How to Soundproof a Classroom 101

Posted by AcousticalSurfaces on 05/26/2010 12:40 pm | 8 Comments

A classroom is an important space: it is where students will establish friendships, where they will learn things that shape their way of thinking, and where they spend much of their time each day. The quality of the classroom environment is instrumental to the focus and success of each student.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of many classroom activities, the room can get very noisy and distracting. Especially during games, free time, or instrument practice, the noise will reverberate throughout the room, creating poor room acoustics. Any bleed through the floor, ceiling, and walls could cause a disturbance to the surrounding rooms. Why should and how can we mitigate this?

The professionals at Acoustical Surfaces specialize in solving these types of problems. With a huge variety of sound solutions that can be custom-outfitted for your classroom space, we can help keep your noisy classrooms crisp and quiet.

Why Invest in Acoustic Solutions for Your Classrooms?

When it comes to soundproofing a classroom, it’s essential to consider the effects of classroom noise on adults and students. Even if we think the ambient sound in a room isn’t terribly disruptive, that may not be the case for those trying to teach and learn. Additionally, children are more susceptible to the adverse effects associated with excessive noise. 

Background noise cancellation can help teachers hold students’ attention and protect their health. Something barely audible to adults can raise blood pressure in kids, impair their ability to concentrate, or even hinder their ability to learn speech and language. 

Prolonged exposure to excess noise has been known to increase stress levels and anxiety in both children and adults, which snowballs into all kinds of problems with performance. On the other hand, keeping a more serene classroom can contribute to a general sense of calm. It’s a perfect environment for learning and productivity. So, how do we get there?

How to Improve Classroom Acoustics

Before diving into the different types of acoustic treatments for classrooms, we must first address the two main sources of sound: Those generated within the classroom and those generated outside the classroom. The difference between the two demonstrates the basic difference between soundproofing rooms and acoustically treating them.

Noises from inside the classroom

The noises we associate with a buzzing classroom usually originate inside the room. Students chatting, digging textbooks out of their backpacks, and sliding seats and desks around while they fidget in their seats. All the sounds of life happening.

These kinds of noises cannot be kept out of the room since they originate inside. The way to deal with this type of noise is through acoustical treatments that absorb and scatter sound waves. These acoustical treatments address the issues of reverberation and echo and are key to keeping background noise in check.

Noises From Outside the Classroom

The other type of noise we deal with in classrooms originates from outside. These sounds may come from a nearby highway, gymnasium, or even the cafeteria. They can be particularly loud and may be impossible for the teacher to control, meaning they are a continuous disruption to the learning process. 

Our immediate reaction to this type of noise is usually to shut the windows or doors. It’s a natural instinct, but most aging schools’ windows and doors aren’t built to keep sound out effectively. Our classroom acoustics standards should be higher than that.

When you want to do something serious about keeping outside sounds where they belong, you’ll need to incorporate soundproofing materials. These materials add mass and density to walls, windows, and doors. They can also create an air gap between layers, adding to their soundproofing capabilities. This is your solution if you’ve got too much sound creeping in from outside.

How to Soundproof A Classroom: Acoustic Solutions that Work

If you aren’t familiar with modern acoustical treatments, you may be picturing foam egg cartons glued to the drywall. It’s not a very functional or attractive solution to classroom noise in school settings. Teachers like to plaster their walls with student artwork, motivational posters, and M.C. Escher drawings, so bland, bumpy foam rectangles don’t really fit the bill.

The reality is that today’s acoustical treatments are as practical and functional in the classroom setting as they are in controlling excess sound waves in the space. Here are a few of our favorite hand-picked options for reducing noise in the classroom:

Classroom Acoustic Panels: Echo Eliminator

Classrooms are ripe for reverberation. They are filled with hard, smooth surfaces, and they’re also filled with kids. That means the room is never silent. Some kid is always clicking a pen, smacking their gum, or scribbling out doodles. You may also have a noisy HVAC system contributing to unwanted noise in the background (learn how to quiet a noisy air conditioner). All these sounds combine to create ambient noise that interferes with the teacher’s voice and can negatively impact childrens’ performance in school. 

