We’ve all been the subject of frustration from noisy hardwood floors. Whether you’re the downstairs neighbor with an upstairs counterpart who won’t stop stomping, or you have active pets that skitter across your floors at all hours of the day and night: noisy hardwood floors can drive you to the edge of sanity. While they may be beautiful, hardwood floors can be especially noisy. If you are at your wit’s end hearing the people that you live with use and abuse your hardwood floors, here are a few ways to enjoy your home and reduce noise on your wood floors.
Dampen The Sound At The Source
One of the main things that people complain about with hardwood floors is impact noise. This is the noise that you hear when something drops and falls on your floors or the much more irritating stomping and banging that occurs when someone with a heavy step walks across your floors.
In order to dampen this sound, it is highly suggested to use both a resilient underlayer and a dampening compound when installing hardwood. The dampening compound is placed on top of the subfloor, and then underlayment is then placed on top of the dampening compound and the hardwood floor is installed into that layer.
Some examples of damping compounds include cork, rubber mats that have been shredded, and foam. Strand board and fiberboard work well as resilient underlayers. Creating these layers of separation should help soundproof and reduce the impact of noises coming from hardwood floors.
How To Reduce Noise On Floors That Have Already Been Installed?
While it’s best to tackle the problem before hardwood flooring has been installed, there are a few ways to reduce noise after they have been installed.
The first is using rugs. While you may not want to cover up your beautiful hardwood floors, even small runner rugs in high-traffic areas can reduce the stomping noises and dampen any ambient noises echoing around your home. It’s best to pair a rug with a sound-reducing pad that goes underneath it, providing yet another layer of soundproofing and noise reduction. Studies have also found that an open pile wool rug is the most effective at reducing noise from hardwood flooring.
In a similar vein, sound vibrations resonate around a room, so having soft, open-loop fabrics around the room to absorb them can help reduce noise from hardwood floors. Soft fabrics like cotton, linen, velvet, and wool are better at absorbing sound waves than acrylic, plastic, and even leather. Adding throw pillows, drapes, and ottomans can all add to the noise reduction for your hardwood floors.
Stomping noises can also be reduced by insisting on a shoes-off home and providing soft socks or slippers for guests, as is the custom in many foreign countries.
If you are looking for some help insulating and reducing the noise coming from your hardwood floors, look no further than Troendle Hardwood Floor Company. With over a century of experience, we are a company you can trust with your hardwood questions, floor installations, and expert refinishing. Troendle Hardwood Floor Company works hard to guarantee that you love your hardwood flooring. Contact us today or give us a call and we will make sure you get the answers you need.
