You may have seen popular Youtubers using gigantic, foam-like squares on their walls as they shoot their videos. Musicians can also be seen using the very same or a similar invention, as a means of soundproofing their workspace.
As interesting as these squares may appear, they don’t look to be particularly thick. You may have wondered just how useful it is to slap a couple of foam squares on your wall and consider that proper soundproofing.
The fact of the matter is in the materials. While they may look like any old foam squares, these pads are actually called soundproof wedges and they’re made from specialized professional-grade foam.
A Small Fix for a Small Problem
The way these foam squares work is actually quite interesting. They have more than one function. Not only are they meant to help ward off sound waves, they’re also useful as a means to buffer direct contact, such as areas that might be damaged by other objects, as well as protecting surfaces where they’re applied from harsh elements like sunlight damage.
Recording studio soundproofing level foam squares tend to come in packs of a dozen or more, which works well for those who have smaller studio spaces and just need a little bit of sound dilution.
This is often why you will see only a handful of them plastered to the walls behind your favorite vloggers. They’re also one of the cheapest ways to quickly soundproof your working area.
It’s the perfect solution for college students, or others working on a budget, who may need a quick fix to stop their loud noises from waking up their roommates at night.
Respect Your Neighbors
If you live in an apartment or a duplex, where you are residing in close quarters to your neighbors, you may require something more robust to prevent your three-person band from disturbing other residents of the complex in the wee hours of the night.
If you do have an apartment or a home that is near to strangers, it kind of goes without saying that minimizing your noise as much as possible for the sake of others is just the right thing to do.
The comfort of your neighbors is one of the biggest reasons why people are willing to invest a bit more into soundproofing their homes.
Consider Your Own Privacy
There are certainly downsides to living in close quarters with strangers. If you are a particularly noisy person, or if you can hear things going on in your neighbor’s residence at all hours of the day, then chances are they can also hear what you’re doing too. Unnerving as it is, it’s a fact of life that a lot of people have to put up with when they move in to older apartments or duplexes.
Still, you can definitely do your part to lower the volume of your daily activities, without having to change a thing.
Investing in soundproofing boards that will keep all the noise in that you would rather your neighbors not speculate about, can ultimately offer you some much-needed peace of mind.
Minimizing Outside Noise From Within
As much as it’s nice to consider your own privacy and the comfort of your neighbors, what about the other outside elements that are out of your control to prevent?
If your city is performing some much-needed maintenance on the roads around your neighborhood, chances are it’s going to be loud from the early hours of the morning and all throughout the day.
Who wants to wake up to the sound of a power drill or the grinding of unearthed chunks of pavement?
Soundproofing your apartment, duplex, or standalone home will keep as much noise inside as it will stop noise from seeping inside. If you naturally live in a noisy area, such as near downtown or by the freeway, soundproofing can be a true stress relief.
Unless you’ve gotten used to the sounds of trucks blowing their horns every once in a while or people yelling at each other in the streets, soundproofing might just make your day-to-day living situation that much more bearable.
Personal Preference and Health
Human beings were not built to be around noise all the time. It’s great to be able to pop on some music or to watch a show with surround sound all the time but those types of things always have the ability to be turned on and off at will.
What isn’t healthy is when you’re around noise all the time, without being able to turn it off at will.
Those who work early in the morning, but who have loud neighbors living below or above them who like to binge-watch wrestling at midnight, will find soundproofing a way to help themselves function better mentally every day.