Sahamamama Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 We've been thinking about adding a sound barrier of some sort to the doorway of our homeschool room. We really only need to put something on the one doorway, not both. This particular doorway seems to funnel all the sounds from the dining room, kitchen, family room, and powder room :huh: right into our work space. For example, if my husband is home and washing dishes :001_wub: in the kitchen, we hear every little bit of that. And the school room itself isn't very "padded" -- there's not a lot of stuff in there to absorb the sound, so it seems louder than you'd think it would be, considering that it's traveled across the house! We've noticed that when the basement door is open -- that is, blocking the doorway -- the sound reduction is so helpful for those still working in the school room. Of course, if some of the children are playing in the play room in the basement... well, that nullifies the value of having the basement door open, LOL. There's really no room in this doorway's configuration for us to add a slab door (the normal kind). There's just nowhere for that kind of door to "go," KWIM, unless I'm willing to lose three feet of wall space (I'm not). We thought about putting up an accordion door, but I'm wondering (1) how much noise that's going to make, with the kids clanking in and out, and (2) how much it would hold up over time, with the kids clanking in and out. It's not a very wide doorway, only about 30 inches, so I don't think an accordion door would really work too well, anyway. Have you ever seen someone use heavy drapes or curtains on a small doorway to reduce sound flow? If you've found something that covers a doorway nicely, can be moved aside easily and repeatedly without wearing out, and reduces sound, could you please pass that on? Thanks! Any ideas are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Pocket door? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Pocket door? We have one that separates our washer/dryer room and it does a pretty good job:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I've used drapes as a "door" in a few houses and apartments now. While basic privacy or hiding ugly closets was typically the main goal, sound dampening was a noticeable bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 In summer, we have used a thick piece of fabric as a "door" to contain A/C - we also noticed a sound reduction. It was just a couple of pieces of thicker fabric on a tension rod (and no, it's not overly sturdy, but we taught the kids to be gentle with it, and they caught on pretty quickly). It's cheap and useful for the times we need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 In summer, we have used a thick piece of fabric as a "door" to contain A/C - we also noticed a sound reduction. It was just a couple of pieces of thicker fabric on a tension rod (and no, it's not overly sturdy, but we taught the kids to be gentle with it, and they caught on pretty quickly). It's cheap and useful for the times we need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodlebug Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 OR... you could make your kids wear hearing protection. When it's time for independent work, I go to my DH's workbench for the big comfy ear/hearing protection head phones and DS loves to wear them. It looks whacky. But it really helps! I even bring them with us to places like the dentist's office (TV is always blaring in the waiting area) so DS can read while we wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I haven't done it for noise, but I've used a pretty tension rod with grommet drapes from Target and they work nicely for doors. (I have them on a couple closet doors right now.) The grommets will help them slide quietly. You don't want pocket drapes, oy. I really don't know how well they'll work for noise, but you can try them and return them (save the packaging) if they don't help at all. I probably wouldn't want the folding doors, simply because they'd pinch fingers. However if the curtains won't cut the noise, the folding is where I'd be next. Do you have any plants, area rugs, bean bag chairs, etc. to soften your school room and absorb sound? You could use a white noise machine or app or turn on music very low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I'd consider adding a curtain rod above the doorway and hanging a heavy drape or quilt on it using rings so that it would slide more easily and hold up to heavier weight fabric. I'd be afraid a tension rod would just get pulled down frequently and be more of a hassle than it was worth. We used to have curtain rings with clips attached so you don't have to sew them to the fabric. Consider checking thrift stores for heavy drapes, ideally heavy wool or velvet, a thick quilt, or some such, something with a lot of heft. As a proof of concept, if you have a vellux blanket, polar fleece blanket, or a padded comforter/quilt and a tension rod, you could stick it up there for a day or so to see if it makes enough of a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 We have a pocket door going into the laundry. If you can do that, it would be nice. We have a home with no carpet. White noise helps a lot. I do like the idea of noise canceling ear phones! I may need to look into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayDad Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 A