Soundproofing a Floor – Guide to Reducing Impact & Airborne Noise

Floors transmit two main types of noise: airborne sound, such as voices or music, and impact sound from footsteps or objects hitting the surface. 

To soundproof a floor, you need to block airborne sound with dense materials and reduce impact by adding resilient layers. Consider lifting floorboards and filling the void with acoustic mineral wool to absorb airborne noise. A floating floor system, built with vibration-damping clips and dense boards, decouples the walking surface from the joists to stop vibrations travelling into the room below. 

For existing floors, lay a high‑mass underlay or mass‑loaded vinyl over the boards and top it with engineered boards or carpets. This adds mass and damping without raising the floor too much. You can also install matting that combines damping and decoupling for better impact reduction.

After sealing gaps around skirting boards and edges to eliminate flanking paths, use thick rugs or carpet to further soften footsteps.

Read the full guide here: https://sounddeadeninguk.co.uk/pages/soundproofing-a-floor