Reduce Noise with Spray Foam in a Hollow Door
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- Опубликовано: 21 окт 2024
- I filled my hollow wood door with spray foam insulation, hoping to reduce noise coming through the door and make the door a better sound insulator.
Test Result: Noise reduced from ~40 decibels to ~37 decibels and the sounds seem more muffled. I think it was worth the work and spray foam door insulation is a cheap alternative to getting a solid wood door.
Do this at your own risk * (This video is a demonstration only, not a recommendation)
#sprayfoam
#insulation
#doors
For the price of spray foam, the effort you had to put into doing this, and the time it took (plus the time used to drive to home depot, and the money spent on gas to drive there) I will say this video was exactly what I needed to see to now know I should just cough up the extra $80 and buy the solid door over the hollow door at home depot. Thanks for taking the time, and effort to making and uploading this video.
Yes a solid door is better overall. But this video has paid for multiple doors now.
You have to seal around and under the door as well. That would have gotten you down some more. Also, the ambient noise in your house is probably around 32dB.
At the decibel levels measured, that is actually a big improvement. The Decibel scale is not linear so a change of 10 dB would make a sound twice as loud so 2-4 dB at that low of a sound level is significant. For your before check, using a louder sound level likely would have shown a more detectable improvement.
You need to do 3 tests.
1. Music playing
2. Ambient noise, such as a white noise machine or a dryer running.
3. Someone talking. Put on a RUclips of someone’s speech.
The door will react differently to different sound frequencies. Bass tends to travel through most things, but higher frequencies are drastically cut. From the sound of your video after the foam was installed, your camera is picking up more of the low end than the higher frequencies. The music is definitely not as clear as before.
If you used acoustic foam, you’d get better results.
i came here for the diy, i stayed for the ASMR
ASMR - in what way?
Really appreciate you doing this.
I have seen a hollow core door that has been severely damaged. There are internal supports that will not allow the spray foam to get everywhere. Yes you will get a lot in there but will never fully fill it. But, any additional sound deadening can’t hurt.
yes it seems to help a bit. worth it for a few cans and some time. I actually did 2 doors and it's a lot faster when not making a video at the same time!
Thank you for this tutorial, i was so frustrated with the noise from outside until i figure out how to close the gaps on my door, and then this foam filler hopefully will improve on what I already did
If you put wall board over the insulation on the stairway up to the basement door then you will have sound bouncing of the walls all the way up to the door. Putting some sound dampening panels or material on the walls should help prevent this from happening. Start by hanging quilts or comforters before you buy anything special.
1.5x speed
1.25 worked for me
Saving people time, doing God work
Just skip to the before and after test. Don't need to see him put the finishing touches on the door
Expanding foam cans need to be held upside down!
I've watched a few of these and it's really hard to sit through and instructional when they're doing so much wrong.
Yeah, looks like he just depleted the cans compressed air supply and only got a bit of foam in it.
Thanks for posting this, I was researching the same idea. You are saving a lot of people from wasting time. Solid core doors are pretty expensive with everything fitted correctly. Informative either way. You showed before and after DB on your video. I was hoping it would improve it much more than 1 DB ish.
it helps a bit. a lot of noise still comes thru the cracks. But it does help to get foam in there. Time consuming but you only do it once.
@@gregs_garage did you put a sweep under the door and also weather strip in jam?
@@ryano913 no, but that would help.
Really interesting. I have solid doors, but the "super long zip tie" dip stick is a brilliant idea for all sorts of things. Never occurred to me.
Hey. Thx for sharing. There are a couple of things that didn't help you there. One is that you need a close cell foam and the big gap can is not the ideal one. It expands a lot but is not dense at all.
The other issue is that those doors are not completely open between the chambers. They have cardboard spines across the panels which prevent the 2 faces from collapsing.
So even if you had the right foam it's almost imposible to completely fill it up with it. I just not worth all the work.
Thank you for sharing cause I am general contractor and had a customer with that exact issue. I think I will just replace the door for them. Good luck!
good points. It did cut the dB levels but I agree it's a lot of work and doesn't fill the gaps entirely.
Just curious, why not buy a foam core door? With what you spent on foam you might have saved money.
I had this idea independent of this video and hoped someone out there had tried it so thank you for sharing this and actually having measured the decibels. I saw the comments about also sealing under the door and other areas sound can through. Be interesting if you did a part 2 after doing that.
Yes sealing under the door would reduce sound for sure. Not really practical in this place.
Plain, flat, solid core doors will allow more foam to spread through the cavity at an equal thickness. After watching this demo, I think drilling holes on all sides and filling from the bottom might be better. Of course the door would need to be removed and laid flat. Thanks for taking the first step.
