apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Maybe place a bookcase in front of it and stuff the back with foam like you said? That way you could disguise the fact that you're blocking a door - that always looks strange to me.

I used foam (egg crate-type that lines recording/music studios) to line a door that connected my room and my roommate's. There was only a slightly noticeable difference in noise level. I think the key is sealing (in some capacity) all of the crevices between the door and the frame -- stuffing it with batting or something and taping it all off if possible -- as well as lining the door.

In my next apartment, I lived in an bedroom with an accordion door that separated my bedroom from the living room (there was a regular door to bedroom too). We put a couch in front of the accordion door on the living room side, hung curtains on both living and bedroom sides, and then put dressers in front of it in my bedroom. Despite the accordion being made of plastic, all of the furniture and curtains really helped to dampen the noise. I actually felt I had more privacy and noise control than in the weird door situation in the previous apartment. Visually erasing the door helped to create a sense that the accordion door wasn't actually there and thus made me focus less on the noise.

I bet you'd get some noise relief just with some thick weather stripping at the bottom of the door to seal the crack.

I've seen a late night ad for a thing called the Twin Door Guard that slides under the door and has foam rolls that block either side of the door crack. You cold even use that as a springboard to make your own version.

seal all the cracks first. then eggcrates. it's the texture that absorbs the noise so flat surfaces would only keep bouncing the sounds

This isn't a decorating problem, it's a structural problem. Replace the door with a solid-core door. It's not the cracks, it's the hollow door itself that's nothing but a big "eardrum" for transferring sound.

that looks like a solid wood door in an older building to me. i agree about the psychological benefit of out-of-sight out-of-mind.

Does your guitar playing bother the people watching tv? ;-P

Seriously, eggcrate foam doesn't block sound from coming through, it's only for canceling the *reflection* of sound off of surfaces. It's not dense enough to absorb sound very well. You really need to create an insulating layer -- hard surfaces on both sides of the foam, so that sound gets reflected and trapped inside that layer. That's essentially what a solid core door does, or you could line the door with foam and then put a solid-backed bookcase in front of it.

Hanging heavy quilts on either side of the door can help.

darlingcaro, I think you're partly right about the door. Wood yes, but not exactly "solid." If it's an older door it's probably thin 1/4" panels with solid wood stiles. A solid-core door would still be an acoustic improvement.

Hey! I had this exact same problem. . .my bedroom is technically a dining room, and one door leads to the living room, with (ditto) a TV right on the other side. What I did was buy a solid wood door from an architectural salvage place (there's one called Ohmega salvage here in the Bay Area--Boston must have an equivalent). It was quite cheap at $25.

I purchased one that was slightly too big, so that I could just wedge it tightly into the space and prevent sound from coming through any cracks. So, it's not hinged, but still looks totally normal from the living room side.

I then had a shelf made of solid wood to fit the specifications of the area, and stapled a layer of thin egg crate foam to the back, and pushed it up against that corner. (I had mine made at Books and Bookshelves here in S.F.; again, I'm sure there's a Boston equivalent :-). For a cheaper alternative, you can scout craigslist for a solid wood shelf roughly the same size as what you need.

Once I stuffed the shelf chock-full with books, the insulation process was complete!

How about a little communication?

"Hey - It's 1.30 am and I'm trying to get some sleep before work tomorrow. Mind turning it down some?

Simple and cheap.

someone already suggested doing a double door type situation, which is your best bet (but do it on the other side of the door so you don't loose the space in your bedroom).

As well, carpet, or any thick cloth material really, will help attenuate the sound level.

You could also remove the door and fill in the whole with a new "wall". It could be done in such a way that it could later be undone by future tenents as well. It's pricey, but would provide as good a quality soundproofing as the regular wall you currently have.