Insulation of Aluminium front door to reduce noise

[Wookie45nz]

We have  Strata aluminum front door but as it is not insulated it allows a lot of traffic noise through. 

Can this be easily insulated?  Thanks..

[StevieB]

Hi @wookienz,

We moved your post to this original discussion. You'll see that @EricL gave the following fantastic advice:

To stop draught from entering the gaps between the door frame and the door, I suggest using the Raven 5m Door And Window Seal - RP14 White. You can also use the Sperling 78cm Double Sided Draught Stopper to stop the wind from entering through the bottom of your door. 

Here is a handy guide to give you more ideas:  How to winter-proof your home

Please let me know if you have any more questions about this or if we can help you further. We're always happy to help.

Stevie

[wookienz]

Hi Stevie.

I want to insulate the door as opposed to stopping drafts.

Pete.

[TedBear]

Hi @wookienz , having gone through sound reduction in our home earlier this year, there are several issues to be considered. Firstly, although aluminium doors are strong (good security) and stable, they are not good at keeping out either temperature or sound. Aluminium , being light & stiff is pretty good at following sound waves. It is sometimes used in microphones to pick up sound. So that's probably why you are noticing the noise. To cut down sound requires density of materials used. Are you able to replace the door with a solid wood one? Otherwise, it may require drastic measures such as sticking something more solid to the inside surface to dampen its transferring of sound vibrations. But you can start by trying to seal all around the door with dense rubber seal. That's not the hole-y stuff used as draft stopper. It will have a rubber skin on the surface, not little holes. You may have to get it from a rubber specialist (eg Clark Rubber). Also seal across the door bottom (I attached that strip to the door itself, but other sides go on the frame.) I have a dble glazed, timber frame door but I was surprised how much noise dropped by fitting the (correct) rubber seal around it.  I hope that helps you get in the right direction.

[EricL]

Hello @wookienz

It's great that you've received fantastic advice from @TedBear. I totally agree with his recommendation. Your door is currently transmitting ambient sounds from outside to inside your home. Increasing its density is a good way to stop the transfer of sound. I recommend using Standard Carpets 1000 x 1000mm Charcoal Polypropylene Carpet Tile it has a PVC backing that is almost like rubber. However, if you wish to get a thicker panel you can use Ultimate Flooring 1 x 1m Rubber Gym Tile - Black.

I suggest using the Sika 1L Clear 105 ContactFix Premium Contact Adhesive to glue the rubber panel onto your door. If you use the thicker rubber you may have to mount it with the ContactFix Adhesive and screws. Please keep us updated, we look forward to seeing your door insulated.

If you need more advice or information, please let us know.

Eric

[melbournelocks]

Hi Wookie45nz. 

I would recommend to do what previous replies. However by doing that and because you have strata, you need to ask OC or Building management first if you have one. They might disagree with just adding visible seals outside of the door, if any. Otherwise go and do it. This will minimise noise from getting in but has to be rubber and not foam. Another one is if your door is aluminium, have you check if the top door has holes on it? If so I would recommend to fill them up with sound deadening spray foam. Do this slowly and evenly. Because you cannot see what's inside the door if sprayed too fast the foam will hit the boundary and you just made a very expensive limiter. But this is very expensive and usually takes around 4-5 cans if you have standard 2040x820x40 door. Expect to pay around 100 each. Your door looks taller than usual and may also be a bit wider. Other options is to fill up with insulation foam like Polyfilla expanding foam. this will reduce the noise and strata usually doesn't mind as no one can see what you did inside the door. Again do this slowly but swiftly as foam expand once released. You want the foam to hit the bottom before expanding. If done properly your door becomes noise cancelling and might be better than your favourite DIYer. If done incorrectly you just made en expensive door which no one wants. Lol. Again, as previous replies, I would install a better door seal first and make sure you do the bottom as well. And if noise still bother then do the latter.

Hope this helps.

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @melbournelocks. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for jumping into the discussion.

I trust @Wookie45nz appreciates your input. I really like the idea of filling up the internal cavity of the door with expanding foam, and it sounds like a great solution to increasing the density of the door.

We look forward to hearing about your projects and plans around the house and garden. Please let us know anytime you need assistance or have something to share. 

Mitchell
 

[Jason]

Hi @melbournelocks,

Just also wanted to add my personal welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It looks like you have loads of knowledge and experience to share with the community so we are looking forward to reading more of your posts soon.

Please reach out if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site. We're here to help.

Thanks for sharing, 

Jason

[melbournelocks]

Hi Jason

Thank you. I love to help as much as i can when I'm not busy.