9 Best Soundproof Carpets and Flooring Materials

For comfort and efficiency, it’s important to have a peaceful and quiet place to live. Putting in the best soundproof carpets and flooring materials that absorb noise instead of reflecting it is one way to make your home quieter. Room noise levels can be greatly improved by using the right materials.

The Top 9 Best Soundproof Carpets and Flooring Materials

1. Cork Flooring

When you peel the bark off of a cork oak tree, you get cork. It’s soft, doesn’t weigh much, and has little air holes that help block out noise. You can easily put down cork flooring on top of a hard surface floor using glue or sticky strips. It comes in tiles or sheets. Many things, like footsteps and falling things, make noise that cork can block out. Besides that, it keeps the temperature from changing.

2. Carpet Padding

Using a good carpet pad underneath carpets can make a noticeable difference in soundproofing. Felt carpet padding is fiber padding made from recycled fibers or wool. The dense, thick padding helps block noise and gives carpets more insulation. Felt absorbs noise rather than amplifying it like other cheaper padding materials. It creates a sound barrier between hard flooring and your carpet to reduce foot traffic noise. For best results, use a thicker felt pad.

3. Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV)

Mass-loaded vinyl is a thick, heavy vinyl that is made to block out noise. It has mass and damping qualities because it has barium sulfate or calcium carbonate in it. MLV stops noise in the air by reducing vibrations with weight. It comes in rolls or tiles that can be put down under rugs, laminate, hardwood, and other surfaces. 

MLV works well to cut down on noise from voices, footsteps, home theater rooms and shared living areas. Because it’s heavier than other materials, you should use subfloor support when you place it.

4. Acoustic Foam Underlayment

Acoustic foam flooring is made of light foam that can block out noise. Vibrations are absorbed, and noise from the air is less likely to get through. When put under laminate or engineered hardwood flooring, acoustic foam padding makes the whole thing quieter. 

It can cut down on walking noise by absorbing pressure instead of making noise on the subfloor louder. It also helps block out noise from higher up. It’s an easier way to improve than taking out the old floors. For better noise blocking, look for high-density foam.

5. Wool Carpets & Rugs

Wool carpets contain thick natural wool fibers excellent for absorbing noises. And, wool rugs are commonly used in high-traffic office spaces and recording studios to reduce ambient noise. Using thick, dense wool floor carpets in rooms like home theaters, media rooms, and bedrooms can cut down on noise. Wool also has insulation qualities to dampen impact noise.

6. Carpet Tiles With Padding

Carpet tiles are easy to put down yourself and change when they get worn. When you use carpet tiles with padding attached to them, you get both a floor covering and soundproofing in one. The padding that is attached, which can be felt, foam, or rubber, blocks out air and makes the impact sound better. 

The thick, short carpet pile also helps to soak up noise instead of reflecting it. Carpet tiles are great for basements, laundry rooms, halls, and other rooms that can be used for more than one thing because they cut down on noise.

7. Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound

Green glue is a soundproofing compound that works like caulk and can be used on different types of floors. It has sound-dampening materials mixed in with recovered rubber polymers. To stop noise and vibrations, green glue is put between two hard layers. 

If you put it between the flooring and basement layers, it creates a soundproof “sandwich.” You can glue things like plywood, cement backer board, drywall, and more with green glue. It does a great job of blocking out noise from footsteps in rooms upstairs.

8. Laminate Flooring With Attached Pad

Many homes choose laminate flooring because it is flexible and looks good. Look for laminate flooring that has a sound-dampening pad attached to it. It will block out more noise than regular laminate. The connected padding separates the floor from the subfloor and reduces noise from footsteps, moving furniture, voices, and impacts. Putting it on also makes the flooring smoother to walk on. No one in the house or downstairs will complain about noise as much because of this built-in resistance.

9. Engineered Hardwood With Acoustic Backing

Engineered hardwood floors combine solidity and adjustability for a fashionable wood look, like laminate. An acoustic backing enhances soundproofing in engineered wood. Backings can be made of cork, rubber, foam, or fiberboard. 

This extra layer makes a big difference in the background noise, making it great for music rooms, bedrooms, nurseries, and small flats. It’s also possible to put engineered hardwood over concrete or plywood subfloors, giving you more options.

Conclusion

Look at noise sources, room functions, and aesthetic preferences when choosing soundproof floors and carpets. Foot traffic, voices, dropped goods on hard surfaces, creaky subfloors, and impact sound vibrations cause noise. Look for density, damping, absorption, and insulation. Acoustic-focused floor sandwiches with sound-absorbing layers minimize ambient noise best. You can design attractive, quiet flooring with enough planning.

The following article lists the top 9 best soundproof carpets and flooring materials. Selecting indoor surface materials with soundproof properties can improve comfort and peace. Consult flooring experts to choose materials and configurations to address room-by-room noise. Quality, sound-absorbing floors improve lifestyle and resale value. Experience discussions, activities, and leisure without ambient sounds with the correct noise-blocking floors.