How Much Does A Soundproof Room Cost?
Aug 21, 2023If you are soundproofing a room one of the first questions you will ask yourself is how much will it cost. Unlike traditional construction, soundproofing requires some extra costs. I have a soundproof budget calculator that can help you figure out your soundproof room budget based on square footage or square meters.
You can download the free soundproof budget calculator at this link: https://www.soundproofyourstudio.com/calculator
1) What Size Room Do You Want
The most important factor in building a soundproof room is the size. If you only have $10,000 than you will only be able to build a 100 sq/ft room. So, if you have a really tight budget your best bet is to compromise on space. I know...not what you wanted to hear.
2) What Makes Soundproofing So Dang Expensive!
Regular construction say for a remodel in a home according to Forbes is $140 per sq/ft. (Bartolone) Soundproofing averages closer to $180 per square foot for new construction and $105 for an existing structure.
Some of the construction costs are the same. You will need lumber for framing, nails, screws, drywall, electrical, heating and cooling, paint, trim, you get the picture. However, some costs are soundproof specific. These are things like:
- Two layers of 5/8" drywall
- Use of Mass Loaded Vinyl or Green Glue
- Acoustic Clips
- Acoustic Sealant
- Extra Cost for Soundproof Doors and Windows
- Extra Cost to silence duct vents
- Extra Cost to add in fresh air ventilation
These costs can add up and lead to a higher dollar amount on average per square foot for your build.
3) Let's Look At An Example Soundproof Room
Many people want to build a soundproof room in an existing structure like a basement or a garage. In this example we will have a 200 square foot room. If we type 200 into my soundproof calculator here is what you get:
For ease of teaching, I only included one door in this example and there is not a window. You can add the square footage of any windows in your room and get an added cost.
We can see in the right hand side, the the black box is for a studio built in an existing structure. I removed some of the costs for ground up build to give you a more accurate estimate. This includes:
- foundation
- roofing
- Siding
- Half the lumber, Half the paint, and Half the labor.
We see that our total studio cost could be around $15,692.34. With a 20% buffer (which I highly recommend) you are looking at $18,830.81.
Now is when you say you could do it for cheaper. That is totally fair. These were my costs and I surely may have paid too much in some areas. The labor includes paying my contractor $40/hour and occasionally some other labor at $15-25 per hour. So if you don't do any work yourself I guarantee it will cost more.
I worked alongside my contractor on the entire project and did not pay myself so keep that in mind.
Conclusion
Soundproofing a room correctly is not the cheapest endeavor. I created this calculator to give you a gut check before you build. My contractor had never built a studio before and he estimated we could build it for $20-25K dollars. In the end it costed closer to $48,000 when it was all said and done. Yeah...that one hurt a bit.
I don't want that for you, so take my calculator seriously and then do your own research on costs before you dive in. Don't let a contractor with no soundproof construction experience say they can do it for less, because either they will do it wrong or have you on the line for way more money than anticipated.
Just my words of wisdom from someone who has built and designed 5 soundproof projects and is always working on more.
Works Cited:
Bartolone, Ginny. “How Much Do Home Additions Cost in 2023?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30 May 2023, www.forbes.com/home-improvement/home/home-additions-cost/.
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