Have you ever noticed how noisy your house is? Even when it is quiet your house is never really quiet. Each house it's own unique sounds ranging from creaking and crackling, pipes knocking, ducts cracking, to sounds of the house settling. Large and small appliances make an incredible amount of noise sometimes. The ice maker in the fridge makes noise as it fills with water then later when dumping the ice cubes into the tray. There's the subtle hum from computers and the tv receivers.
I notice a big difference in the noise level between our primary residence and our vacation home. Our vacation home has what I would consider fancy storm windows only rather than the heavy duty windows of our primary residence. It is surprising how much outside noise the thinner windows let in! Insulation and storm windows really can decrease the noise level of a house. There are a lot of things that can be done to quiet down a house.
Noisier rooms can be sound proofed to keep sounds from traveling throughout the house. Special appliance pads can be placed under dishwashers and washers to lessen the vibration noise. Scatter rugs and/or carpeting can help quiet rooms as well. Prevent pipes from knocking by adding a foam spacer between the pipe and wall or beam then secure the pipe with a U bracket to stop any movement. Heavy drapes can be hung on windows or entire walls to muffle the noise. Quilts hung on walls can serve as artwork while dampening noise. I am going to do a fair amount of sound proofing at our vacation home so stay tuned.
Garden Gnome
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