Adding soft, porous surfaces is the best way to keep reverberation at bay. By absorbing some of the sound waves, we reduce the amount of ambient sound floating around the room. This means the teacher’s voice faces less competition, and the students are able to hear them more clearly. It can also positively impact retention rates when test time comes.

Manufactured from recycled cotton, which is the most affordable sound absorption material on the market, Echo Eliminator panels are a space-efficient way to battle reverberating echo in your classroom. These ceiling and wall covering sound panels are customizable in size to the exact dimensions of your room, blend in nicely with existing room aesthetics, and are Class A fire rated and 100% recyclable.

Modern classroom acoustic panels still add those soft, porous surfaces where you need them, but they also look great, no matter what look you’re going for. You can choose from dozens of beautiful colors or print custom artwork on them, meaning your decor pulls double duty. Many are tackable and resist mold and mildew, making them the perfect surface for classroom walls.

Acoustical Window Inserts

Sometimes, keeping outside noise from coming in is the best way to improve the sound in a classroom. If your class is regularly disturbed by noise from the outside, such as traffic or construction, consider a window treatment solution such as Climate Seal acoustical window inserts.

Much cheaper than replacement windows, these easy-install inserts fit over or inside the frames of your existing windows and can dramatically change the interior soundscape by limiting outside noise. In emergency situations, these inserts can be easily removed.

Window inserts lower stress and distraction levels by reducing the volume of unwanted noise in the room, making the room more energy efficient. The increased thermal efficiency of window inserts makes it easier to keep the room from getting too hot or cold. Keeping students comfortable is an essential part of creating an effective learning atmosphere.

Fabrisorb Decorative Panels

For a hearty sound-absorbing option with a dose of customized decorative charm, consider Fabrisorb panels for your ceiling and walls. Used by many professionals for sound-sensitive environments such as production studios, Fabrisorb panels are perfect for noisy classrooms with an emphasis on silence, or in music classes. These panels are custom-engineered and rated highly in sound performance and reverberation reduction.

Door Seal Kits

If you deal with a lot of sounds that originate from outside the room but inside the building, your door may not be doing you any favors. Classrooms generally have pretty thick doors, but the space around them allows for ample sound transmission. Often, sounds from down the hall to come creeping into the classroom

Luckily, if you are wondering how to soundproof a door, door seal kits do just that. Door seal kits are great acoustic solutions if you need a soundproof door. They sealup the space around your doors, helping the overall noise reduction process. They include everything you need to seal the sides and top of the door, and those with automatic door bottoms allow the door to swing freely over the floor but seal when the door is closed. It’s a small project with a big performance.

Flooring Underlays

If you are in the process of building or have the capacity for a remodel, then a more involved solution for your noisy classroom might be applicable. In this case, a commonly recommended solution for mitigating sound dispersion throughout your school building is a flooring underlay such as Akoustik™ Underlay. This simple solution involves the placement of a thin layer of synthetic fiber between the wood or tile floor and the wood or concrete subfloor.

Along with significantly reducing the impact of noise passed to the level below, Akoustik has a host of additional benefits. The thin layer will help smooth out minor imperfections in the flooring while remaining a lightweight product. It is also a recycled “green” absorption product that won’t break your budget.

In addition to these creative solutions, Acoustical Surfaces offers dozens more options to help create the ideal sound environment you need for your students. You can also consult our free resources to learn more about sound dispersion and absorption techniques that our professionals use on a daily to help solve real-world problems for our clients.

Acoustical Surfaces: Your Interior Sound Solution

Every classroom has a unique set of specifications and purposes – from small practice rooms to standard 30-student rooms, or orchestra halls. Each one requires a particular and custom-designed sound solution to create the best possible results for each student in the class…as well as for each student down the hall or up the stairs who could be disrupted by the noise the class creates. That’s why the professionals at Acoustical Surfaces will work with you each step of the way, providing everything your project will need: from consultation to final installation.

We leverage our experience in the industry as well as our deep catalogue of products to provide designers, architects, and builders with the solutions they need to build the highest quality rooms and environments. Trust Acoustical Surfaces to provide the materials and products for your next project. Get in touch with our technicians or browse our product offering by exploring our website today.

Additional Resources

Creating Better-Sounding Rooms

Download eBook

Solutions to Common Noise Problems

Download eBook

CAD, CSI, & Revit Library

Access Product Cad Files