Back to back bathrooms. When someone is going, other room can hear!

Janettey
by Janettey
I looked into sound proofing, but it is too expensive or ugly, for me. Looking at sound proofing products did remind me that soft materials are good sound barriers. Like carpeting a house makes it much more quiet. No, I am not even considering carpeting the walls.
My home is also my business: bed & breakfast, so it needs to look nice. Like me, guests would like all the bathroom noises to be kept private.
Thank you for reading and giving ideas! Especially ideas that are inexpensive and not too hard!
The wall above and below both toilets is blank. Except for the usual plumbing parts The walls are about 4 ft wide. Thank you for ideas!
  14 answers
  • Mary Delgado Mary Delgado on Aug 18, 2015
    maybe a small shower radio or something that can play some soothing music.a small water fountain some play music as well while the water runs.
  • Rus1058682 Rus1058682 on Aug 18, 2015
    Blown in insulation will cut down the noise, and is diy friendly.. I used it when turning a garage into an office..
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    • Rus1058682 Rus1058682 on Aug 18, 2015
      @Janettey yes, but as I said I used a holesaw and drill.. I replied to another post explaining the procedure for you..
  • Terry Capaldi Terry Capaldi on Aug 18, 2015
    A little pricey, but we used corkboard when I was younger in our home to separate parents room from kids rooms. It is quite the sound muffler!
    • Janettey Janettey on Aug 18, 2015
      @Terry Capaldi interesting! thank you. might look decent too!
  • Mary Lebrecht Mary Lebrecht on Aug 18, 2015
    Would there be a way to install a small fan that goes on when the light is turned on ? Sound of the fan would mute the ' other ' sounds..
    • Janettey Janettey on Aug 18, 2015
      @Mary Lebrecht That would be great and would help a lot! Thank you, Mary
  • Jennie Herrick Jennie Herrick on Aug 18, 2015
    This may sound a little "off the wall" but a great way to sound proof the wall on the bedroom side you can cover that wall with the egg holding side of egg cartons, then hang some curtains over the egg cartons to hide them and to help to stop any noise that has still gotten through the cartons to match your decor. I shared a common wall with my teenage daughter and this is what we did in order to help keep things quiet between our rooms. It worked like a charm! I just asked my neighbors to save their egg cartons, and my husband collected them from his co-workers. We had enough to do the wall in no time. The fabric covered wall looks great, and we were able to still hang pictures and other things in it (you know how teenage girls are). I hope this helps you! Good luck!
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    • Jennie Herrick Jennie Herrick on Aug 18, 2015
      Actually, we just used a staple gun and stapled it to the wall. Since it was going in my teenage daughters room it didn't have to look perfect. However, if you wanted to cover the staples, you could make a faux valance along the top by stapling a piece of material along the top upside down along the bottom edge at the top of the curtain so that when it flops over it covers the staples. Or even easier, get some kind of cordage like jute and hot glue it over the staples. Hope this helps!
  • Frangipani Frangipani on Aug 18, 2015
    empty egg crates, especially the cardboard kind, spray-painted and glued side-by-side make perfect insulation for a bathroom or music studio. And the look is unique.
    • Janettey Janettey on Aug 18, 2015
      @Frangipani Actually for a couple days I was thinking egg crates. Having a BnB, I work with eggs a lot. Thought stuffing them with panty hose, but haha I dont wear those any more. Some foam or cut up old clothes would do. But How would I get them to lay flat on the wall?
  • Jennie Herrick Jennie Herrick on Aug 18, 2015
    As for the egg crates, we staples the egg holding part only to the wall. To help hide any bumpy look, when I was hanging the curtains, I made sure to put lots of gathers in them when I was stapling them up to help camouflage any of the bumpy look that the cartons might have caused. I wish I could show you a good picture of what we did, but my daughter has so much stuff hanging in the wall now it's hard to tell what we did anymore. Not to mention she seems to get a tad testy when I take pictures in and of her room or stuff anymore. I guess that goes along with being 18 these days.
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    • B. Enne B. Enne on Nov 02, 2015
      @Janettey yes they are good ideas and cheap too. If you figure out a way to glam up egg crates, I'll start a new board just for you! :):)
  • Rus1058682 Rus1058682 on Aug 18, 2015
    yes, there are a few different ways. I had a hole saw on a drill, worked great. They will also have instructions at the store you get the material from.. better than tearing down a wall to install batting type..
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    • Janettey Janettey on Aug 19, 2015
      @Ruslzplace Thanks!
  • Patti kelley Patti kelley on Aug 18, 2015
    We have a vent in our bathroom. I turn it on and also run the water just to muffle any sounds. I really would love a chandy but to muffle sounds and dissiapate any odors we have a vent
  • Jennie Herrick Jennie Herrick on Aug 18, 2015
    You can also always try using a cheap king sized flat bed sheet from Walmart instead of a curtain. The material is a bit thinner, but with the gathers, it helps to block the sound and hide the egg crates anyway. Plus they cost much less than trying to buy curtains to put up there the height of a wall. 3 King Sized Sheets with gathers just about cover an entire 8' wall from the top to just a couple inches from the bottom.
  • Brenda Webster Brenda Webster on Aug 18, 2015
    Perhaps something to make noise to block out the other souds? An Ambient Sound Machine (don't know how they do in humid environments) or simply a water fountain. For centuries people have used water features in gardens so conversations could not be overheard. Sometimes water fountains make people want to go pee, but they're already in the bathroom!
  • HouseLogic.com HouseLogic.com on Aug 23, 2015
    Hello Janettey, Sound leaks a lot like water. So you can try using acoustical caulk to seal any gaps that may be in the bathrooms (like around light fixtures and walls.) Adding extra drywall helps too. You can make an acoustical caulk sandwich if you add more drywall. You can learn more here: http://goo.gl/6U0dcS
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    • HouseLogic.com HouseLogic.com on Aug 24, 2015
      @Janettey We just did some additional research, and it seems that acoustical caulk can't take the place of grout, which you would need to install the tile. However, before you do anything, you may want to pop into your local home improvement store. Someone there may have another great idea to share that won't cost an arm and leg.
  • Jennie Herrick Jennie Herrick on Nov 02, 2015
    As I had suggested earlier, you cover the egg crates with floor to ceiling window coverings of your choice. Because I did this in my teenage daughters bedroom, we just used king sized bed sheets to hide the egg crates that we just stapled to the ceiling. In a B&B setting I would probably use a heavier drape and build a dimly lit (maybe on a timer or dimmer switch) uplit valance box at the ceiling to hide the top of the drapes and their installation method. Also, by using a rod, you increase the sound deadening effect by adding space between a thick drape and the egg crates. To add even more sound deadening effect, add some dryer lint to the egg crates where the eggs would go. This will help to muffle the sound even more. You can also use denim insulation instead of dryer lint, but I was just giving you a "free" resource that you could use for this project. You can always go to your local coin laundry mat and they will gladly let you have all the lint you want. They may think you're crazy, but they will let you have it.
  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Sep 12, 2021

    Leave Headphones and a radio inside each. It may not stop the noise, but at least you won't hear it.