Soundproofing Internal Sliding Barn Doors

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

A couple of years ago we finished renovating our house. We turned our semi open-plan living room into a music room/library and installed a large internal sliding barn door to enable the room to be separated from the kitchen and rest of the house (previously there was no door). Unfortunately, although it looks great, it's not practical from a noise point of view. There is a large (1 1/2' - 4cm) gap on 3 sides of the sliding door (top and sides) so any music practice that goes on (cello, piano, French horn) reverberates through the whole house. What do others recommend we do to sound proof the door while still ensuring it looks as nice as it currently does?

This shot shows the gap fro the music room side.

Here's what it looks like from the music room. The door is the width it is so that it looks right when fully open behind the piano.

This is the door from the kitchen side. You'll see from the previous photo that the door is quite a bit wider than the opening, so I think it would be possible to fix some sort of soundproofing strip to the kitchen side of the door without it being noticeable from either side. The question is, what to use for such a wide gap, and how to fix it onto the door.

Looking forward to some 'sound' advice! Thanks.

Comments (5)

oklouise
6 years ago
check out noise insulation on line for local experts but the best option i can suggest is to change the barn door and any other doors into the music room to simple hinged solid core doors with foam gap fillers attached around the edges ...sound is like air and water and will seep through the smallest gaps so the answer is to close all the gaps...start with the doors and then consider extra insulation in the walls and ceiling...the walls of bookshelves should help and perhaps sound insulating panels can be installed behind the bookshelves and extended around all the other walls... only consolation is the quality of the noise in your house would be so much better than the average noise pollution...btw all the rooms and your musician look lovely
siriuskey
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
It does look lovely, but certainly not sound proof, you could try having an extra piece of timber fitted to both ends of the door ( and top) to thicken the door to try and narrow the gap, it should still be able to slide easily. Other than that a solid closing door will be the best option cheers
Related Discussions
Need help for my bathroom door - sliding, bi-fold or swinging?
Q
Comments (8)
I think sliding door takes up less room, I just put one in my laundry/bathroom. We brought the frame and sliders as a kit from masters and purchased door separately just their cheap internal door, as the door hangs from runners it is not quite touching the floor I don't think their will be any water issues
...See More
Looking to find a sliding barn like door for internal use in Australia
Q
Comments (2)
Yes thanks I had checked them out but seems they only supply the tracks not the actual doors. Am going to email them. Cheers
...See More
Clever way to make a large door less expensive?
Q
Comments (19)
My 10c worth: If I was to make a door like the one in the pic, I would use a piece of 38mm thick Triboard. Having a good-looking exposed track system is expensive for a larger or heavier door. Also make sure there is sufficient strength above the door in the right place to hang the door. We sell these sliding track systems in NZ, Id recommend the Henderson Rustic 80 system. Looking online overseas, theres some pretty good deals, but there's always the quality risk. Nor sure how much you are able to do yourself, there would be lots of savings to be made there, as usual!
...See More
Concealed, internal laundry? or need to find alternative?
Q
Comments (41)
Hi charlie_com: would love to see more as your house plans develop. We bought a house in The Gap last year. So hi, neighbour! We are currently working on plans for short term and long term renovations. I came across your post when searching for advice about whether it would be a big issue if laundry doesn't have direct external access. I agree with others who have mentioned the condenser dryer: our laundry is currently not internal and concealed, but we bought one soon after we moved in (a Bosch heat pump/condenser dryer) and are really happy with the investment as it reduces moisture in the laundry area and is much more energy efficient. I must admit to using it a lot now, because of the energy efficiency, and it being so much easier to stay on top of the laundry. The Styling Edge's photo of concealed laundry set up reminded me of a house where I first saw this set up being sold in Ashgrove several years ago. It was very nicely renovated, and part of the fairly open plan living, dining and kitchen zone, leading to the back deck and then back yard. I remember thinking it would be handy to have a laundry that was so close to living areas and bedrooms and not be separated from the main living. The house had no trouble selling, so it certainly didn't seem to be a deal breaker for buyers. I think it could be more problematic if there was a long, windy route through or around the house, to get to a clothes line. And by the way, I did check out your other posts to see if there was more progress on your house, and spotted the mention of not having a rug for 10 years due to inability to decide, and had a bit of a chuckle: that sounds so much like me.
...See More
annb1997
6 years ago
Is the door solid core? If not, a solid door would help somewhat, but would have to check the track can withstand extra weight. We have a couple of very heavy solid hardwood doors in steel frames which run on steel tracks. The bignheavy doors do dampen noise but certainly doesn't eliminate it entirely.

Heavy drapery, rugs, soft furnishings, tapestries and large textile wall hangings will help to absorb sound from within the room, but still won't entirely eliminate it.

If you don't already have carpet runners or rugs in your kitchen, adding some will also will help. Same goes for any other rooms which adjoin the music room/library.

I knew a couple who soundproofed their small music room when they built their house. Their son played drums. As I recall, they used a special acoustic plasterboard for the walls, and the floor was carpeted. I think it helped considerably.

there are also acoustic panels/tiles that can be installed on the ceiling, but this may be more trouble than it's worth. I'm not sure but the installation might be something like a suspended ceiling.
Jan Dobson
5 years ago
Hey Kesha, this is not my area of expertise but you might search through commercial sound proofing solution sites (think restaurant acoustic solutions, for example). It may be a rolling noise board like this might help http://www.soundblock.com.au/sound-proofing-products/sound-absorbers or perhaps sound absorbing foil could be made into a pull up banner. Just a thought
nconco
5 years ago
Did you ever find a soundproofing solution to your problem? I'm having the same issue and would love to know

Soundproofing Internal Sliding Barn Doors

Comments (5)

oklouise

siriuskey

Related Discussions

annb1997

Jan Dobson

nconco

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US