quilt will defiantly dampen the noise a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Pocket door? No, I don't think we could put in a pocket door in this doorway. On the one side, there's an outlet and a light switch, and on the other side, there's an outlet. I'm fairly certain we'd have to move those, and that would involve an electrician (and a carpenter). I think we'll do a trial run with a tension rod (I have one) and an extra quilt (I have one). If that seems to help with the noise reduction, we'll install a rod above the door and either a quilt on rings or a heavy drape with grommets. We don't need to reduce the noise so much for independent work as for one-on-one tutoring, when the student and I are discussing work and need to be able to hear each other well, without voice strain. For some reason, my voice tires quickly when I try to talk over the noise coming in from other areas of the house. At the same time, I don't want my husband or the other kids to feel as though they have to tip-toe around all day, every day. So we'll come up with some solution. Thanks for the ideas! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 No, I don't think we could put in a pocket door in this doorway. On the one side, there's an outlet and a light switch, and on the other side, there's an outlet. I'm fairly certain we'd have to move those, and that would involve an electrician (and a carpenter). I think we'll do a trial run with a tension rod (I have one) and an extra quilt (I have one). If that seems to help with the noise reduction, we'll install a rod above the door and either a quilt on rings or a heavy drape with grommets. We don't need to reduce the noise so much for independent work as for one-on-one tutoring, when the student and I are discussing work and need to be able to hear each other well, without voice strain. For some reason, my voice tires quickly when I try to talk over the noise coming in from other areas of the house. At the same time, I don't want my husband or the other kids to feel as though they have to tip-toe around all day, every day. So we'll come up with some solution. Thanks for the ideas! :) Just a thought: When hubby and I had to put up a curtain divider in a doorway at one point (we built a climbing wall/cave into a spare bedroom) instead of a curtain rod (which is not the sturdiest!) we used a pull-up bar. They sell them specifically for doorways with little round metal cups that install sturdily into the frame. The bar then fits in those. Strong enough for full grown men to hang and do pull-ups! We then used nice shower curtain hooks and heavy curtains with grommets to hang to the rod. We loved it. You could do pull-ups, we even put dd's infant swing up there at times--and then a trapeze bar later for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Just a thought: When hubby and I had to put up a curtain divider in a doorway at one point (we built a climbing wall/cave into a spare bedroom) instead of a curtain rod (which is not the sturdiest!) we used a pull-up bar. They sell them specifically for doorways with little round metal cups that install sturdily into the frame. The bar then fits in those. Strong enough for full grown men to hang and do pull-ups! We then used nice shower curtain hooks and heavy curtains with grommets to hang to the rod. We loved it. You could do pull-ups, we even put dd's infant swing up there at times--and then a trapeze bar later for her. This is beyond brilliant. Wish I'd thought of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I like the ideas from the previous posters. We have an accordion door in our laundry room that only receives light wear (like, gets slid back and forth maybe once every few weeks) and it very quickly started breaking and coming out of the track. So -- NOT a durable choice with children and heavy use! Because ours only acts as a covering for storage shelves, I can't tell what kind of sound barrier it would provide… (I can't fit into the shelving to listen what it's like with the accordion door shut ;) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 For my daughters closet, we did the curtain rod above the door way. We used the blackout drapes that you can buy very reasonably at Walmart. It has been up for a year and a half and is still holding up great. I can tell you that when I am in her closet and she is trying to talk to me from her room, the sound is muffled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Just a thought: When hubby and I had to put up a curtain divider in a doorway at one point (we built a climbing wall/cave into a spare bedroom) instead of a curtain rod (which is not the sturdiest!) we used a pull-up bar. They sell them specifically for doorways with little round metal cups that install sturdily into the frame. The bar then fits in those. Strong enough for full grown men to hang and do pull-ups! We then used nice shower curtain hooks and heavy curtains with grommets to hang to the rod. We loved it. You could do pull-ups, we even put dd's infant swing up there at times--and then a trapeze bar later for her. Great idea! Dd5 sleeps in a room that is officially a "den". It has an archway with no door. We've put up a tension rod and curtain for privacy, but anytime someone under the age of 5 comes over, they tug on the curtain and that tension rod comes down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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