Yeah no problem
You cannot get an accurate decibel reading like that, as there is background noise on the main floor too. Test that by not playing the music in the basement and you’ll probably get a similar reading (from the background noise). You don’t mention how many cans of spray foam you used. I noticed you had various sizes of cans. Did you notice any warping of the door skins from the foam expanding outwards? Did you wait for the foam to dry between sprays? More details please
There is always background noise. The point is to reduce basement noise from coming upstairs. This reduced it by 3-4 db. 3-4 cans. No warping. I didn’t wait just filled it. Don’t overthink it.
Good video! Always wondered about doing this until I saw the Inside crazy cardboard maze. But you got a lot in there! Maybe I'll just do an insulation sound board and cover it w wallpaper or fabric and of course the bottom gap. Jeeze all that sound insulation and still?! Like water and drafts it's gets through!
with the big gap filler, did you notice he door expanding and bowing? im worried it might apply too much force
I think it is a success to know that it has marginal impact so we can decide to do it or not. Thank you for the trial! I think maybe use denser closed cell marine foam.
Greg, I just moved into a new home and we have hollow doors. I was just thinking about doing this process and. I may add a door sweep to the bottom as well. Now I know there is some success! Is there anything else you would do different? Thanks for taking the time to do this test!
Covering the gaps is a big improvement. Solid doors are nice
"I'm having a lot of noise come through that door...If somebody's in the basement, kids are screaming..." I almost called the police cos I thought this was a horror film XD
Whoa that is a Crocodile Dundee size screwdriver!! :-)
Klein
Need weather stripping and door sweep to cut it down even more
it would be interesting to see the waveforms of the sound files, to pinpoint where is that 3-4db in the frequency spectrum. before and after.
Sounds fancy
Thanks. Id wondered about this for a while. Good to see it works. But will look for an alternative now given the limited effect.
3-4 dB is more than you think it's 3-4x as quiet now.
@@Nick-jg9ck ah really? Ok. I’ll try it then. It’s cheap and easy anyway. Thanks
@@elroy8138 yep look up how dB scale works most people don't realize it's not linear its pretty intresting
@@Nick-jg9ck thanks will do!
@@Nick-jg9ck 3-4dB does not make it 3-4× as quiet... True that it's not linear and makes more of a difference than you'd think.
I've got that same receiver. Lol
Smart idea btw. Thanks for this.
No problem 👍. a good receiver for the price.
I was considering peeling off the door skin and putting a a piece of rockwool in there…
Not sure how easy it is to peel a door but seems like it could be done w a putty knife…?
I’d think it may break into pieces
You have to do the the bottom and do some weatherstripping where the door hits the frame when closed top and sides and it should be perfect good luck
Thanks for this - I've been looking for a solution to keep the screams from escaping my basement. ;)
I believe you would have to make it air tight to make it even quieter because sound will travel through the cracks.
yes
How many cans did you use?
I was thinking of doing exactly this but just for the purpose of making the door sound less cheap
worth a try
Thanks for doing this. I was thinking about it but seems like it more work than I want to do for the small gains.
same dude :D
i'm sad that it did not work tho :(
@@Milan-de9fp as well. I wanted this to work.
Decibels is a non-linear scale. It's a logarithmic scale. A decrease in 3dB is the same as halving the sound/ energy. If these measurements are correct it absolutely does work.
It looks like you've also got some gaps between the molding and the walls on the basement side. I would seal those up as well, because I'm sure the sound is coming through the walls there too.
if you make a perfect seal though, chances are you create one structure and sound will easily resonate through
One thing missing here was to measure the baseline dB with the door closed and no music playing. It seems like "silence" would have been in the low-mid 30s.
probably about 30.
Maybe take it off and add sand from the top. Adding some weight would be nice also.
Great idea, probably not enough to make a noticeable difference vs the work.
Makes a bit of a difference plus I got to make a video
It would have taken a lot less "foam" if you didn't waste it all by having the can upright. you are supposed to have the can upside down while dispensing the foam
@@DennisSmith-l8r the cans were empty regardless. I doubt it.
Great, been thinking about this because my wife works from home. Any idea of the weight of the door increased a lot?
no, foam is light. maybe a pound or two.
I'm thinking of trying this but instead using the 2 part post hole concrete substitute. its a 2 part high density foam.
Spray foam in a hollow core door will not reduce sound transmission. It simply don't have the mass needed to reduce sound waves. A solid core door with proper weather stripping is the way to go.
this reduced the sound. see the video dB sound readings.
would this work for common wall in a townhouse?
@@anthonyr8862 sure fill them walls
Id say way longer drill bit and longer tube.
I would like to know how many cans and at what expansion?
3 cans expanding gap stuff
Thinking about doing this yo same kind of door. Why i am on utube. Worried about door bursting open from 2 much foam..
How'd it go?
