If you live in a condominium, you are probably aware that it doesn’t take much in terms of noise from your neighbours to really disturb your quality of life. In fact, your neighbours don’t have to necessarily be that noisy in order for you to hear them through the walls of your condo; maybe they have a great home theatre system, maybe they listen to music in the shower – maybe they work a night shift and start their routine when they get home, when you are asleep. Things like that can seem much louder than they actually are, but the result is still some stress and annoyance in your life.

The best way to solve the issues that may come up with noise from your neighbours is not by going to your property manager or board; it is pretty likely that that approach will solve little and create some bad feelings. Today, many condo owners are taking a more pro-active approach and are sound proofing their condo buildings. Soundproofing can greatly reduce the amount of noise coming into your condo, and better yet it can dampen the noise that you might be putting out!

Of course, there are a couple of considerations you will want to take into account when it comes to sound proofing your condo living space. The first is the appearance of your home; you don’t want to sound proof and at the same time take away precious inches of wall space, or worse make your home look like the inside of the "really crazy" room in an insane asylum. You also don’t want to make a huge and complicated project for yourself, one that you won’t be able to finish. The good news is that soundproofing is not that difficult or expensive, and can be done in a couple of different ways. We will look at two now.

The first and probably the easiest way to soundproof your condo is to figure out where the noise is coming through, and then concentrate on that area alone. Sound can travel in some weird ways, even through the pipes under your sink! If it’s a small and unnoticeable area, some foam or even a cardboard wrapping will probably do the trick.

If you are looking to do a bigger job, though, then you are going to have to start looking at the different types of products out there. Soundproofing every wall in your condo is probably going to mean an investment of a couple of hundred dollars, but you can get some very good products for this price. Most useful are soundproofed sheets of drywall; they are just like normal gyp rock but have internal damping. They are quick and straightforward when it comes to installation. You might also opt for products such as vinyl sheeting; it won’t blend as nicely with your walls, but it is even easier to put up and still offers a great barrier against sound.

So if you are worried about the noise from neighbours, it is entirely possible to shut them out with soundproofing in your condo. Better yet, there are ways to do so easily and cheaply.