The sound of footsteps creaking across the floor. The neighbor’s bass thumping through the walls. The pitter-patter of little feet racing from room to room. Sound travels easily throughout our homes, sometimes wanted and sometimes not. Choosing the right flooring can make a huge difference in managing noise and creating a peaceful, comfortable living environment.
Carpets in particular have excellent sound absorption and insulation qualities that can greatly reduce ambient noise in a room. Understanding a little about the science behind carpet acoustics can help you choose floor coverings that transform the soundscape of your home.
The Basics of Carpet Acoustics
Sound waves travel through the air in waves of compressed air molecules. When sound hits the fibers of a carpet, the fibers absorb some of the sound energy and convert it to heat energy. The carpet also refracts the sound waves, redirecting them in multiple directions instead of allowing them to travel straight through to reflect off the hard floor underneath. Both absorption and refraction limit the transmission of noise through a room.
The denser and thicker the carpet fibers and backing, the better the carpet will be at absorbing noises. Plush or shag carpeting works best, as it has the highest surface area to intercept more sound waves. The carpet cushioning underlayment also plays an important role in sound insulation.
Benefits of Carpets for Home Acoustics
There are several major benefits to using carpet for managing noise in your living spaces:
- Impact Noise Reduction
Heavy footsteps, shifting furniture, toys crashing can generate loud impact noises. Carpet cushioning absorbs the sound of impacts to greatly reduce noises from above traveling to lower floors.
- Ambient Noise Reduction
Appliances, voices, traffic, and devices make ambient background noise. Carpet on the floor and walls reduces reverberation for less bothersome ambient noise clutter.
- Privacy
Carpets block noises from transmitting between rooms and floors for greater sound privacy.
- Comfort
Carpets absorb loud noises that can cause irritation and disrupt sleep, conversations, concentration and more.
Where to Use Carpet for Best Acoustics
While carpet can go in almost any room of a home, it can be especially helpful in key rooms where excess noise is most detrimental. Recommended locations include:
- Bedrooms – Block outdoor noises and noises from other rooms for better sleep.
- Home theaters – Absorb audio reflections and outside noises for clearer movie sound quality.
- Play rooms and kids’ rooms – Limit noisy play activities from bothering other household members.
- Media rooms – Reduce ambient noise from appliances and electronics for better music and TV listening.
- Laundry rooms – Muffle washer and dryer sounds, as the machines are typically installed on hard tile floors that amplify spin cycles.
- Hallways and stairs – Limit impact noises transmitted to lower floors of the home.
What to Look for in Acoustic Carpet
With all the options on the market, how do you choose an acoustic carpet tailored for your sound needs? Here are the key features to evaluate:
Fibre Density and Pile Height
The thicker and plusher the carpet fibers, the better for absorbing sounds. Aim for medium to high density carpets with a pile height around 12.7 mm. Saxony styles with a more compact pile work well.
Fibre Materials
Woven nylon fibers have slight cavities that help catch sound vibrations, while super soft triexta and polyester materials also absorb noises efficiently. Berber styles and very flat carpet surfaces allow more noise through.
Cushion Thickness
A thicker cushion backing increases impact sound insulation. Look for 9.5 mm to 12.7 mm thicknesses for maximum noise blocking. Bonded foam and dense rubber cushions perform nicely.
Total Carpet Weight
Heavier carpeting has more fiber content for absorbing noises. Weight is measured in ounces per square yard. Optimal acoustic insulation comes from carpets weighing 848 g/m² or heavier.
Acoustic Underlay
Adding specialty acoustic underlayment under your carpet creates a sound barrier to block transmission of noise through the floor. These thin soundproofing membranes cost a little more but make a worthwhile difference for problematic noise issues.
With all of these acoustic benefits, carpets transform the entire dynamic of a space, making homes calmer, quieter and more comfortable places to live and relax. Reach out to our flooring experts at Crazy Price Carpets to learn about all of our plush, acoustic-friendly carpeting options for your Newcastle or Sunderland area home today!