Sounds to me like you have a ghost in the house. You hear the breathing at the end of video? Lol
Are there reliable ways to tell if the door is hollow without making a hole?
Tap on it they sound very flimsy. Or take it off the hinges they are light.
“Yup we got it all stuffed so it’ll be nice and quite for ya man” “w wats dat sound fakk solid everything but the door”
Keep working on the english
@@gregs_garage keep working on that humor,😉
@@gregs_garage oh and how could I forget, keep working on those hollow doors of yours buddy.😊 😂
How many cans did you use to complete the task?
Wouldn't it be easier to just replace the door with one that is already sound insulated?
doubtful
Solid Core Doors are Expensive
Can I do this with doors that have glass or will it show up behind glass?
Add door sweep if possible
Yes maybe I will
fyi every 3 DB is a perceived 2x volume
In the past, I have sprayed foam to fill some frame gaps (not within an enclosed area) and I have noticed some part of the foam mix never expands and precipitates to the bottom of the treated area as a yellow liquid that takes more time to dry up (vs the foam). Any experience if the said liquid may soak the door walls from within and stain the paint finish?
I've not seen any staining since.
@@gregs_garage Thank you, Greg!
I can tell you the expanding foam can discolour paint if you get it on the outside/surface of the paint. But I doubt it will do so through an MDF board.
While noise does travel through a door 99% of noise travels around the door a cheap door seal kit will yeild much better results
How many cans did you go through?
maybe 3
At least you cant easily punch a hole JK LOL
I probably would have used lead sheets, green glue and 5/8 rocksheet
I doubt it
@@gregs_garage I don't. Change the door to solid, add tge sheets then add Iso Trax to the surrounding walls for dispersement, then attach the 5/8th rocksheet. It's all about mass.
@@gregs_garage also, use weather insulation around the door for a tight fit seal. The filter is for gaps and for some insulation but not for sound.
How sealed are the seams?
the seams of the door? good enough nothing comes out. No evidence of foam anywhere but the holes I drilled.
noise coming through the door but i am the only one inside the house.
Ghosts
A wood door is best way to go.
Yes. True. Expensive and difficult.
Seemed more like 2-3 db reduction, not 3-4 db.
Something like that
It doesn't work at all
next time hold the can upside down
Some asshole showed up saying my assembled fir doors were actually cork filled doors.. My doors are heavy so why is this dude saying this?
Cut them in half
@@gregs_garage I did. He's a rag tool crook
A solid wood door would have been better.
yes, but I had this door. And now I have a video.
Not a lot of noise control.
But wonder about heat loss ?
First 6 minutes where not necessary
Interesting
I learned on another u tube tutorial that the first and most important thing is to seal beneath and around the door. Check if and where light penetrates around the door.
SEE- ruclips.net/video/8LPBdJPeY-0/видео.html
Yes it’s true try to seal where the noise goes
This does not work.
The dB level went down. Proof is in the video
That was a bit creepy.
“I have a lot of noise coming through this door from the basement. Kids screaming and such.”
One day you’ll understand. Or not.
Nice idea I have a video for the same thing I came up with this idea. My video is a little easier to understand and its shorter.
the video: ruclips.net/video/IS4fYwsY5VY/видео.html
Answered my question. Thanks. Not worth my time
Hollow-Door: $40.00
GreatStuff Expanding Foam: $10.00/can
# Of Cans Needed For Hollow-Door: 6
Primered Solid-Core Slab door: $80.00
You do the math ‘cause Bright-Eyes apparently did not....
Door was a sunk cost. $40 of foam is cheaper than a $100+ door. Plus I made a video that returns over $100/year in perpetuity. Math is hard, eh?
Not sure where you buy "Great Stuff" - but it's roughly $3.00 ~ $4.00 where I get it... The closed cell "Great Stuff" I believe to be $5.00 ~ $7.00... Probably would've been sound barrier with closed cell though.
For parents who are to passive to tell their kids to turn down the volume and STOP SCREAMING! I don't know why parents today allow their kids to run around like a pack of wild animals terrorizing their lives and their neighbors.
yeah. yeah. I don't know. yeah.
SIR, YES DRILL SARGENT, SIR!
@@ThinkingNow I am not against kids playing, but when both parents are in the house next door and their kids are Screaming at the Top of their Lungs for 8 hours straight Every Day and the parents are to busy getting High to shut it down. Then instead of the parents telling the kids to Shut Up they turn the Head Banger "Music" Up to drown out their kids Yelling. What the Hell has happened to our Society? If I call the Cops the Woke Liberalism will probably find some way to twist things around and arrest me for interfering their right to be Assholes.
total waste of time...you are lying..it was 38 before and 37.5 after...total waste of time!!!
I think it dropped 3-4 dB as a result of this. It makes a difference.
how many cans did you up using?
3 cans. doors suck up a lot!