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sunhux

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Best DIY material to make a sound-proof bedroom door

I have an autistic son & very often there's crying / tantruming from
him with adults shouting at him.

My mid teen daughter is often affected by this noise, be it she is
at rest or studying though she coops herself up in her bedroom
almost all the time.

I've stayed in her bedroom before & was certain all those noises
came through the wooden door of the bedroom: no noise via
the walls & windows.

I've pasted rubber matts on the wooden door but the noises are
still coming thru the door: I tried rubber matts as I've laid rubber
matts in our living room where our neighbours downstairs often
complain of noises whenever my son jumps on the floor & this
has drastically reduced the noises (& complaints) from the
neighbours downstairs.

Q1:
Besides getting professional contractor that will cost me quite a
bit, is there any other material that I can 'paste' over the wooden
door to cut down on the noises?  What do people normally pad
their drumming & guitar rooms (so that the noises don't bother
the neighbours) ?

Q2:
I've read a Net posting that pasting carpets on the walls & doors
help with such drumming/cymbal & guitar rooms.  Any truth in
this (before I invest in carpets) ?

Q3:
I did buy a headphone & ear stubs but my daughter doesn't
often put them on as she doesn't find them very comfortable
& sometimes not in time to put them on : can't predict when
my son / adults' noises will surface :

http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-R-03318-Leightning-Shooters/dp/B001DZX86O/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1413728182&sr=8-6&keywords=firing+range+headphone

http://www.amazon.com/Hearos-Xtreme-Protection-14-Pair-Foam/dp/B001EPQ86A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413728022&sr=8-1&keywords=ear+plugs

http://www.amazon.com/Hearos-Ultimate-Softness-Earplugs-20-Pair/dp/B001EPQ3H4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413728022&sr=8-2&keywords=ear+plugs


I don't plan to invest in professional sound-proofing that costs a
lot as we won't be staying at this place for very long.
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sunhux

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I did not go further to get the 3M earmuffs as the 'Howard Leighs'
model did not meet my daughter's expectation: when she sleeps
with it, can feel something & may drop off when she rolls a lot:

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-H10A-Optime-Earmuff/dp/B00009LI4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413728182&sr=8-1&keywords=firing+range+headphone


So what the most sound-proof materials that  are easily-available out
there?
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Michael Best
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Thanks Michael, will try polystyrene out first.

In the event it does not work, will a sound-proofing
curtain or an anti-acoustic foam be more effective?
I'm exploring :
  http://www.alab.com.sg/main/solutions/acoustic-curtain-enclosures
      or
  http://www.monotaro.sg/g/00320948/
  http://www.ny-tc.com/Noise_Control_Acoustics_nytc.html 


Just surprised that the 3cm thick wooden door allows so much
noise to go through it
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one more query:
would a 1cm polystyrene help as good as a 2cm polystyrene?
Ie the thicker the polystyrene, the better it blocks the sounds / noise ?
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( I worked as a teacher for autistic children )

The use of wavy foam will surely be a bad visual affect for all involved.

Autistic children are very sensitive about their surroundings, so change as little as possible.
Polystyrene if installed carefully can appear as normal walls / doors.
If your son likes to draw or use crayons then let him decorate his room on paper pasted over the Polystyrene.
From my understanding, the door in Question is to the daughter's room, who isn't autistic, to protect her from the outside noise caused by her autistic brother, so I don't think the visual appearance would matter too much. Besides that, I think the wavy foam would actually look better, as it gives the door a Hi-tech-type "Audio Studio" look.
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If pasted in the interior of the bedroom door, my son won't be able to
see it.  If pasted on the outside, he may tend to peel it but don't think
he will get 'annoyed' by it, just that he will destroy it in no time.

He likes to peel & scratch.  He's seen wavy foams in exposed mattresses
before, not scared of it, just that he likes to peel

This white very lightweight material that breaks into tiny bits:
is that styrofoam & does it help insulate the noise?  I will try this
as I could get it at the wet market.

One local supplier I just called today told me his polystyrene sheets
are good to be placed on floors & will considerably reduce noises
when kids jump on the floor but not on the door.  Just curious.
This supplier's link is yewcomkt.com  & in particular it's the
Damtec & Euroflex acoustic sheets that he's referring to:
very economical for 3 feet x 6 feet of 2cm thick, it's only US$18
You can also paste it on the door's interior, it just won't be as effective that way.

Maybe you could buy some excessive foam for him to play around with so he doesn't peel it off the door.
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> ... the door in Question is to the daughter's room ...
     Yes, the above is correct

> ... who isn't autistic, to protect her from the outside noise caused by
>     her autistic brother ...
     Yes, the above is correct

I live in high-rise apartment (more than 98% of the population here live
in high-rise buildings), thus the frequent complaints from the neighbours
downstairs when my autist son jumps on the floor: managed to pad some
parts of it with rubber mats & that helps.

I'll be moving to another high-rise apartment in future so I guess I may
as well start planning now how to reduce noises from the wailings,
cryings, shoutings & jumping from affecting the neighbours : I certainly
can get a sound-proofing contractor to do this but some contractors
are not that reliable: after they have installed & there's still noise going
through, it's hard to get them to improve it further.

As I'm getting quite a few responses here, thought if anyone would
care to assess if the following contractor's method is good:
  http://www.panggiap88.com.sg/soundproof-windows.html

Ideally if the contractor has a showroom & let me do some shouting
at the other side of the door/windows, that will be surefire way of
testing it out
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http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-DOHM-DS-Natural-actual-Machine/dp/B000KUHFGM

Just checked out the above device & it says
"Voltage - 120V - for use in North America only".

My place is using 220-240V, so guess it won't work here
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The foam may peel from time to time & I plan to seal it (if I'm using a styrofoam)
in a plastic layer so that it doesn't fly all over the places.

There's a chance he may sniff or put it into his mouth
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Thanks for the voltage converter.

The glass panels are filled with 'heavy gases' : wonder if they will leak
over time & needs to be topped up.

The windows is for the future apartment : reduce son's (& adults') voices
from affecting neighbours.


If only the contractor will indicate by how many decibels the noise
will be reduced, just like the Howard Leigh earmuff:
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-H10A-Optime-Earmuff/dp/B00009LI4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413728182&sr=8-1&keywords=firing+range+headphone
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I've just got a few pieces of this white styrofoam of about 2cm thickness
& paste them to the interior surface of my daughter's bedroom door:
only have enough to paste two thirds of the door : so far, the noise
reduction only reduced a bit : would say about 75% of the noises'
volumes can still be heard: will seal the remaining one third of the
door & see how it goes.

I did not leave any gap between the styrofoam sheets & the wooden
door (with no bubble wraps in between the styro sheets & the door's
interior surface)
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As requested, the price of the soundproof door from contractor below:
  http://www.panggiap88.com.sg/soundproof-windows.html

It's US$440/door (if we make 3 doors) to US$490 (if we make only 1 door).
Contractor says it will block 85% of the noise (so not 100%) & it's hinge
type (can't do sliding as noise can go thru the sliding gaps; I prefer
sliding as it save space).  The gas doesn't need to be topped up
My last comment was in the process of typing, thus I did not to see your latest feedback:  
"sunhux2014-10-23 at 01:48:29ID: 40397447"

Noise can also enter from the air spaces around the doors edges.
Although it is usually used as heat insulation this product, if used around the  doors edges will be an effective noise insulator:

Self-Adhesive Foam Weatherstrip Seal
http://www.duckbrand.com/products/window-door-seals/self-adhesive-foam-seals
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Excellent
Thank you sunhux