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A soundproof HVAC closet will help dampen Air Conditioner Noise, especially if your bedroom or living room couch is located next to the front door of the HVAC closet door.
The last thing you’d want when relaxing at the comfort of your home is listening to the humming and rumbling noises of the HVAC system in the utility closet. If you’ve experienced such problems before, here’s what you can do.
Soundproofing the utility closet is will help dampen those annoying noises while at the same time keep airflow in your room regulated. Here are some ways to make a utility closet soundproof.
How to Soundproof HVAC Closet
1. Add a Mass of Drywall
Sound waves travel through the air and solid surfaces. So to prevent or minimize the amount of sound leaving a place, you will need to add in more mass.
You can add a mass of drywall on the HVAC unit closet by either building a box around the unit or reinforcing the existing wall using drywall. An example of the drywall that you can use quite rocks.
Quite rock is a rigid, dense layer of gypsum sandwiched between a paper. The product has increased in popularity as an effective means of reducing the transmission of sound.
If you decide to build a drywall box, remember to make the HVAC unit easily accessible for inspection and maintenance purposes.
If adding drywall to your walls is the better choice, don’t forget to add an insulation foam between the drywall and the walls.
Insulation foam is commonly used in construction for structural support, increased energy efficiency, and providing comfort. Insulation foam also has sound-deadening properties that builders can easily use to reduce noise in a property.
Using the insulation foam will also add to the mass between the wall and the drywall and ensure the noise is greatly minimized.
2. Soundproof the Door
Soundproofing the HVAC closet door will go a long way in reducing the amount of noise leaving the closet. The door is the major source of noise leaking, which is why you need to devote most of your attention to soundproofing it.
To effectively soundproof the door, you need to start by sealing the gaps and cracks on the door. These spaces are the most significant culprits in letting sound in or out.
Weather-stripping tapes can in various forms; however, the best thing to remember a tape that is made of rubber. Rubber sealant is good at insulation and also keeping noise from leaking out.
Sealant Tape
You can also use acoustic sealant tape, which is good at absorbing noise and prevent it from leaking out.
Locate the gaps and cracks on your door by turning off the lights then use a torchlight to locate them. Small holes and cracks can be hard to spot unless you carefully look for them.
Before applying the sealant, tighten the door hinges using a screwdriver. Loose hinges can create drafts on the door.
If the wood on the door is damaged causing the hinge screws to spin, you may need to add in wood plugs then re-drive the screws.
The next step is cleaning the areas you want to seal. Make sure you remove dirt, debris, and don’t forget to clean on the bottom of the door on the threshold.
You may also need to remove the existing weather stripping if it is damaged.
Then use a tape measure all the areas you will need to seal. Then measure out the measurements of the door on the weather-stripping tape. Use a pencil or a marker pen to mark out all the lengths of the sizes.
Cut clean tapes at the measured marks. Make sure the tapes are of the same lengths and that they have even surfaces. You can use sealant tape to soundproof a noisy air vent.
Place the top part of the weather-stripping tape along the door frame and nail it loosely in place. Make sure you place the nails at 2 inches to ensure it does not split.
Then tack in all sides of the tape into place using nails and a hammer. Use sandpaper to file the tapes in place in case they don’t fit into place.
Door Sweep
Place the door sweep against the threshold of the door without rubbing tightly against the threshold. If you are using metal sweeps, mark the position of the holes on your door then drill the holes on the door. Metal door sweeps always come with preinstalled holes. (Here’s our recommended door sweep)
Then attach the door sweeps on the threshold then screw them in place using a screwdriver.
Finally, test the seal to see whether it is in place by opening and closing the door a few times. If not properly fixed, you may have to repeat the process.
3. Install Vibration Mounts
Vibration mounts are an essential component of the HVAC. The mounts are based on the idea that if a machine can vibrate, then it can cause disturbances. They help deal with vibrations.
Ant-vibration mounts will help soundproof the HVAC closet.
Vibrations mounts are made from a combination of rubber and other elements like steel. When combined, ensures the mount is easily installed and also effective at absorbing noise.
Properly installed vibration mounts will offer effective noise control by dampening noise.
Vibrations mounts are an easy and cheap means of reducing the noise by HVAC components.
Open up the unit to reach the compressor then remove the existing bolts on the compressor. Once you have eliminated the bolts, add in new bolts that are made of rubber.
As you replace the bolts, remember to get the correct sizes to ensure they efficiently put the mounts in place.
4. Decouple the Drywall
Decoupling the drywall is a cheap and easy method of soundproofing the drywall. With a little technical knowledge, you can do this DIY project and save some money.
If you have existing drywall, you can soundproof it by adding an insulation layer between the layers.
To decouple drywall, you will need to split the drywalls in two then fill the space with an insulation layer. Besides adding to the mass on the drywall to the noise passing through, the insulation layer is also good at reducing noise.
For enhanced noise reduction, use the stud wall to mount the drywall. Independently hanging the pieces of drywall with different stud walls will reduce the amount of vibration noise going through the walls.
Use Green Glue when decoupling the drywall, Green Glue turns vibrations into heat energy, making it easy to soundproof the walls.
On how to Soundproof HVAC Closet
Soundproofing HVAC closet doesn’t have to be a hard task for you. With the above tips, you’ll be able to reduce humming and buzzing noises as well as vibrations coming from the utility closet.