve sound quality, block sound, or do both?
If you have a clear plan for the garage, your soundproofing process will be simpler and easier.
2- The Garage Construction
The way the garage is constructed can affect the level of soundproofing needed. For instance, a garage with concrete walls without insulation will require adding sound-absorbing materials to reduce reverberation.
3- Garage Features
How many windows and doors that your garage have? These features determine the number of soundproofing materials you will use.
Sound will likely escape through the doors and windows because they are the weak spots in the room. The small openings on these features provide ways for sound escape.
4- Type Of The Garage Door
If the garage door is made of aluminum, steel, fiberglass, or vinyl, you may not need to spend a lot of soundproofing it.
However, if the door is hollow, you will need to invest in acoustic panels, soundproofing curtains, door sweeps, and door seals.
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Conclusion
Soundproofing a garage ranges from $230 to $450 if you don’t intend to replace the door. However, if you want a soundproof door made of steel, vinyl, aluminum, or fiberglass, you will spend an additional $2,700, depending on the size.