How to Soundproof a Room Using Egg Cartons

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By Granath Color Works
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Rock-on!

The band is back together...GREAT!!! Only problem is that they are practicing in your basement and you can't hear yourself think! There is a relatively easy way to effectively and inexpensively soundproof a room using egg cartons as the soundproofing material. With some leg work on the collecting and a few basic tools you can soundproof the area!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Egg cartons...LOTS
Tape measure
Construction adhesive
Caulking gun
Staple gun (or screwgun)
Scissors

Step 1

Egg Cartons

Gather egg cartons as they will actually be the soundproofing material! You will need lots of them...don't panic. A walk through your neighborhood retail section is all you need to do. Simply stop into every food service establishment and tell them that you are collecting egg cartons...would they be kind enough to hold them for you. After a few weeks, you will be amazed at how many accumulate. (For those that choose immediate gratification, these can be purchased in bulk on line.)

Figure about 30 to 40 cartons (commercial size) per 3 square feet of area to be covered.
Step 2

Decide if you need the whole room covered or just the ceiling. Most basement applications will only require the ceiling to show a marked improvement in soundproofing the upper levels of the house. You might want to do the ceiling first and see if you want to continue on walls later.
Step 3

Caulking gun for use with construction adhesive

Use the caulking gun and the construction adhesive (Liquid Nails or any other brand) to bind 3 or 4 cartons together to make "blocks". You don't need a lot of adhesive, just a few spots between each carton and don't press them together too hard. Put these aside for use later.
Step 4

Staple gun

Begin covering the surface with single egg cartons using the staple gun or the screw gun. Both will work and it is simply a matter of which one is more comfortable and accessible for you. (If using the screw gun, use washers and a very light setting so you don't go through the carton stock.)

Use the scissors to cut pieces to fill the perimeters where full cartons will not fit.
Step 5

Once the entire surface has been covered, use the "blocks" that you created earlier to complete the process. Start from a corner and work your way across the surface. Apply construction adhesive in 4 or 5 spots to the cartons that are secured and press a "block" of cartons up into that. Continue working your way around until the only spots left are the perimeters where full "blocks" will not fit. Again using the scissors, cut pieces of carton and glue them up into those spots. At that point the entire surface should be 4 or 5 cartons "thick" and the soundproofing is done.

Comments

bfreethree said

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on 7/26/2009 It is great to know these things! Thanks for the information for a lowcost, soundproof room. 5*

mniemchick said

on 4/14/2009 I brought home about 70 egg cartons from work a few years ago with the intention of using them for soundproofing a small basement studio. Problem was, I had NO IDEA how to do it. This article made me smack myself in the forehead and say "why didn't I think of that?" Can't wait to get started (although I'll probably need to pick up some more cartons). Great article for those of us who can't afford to tear down our walls!