How do you keep noise out of your office?

Discussion in Office Supplies started by donding • Aug 23, 2014.

  1. donding

    dondingNew Member

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    Between all the screaming munchkins, the crazy dogs and the neighbor who thinks loud motorbikes are hella' cool, how do you manage to keep your office sound free and get some work done?

    Me personally, I don't have anything special to block out the sound. I have heard about sound blocking curtains, but I'm not sure how effective that would be against noise from inside The House. There is also the issue of sound leaking in through the sides of the door. I doubt curtains would help there either. Any one have any better ideas?
     
  2. Athenagdlyt

    AthenagdlytActive Member

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    I only know of the door bottom brushes that you can install when your door floor clearance is a bit high. They're also known as door sweeps. For the side of the doors, that would be tricky expecially on the hinge side where anything you put there would be crushed.
     
    #2Aug 25, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2014
  3. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    The easiest way to keep out noise out of your office, assuming that you won't be talking to anyone while you work is getting yourself some quality ear plugs. They'll be the most cost-effective means of canceling out noise.

    Alternatively, you could get yourself a white noise machine to cancel out the annoying sounds which come from outside. While you'll have to cope with 'white noise' it won't bother you that much at least.
     
  4. wvboarder

    wvboarderMember

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    I'm allowed to listen to music so luckily that blocks me from anything that is completely direct noise. Many people use that thick king of sound barrier mat on the wall. For me simple music turned down with ear buds does the trick quite nicely.
     
  5. isabbbela

    isabbbelaWell-Known Member

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    My office is actually pretty loud and nobody makes an effort to keep it quiet. And we honestly like it like that! Environment is very informal and fun, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Also, everybody's always in a call, in a meeting, or talking to some coworker so that would be virtually impossible.
     
  6. 003

    003Well-Known Member

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    This is really a problem. And because it really makes me in raged, if I could confront them, I confront them and request for a consideration if they could make a way to have their noises not reach my office. And if they couldn't or if I couldn't eliminate the noise around me, I just put on my earphones and listen to relaxing, nondestructive music.
     
  7. ZRadach

    ZRadachMember

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    noise cancelling headphones, which are super neat. some comfy earplugs work wonders... I wear them all the time and it dulls loud stuff t makes it so that you can still hear things if need be.

    like, you can still hear conversations. maybe go with wireless over ear headphones to watch TV and whatnot, then wear earplugs with those on and turn up the volume. double sound blocking and sound cancellation. you could listen to audio loud enough to block the noise but the earplugs would protect your eardrums.
     
  8. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    There's software I've been using lately. It's called ams audio masking system. The software generates what sounds like the whirring of a fan and it kind of drowns out noise. Since I'm easily distracted and conversations often irk me when I'm working, the sound generated by the software makes it impossible to hear what's being said. So it definitely does help.
     
  9. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I don't think there is much you can do because the layout of the office is the limitation. If you are that close together then you are bound to hear noise. I ink in this case it's probably betts to just put in some earphones and put on some music, but if it were me I'd just listen to classical music and have the volume at a low enough level that I can still hear anyone speaking wi out having to take the earphones out. This way I can blog the noise without blocking the conversations.
     
  10. Lushlala

    LushlalaWell-Known Member

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    I agree, @DrRipley@DrRipley...with some noises, there's really not much you can do. I live on a housing estate with quite a few families and young children on it. So from time to time, there are a lot of screams, shouting, laughing and all those noises that kids make, especially if they decide to jump in the pool. My office backs onto the communal pool :( Luckily for me, this doesn't happen very often. Plus we usually have music playing softly in the background, and that drowns out most of the noises. The dogs and cats seem to enjoy making noise more at night, so that's good LOL Lord, I never knew cats could cause such a racket through their fighting before I lived here!
     
  11. ZRadach

    ZRadachMember

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    her are some more options for you:

    room inside a room (not that practical)

    noise reducing barriers of some sort, such as paneling or something like that either on your house or the room you work in.

    noise barriers outside, maybe a berm and thick hedges or a special fence.

    noise reducing paint. yes, it exists.
     
  12. Goat of Departure

    Goat of DepartureActive Member

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    I think the cheapest and easiest way is to get yourself a pair of noise cancelling earphones. It's a bit pricey bit man does it work. You can also just buy a pair of earplugs, they block out the noise quite okay without totally leaving you deaf to outside noise unlike the noise cancelling phones. The only downside is that you have to wear them all the time and it's not exactly that comfy if you wear them for extended periods.
     
  13. Corzhens

    CorzhensWell-Known Member

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    Fortunately, my cubicle has a wall made of sound absorbers - those panel with small holes like pores. And another advantage with our office is that silence is precious so personal chatting is done in low volume especially when there are pocket meetings going one. I used to have a room of my own which is sound proof but I had recently been transferred to handle another function so I had to forego with that private room.
     
  14. overcast

    overcastActive Member

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    There are some noise cancellation methods. And that works for most of the office out there. And people can build on top of those options. Here the issue is that you need to take care of the air circulation and other things. If that part is not handled it becomes harder for you to get the most out of your office setup.
     
  15. Jamille

    JamilleActive Member

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    I work in an accounting office and it's naturally noisy with the combined sounds of dot matrix printing, collection and payment follow ups on the phone, and the continuous appearance of employees from other departments. We can't use headphones to block off the noise as this is not allowed at all. As a service department, we always have to be prepared to entertain people and attend to their needs. I have learned to work in such environment and noise no longer bothers me that much. If there's any consolation, our department, at least, is confined to one large room with our own air conditioning system. Except for the HR, the rest of the employees and other departments share the larger space and are only separated by waist-high partitions.

    My home office is a bit better because it's something I can decide on. I've located my small space at the back of the house where I'm not likely to be bothered by the noises of vehicles passing by or people talking at the top of their voices. I can also choose to use headphones to cancel unwanted noises. I rarely do so, however, as I want to be there when my son calls for me.
     
  16. Ray1

    Ray1Well-Known Member

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    I have a cabin of my own in my office and our office is totally soundproof so we do not have such problems. The only sound I hear is ringing telephone bells and when I call someone in my cabin. The main hallway of our office too has minimum noise or whatever the sound we hear is that of our executives talking on phone to our clients.
     
  17. Heatman

    HeatmanActive Member

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    If you know any one that works in a studio, go meet him or her. There is a material called sound acoustic, it's used in setting up studios to prevent infiltration of noise from the outside and into the studio which normally ruins the work.

    I'm 100 percent certain that these acoustics when used to set up your office, the problem of noise is already a solved issue for you.