"Honestly, it was worth every penny. It didn't completely erase footsteps, but it turned loud stomping into muffled thuds—way easier to live with."
Totally agree with this. We did a remodel a couple years back and decided to go eco-friendly with recycled denim insulation between floors. At first, my partner joked we were basically stuffing old jeans into our ceiling (not exactly how it works, but close enough 😂). Anyway, it actually made a noticeable difference. Like you said, it doesn't magically erase all noise, but it definitely softens the blow. Before, our upstairs neighbor's dog sounded like a herd of elephants stampeding at 6 AM every morning. After the insulation, it was more like a gentle herd of...baby elephants? Still elephants, but way more tolerable.
And yeah, rugs and curtains help a ton with echoes and voices. But for those heavy footsteps or bass vibrations from music, insulation really does the heavy lifting. Glad to hear rearranging furniture worked for you though—sometimes the simplest solutions surprise us!
Interesting to hear about the denim insulation...never knew that was even a thing. I've mostly dealt with traditional fiberglass or foam insulation in my own projects, and while they do help, they're definitely not perfect. It's good to know there are eco-friendly alternatives out there that actually make a noticeable difference.
One thing I've wondered about though—does the density or thickness of the insulation significantly affect how well it dampens sound? I've read conflicting opinions on whether thicker insulation is always better or if there's a point where adding more doesn't really improve things much. Curious if anyone has experience or insight into that.
I've worked with various insulation types, including denim, fiberglass, and cellulose, and in my experience, density matters more than just thickness alone. A few years back, I did a remodel for a home office that needed extra soundproofing from outside traffic. Initially, we went heavy on fiberglass (pretty thick layers), but the improvement wasn't as noticeable as we'd hoped. Later, we switched to dense-packed cellulose insulation, and the difference was dramatic—much better at absorbing sound, even at similar thicknesses.
"I've read conflicting opinions on whether thicker insulation is always better or if there's a point where adding more doesn't really improve things much."
Yeah, there's definitely diminishing returns after a certain point. Once you have enough density to trap and absorb sound waves effectively, adding more thickness won't necessarily make things quieter. It's really about the insulation's ability to reduce sound transmission, not just how thick it is.
Totally agree with this. I've flipped a few houses near busy roads, and density was always key.
"adding more thickness won't necessarily make things quieter"
Yep... learned that the hard way too. Dense materials just do a better job blocking noise overall.
Yep, density definitely helps—but sealing gaps is just as important. I renovated a bedroom facing a busy street once, and until I sealed around outlets and windows properly, noise kept sneaking in no matter how dense the insulation was... lesson learned.
