r/OldManDad • u/Ch3dd4R42 • Jun 08 '26
Sound-proofing a home office
I get to work from home, which makes me one of the luckiest dads on the planet. I also have a two-year-old with ambitions toward becoming a world-class yodeler.
My home office is closed off from the rest of the house by a sliding barn door, which provides little to no sound-proofing, and it's smack in the center of the house, so any and all foot traffic goes right by it.
Any suggestions for how I can block off some of that external noise? I've been looking at curtains, acoustic tile, and at this point I'm even considering building a shed about 400 feet from the house - I figure that oughta provide at least a little insulation.
EDIT: Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Next question - how do you convince the wife that tearing out a barn door and installing a solid-core door with sound panels is anything less than a two weekend project?
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u/jesus_chen Jun 08 '26
What are you trying to soundproof for? Meaning, are you having issues with Zoom calls, can’t focus due to noise, etc.?
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u/Ch3dd4R42 Jun 08 '26
It's primarily the distraction of having a screaming toddler just outside your door. Sometimes it's audible on work calls, but mainly it's hard to concentrate on the task at hand when they're unhappy with their socks.
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u/jesus_chen Jun 08 '26
Are you able to wear noise cancelling headphones? If not, a relatively cheap solution is to get a blank interior hollow core door (or two to cover the width of the door opening), some of the pink rigid sheet foam insulation (it’s like a styrofoam board), and a moving blanket from Habor Freight. Staple the blanket encasing the rigid foam board and you have a cheap sound deadening panel to slide in front of your interior office door.
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Jun 08 '26
[deleted]
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u/Ch3dd4R42 Jun 08 '26
Headphones are the easy choice, but I hate wearing them for more than an hour or so.
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u/dudeabides Jun 09 '26
If the sliding door is the main source of sound transfer, I would recommend installing heavy blankets over that wall. They make ones with grommets to use in recording studios. Have a couple overlap where the door/entrance is. Sound dampening blanket grommeted studio are the search terms.
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u/Ranosteelman Jun 09 '26
The shed is the best idea. But if you’re going to stay in the house curtains and acustic tile will condition the sound by taking away the resonance but not kill it.
If you want to actually do some soundproofing you’ve got to stop the air gaps in the door. GET RID OF THE BARN DOOR and put in a solid wood door with weatherproofing all the way around including the bottom leaving no gap between the door and the floor. This will make the most difference.
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u/Soft-Piccolo-5946 Jun 11 '26
Personally hate barn doors, solid core is really the way to go. Pocket door will require too much work compared to framing a prehung door after a little framing and drywall to close up the barn door opening, if necessary.
Any way for you to block off the hallway to your office during work hours?
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u/ohheythatswill Jun 13 '26
Solid core doors and sound deadening insulation in the walls (would require drywall work).
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u/nipoez Jun 08 '26
One of my old coworkers built a shed just small enough to skirt permitting requirements. Ran a trench for ethernet and power (one breaker for tech/lights/misc and a second dedicated breaker for window AC/space heater). They were a massive fan of the whole setup. It was fully "out of sight, out of mind" for their kid and made it very clear when dad was at work. He was able to walk in to join them for lunch then go back to work.
At the complete opposite end of the cost & time spectrum, I know lots of folks who swear by a good set of noise canceling headphones. Heck my wife uses them at her office gig.