Soundproofing Barn Doors

Soundproofing Barn Doors

The current trend in modern homes is including barn doors inside the home. The rustic look and feel add a certain warmth to the house that many homeowners seek. Sliding barn doors are particularly a favorite for many homeowners.

However, one of the most significant challenges that these doors present is all the noise they make. You can be sure you will hear every time someone opens or closes a barn door.

Recently, we moved into a home with barn doors, and all the noise almost made me crazy. So, I sought out different ways to make the doors quieter.

Like any other soundproofing project, there are several ways to achieve the same result. Well, if you have been wondering how to soundproof your barn doors, this article should provide some inspiration.

Here are several ways through which you can dampen the noise from your barn doors.

1. Weatherstripping

This is probably the most common way to soundproof your barn door. Weatherstripping involves sealing off cracks, holes, or openings in your door.

Homeowners use weather stripping to prevent rainwater from getting into the house through the bottom of the door. Another use of weatherstripping is creating a more energy-efficient environment for your home. That is by keeping interior air within so that to save on energy lost during heating or air conditioning.

However, weatherstripping is also ideal for helping reduce noise within the doors as they move. Several materials can be used for this, including a weatherstrip itself, a metal such as brass, vinyl, sweep, and foam, among others.

The first step to dealing with your noise problem is to identify those spaces that are leading to noise production.

Secondly, find the material of your choice or ask a specialist for help. Then go ahead and apply weatherstrip to any openings within your door. It would help to find something that blends in with your barn door to maintain the aesthetic appeal.

Also, make sure you cut the material into the right measurements of your door to avoid an awkward look.

2. Consider Using Soundproof Curtains

Curtains or drapes can do an excellent job of dampening the noise passing through your barn doors. What you need to do is ensure the material is heavy enough for the job. Heavy material deflects most of the echoes and low-frequency sounds that your barn door may be producing.

Not only will they help with your noise problem, but they also improve in the look, color, and patterns of your home décor.

You just need to play around with whatever works best for you in this case. Some designs we advise you to use are frills or pleats, which add on to the mass of the curtains, making them thicker.

Also, heavier materials such as velvet, polyester, and vinyl will be helpful if you decide to go down this road. Make sure that they cover the entire area surrounding the door.

To make your work less of a hassle, fix curtain rods to hang your curtains or drapes from.

3. Moving Blankets

Like the curtains, this is an old-fashioned way of dealing with noise problems. However, moving blankets are better than the curtains in the absorption of noise.

They are made of thick, dense material that is efficient is noise dampening.

You can fix rods above the door frame to hang the blankets with. Otherwise, you can adjust the blankets over the door frame if you are looking for a more temporary solution.

Either way, they will do the job correctly.

However, these blankets will dampen most, but not all of the noise coming through your barn door. For 100% efficiency in noise elimination, you may have to look for other ways to deal with it.

What to know when choosing a moving blanket for your barn door is the material used is essential. Most are made of fiberglass, mass loaded vinyl, and polyester, which are up to 85% efficient.

The next thing to check is the thickness. Focus on getting thick blankets rather than thin ones, which will not make much difference.

All the good things will cost you a few more dollars. To get the best, invest in the slightly higher-priced blankets rather than cheap ones. They often come with grommets which aid in the hanging.

For increases efficiency in the sound dampening, you can pair moving blankets with curtains or drapes.

4. Using Acoustic Panels

Another pleasing way to go when it comes to soundproofing your barn door is using acoustic panels.

Acoustic panels work best when the door is thin. By installing them, you add to the thickness of the door. In turn, more echo and noise that reverberates from the door will be dampened by the panels.

Panels are mostly made of fiberglass, which is proven as one of the most dependable materials when it comes to cushioning noises.

There are a few ways that you can install the acoustic panels to your door. The first involves you pinning hanging strips on the panel then going ahead to hang on the door.

The second way is to use an adhesive spray then sticking the panels against the door.

Both ways can work for you any day. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a more temporal setting, using hanging strips is more advisable.

Moreover, how much you use the door and how it is handled may contribute to your final hanging choice.

If you use the barn door more frequently and it is handled roughly, the adhesive spray is more advisable. If it is dealt with carefully and seldom used, you can use the hanging strips.

For the perfect finishing, it would help if you got the correct measurements of your barn door to know the size of the panel required.

Fiberglass acoustic panels are expensive. If you do not wish to spend so much, you may be forced to look at other options.

5. Replacing Your Door

There are two ways to go about replacing the entire door

To begin with, if you have a small barn door installed, you can go ahead and purchase an oversized door. This will ensure that no gaps are left between the door, the floor, and the walls.

This method will save you a lot of other expenses that will come along with the noise coming from spaces left within the door frame.

Secondly, if you have a glass or thin-wooded barn doors, you can replace them with solid wood. You can know the wood is thin or hollow by tapping on it. If the sound produced is hollow, you know you have work to do.

Solid wood will be thicker and heavier than either glass or hollow wood. They, therefore, save you the costs of installing features to deal with the noise.

It would be wise to note that these doors are a bit expensive compared to the other elements used in soundproofing. It all depends on what you are willing to sacrifice for this.

6. Consider Reaching out to a Carpenter

Professional assistance when it comes to the installation of barn doors is not a bad option. At the very least, it is advisable.

DIY projects are fun to work on, but hiring a carpenter may result in better finishing for you. By hiring a professional, you may save yourself a lot of costs that may arise from the mistakes you might make while installing the doors yourself.

This does not mean that you rush to the first carpenter you meet. Do your research or get a recommendation from someone who has had their barn door installed by one.

Also, look at the credentials of a carpenter. Some are just after the money and have no clue on how to do this work. Someone with years of experience in the field is most favorable for the installation.

Input from a good carpenter will also direct you on the best materials to use for installation. It may cost you a few more dollars, but at the end of the day, it is worth your while.

7. Use a Board or Sweep at the Bottom

Where the door is nearly in contact with the ground, you can seal off the space using a board or sweep.

It will still be necessary to make the right measurements to attain a finish that will not cause the door not to close or may leave a gap.

The board or sweep help to close the door tightly hence, no sound can penetrate from outside or inside the room.

A more temporal way to deal with the spacing beneath the door is to fix a piece of cloth.

This is not convenient since you will have to fix it every other time you get in or out of the room.

8. Add More Wood to the Door

Last but not least, you can dampen noise coming from your barn door by adding wood to the door. This is a risky way to go, and it would be advisable to call a specialist before you do it.

Whatever wood you use for this should be sufficiently thick and heavy. The most commonly used wood is plywood.

You need, yet again, to know the measurements of your barn door to get the right size of wood. Also, you need nails to pin the wood to your door. In some cases, you can use screws and adhesive sprays.

The process requires a lot of keenness, and it would be better to leave it alone if you cannot dedicate everything to it. Otherwise, the more natural way to go is to call a carpenter to help you with the job.

As you can see, the soundproofing of barn doors is a straightforward endeavor. It may require assistance here and there, but at the end of the day, you can do most of the things comfortably.

If you need assistance, be sure to call a carpenter well-versed with barn door installation to avoid future crises.