Soundproofing Walls and Ceilings in Your Gym

From SoulCycle to Barre to Zumba, it seems like there’s a new workout craze every week these days, and with all these fitness classes come new gyms on every corner.

Blaring music, loud equipment and stamping feet may pump you up while you work out but for the daycare center and office building next door, the constant noise can be problematic to say the least.

So what can these gyms do to combat noise complaints and keep their neighbors happy? Soundproof, of course!

Below we’ll let you know different ways you can soundproof and acoustically treat your gym to avoid bothering your neighbors:

1. Soundproofing Gyms Floors
2. Soundproofing Gym Walls
3. Soundproofing Gyms Ceilings
4. Acoustically treating a gym to reduce echo

Soundproofing Gym Floors

When considering gym floor soundproofing, keep in mind that sound travels fastest through solid surfaces. So, the more rigid flooring assembly, the easier sound can travel to adjacent spaces.

Gyms are typically built with hard flooring to fight against damage from heavy equipment. This type of flooring may be great for protecting against dropped weights, but sound easily echoes off of these hard surfaces, creating a lot of extra noise, especially for your downstairs neighbors. Rigid flooring assemblies can also allow sound to become structure borne and travel through to the floor below and into adjacent walls, so even if there’s no one below you, your next door neighbors will still be affected by dropping weights in the gym.

To muffle sound without sacrificing tough flooring, install sound dampening composites directly onto bare floors for an overall quieter structure. If you’re going for a more DIY soundproof gym floor, and you’re noise issue isn’t too bad, this may be the ideal solution. 

Gyms that include free-weights, or have more severe sound issue in general, may want to consider installing a floating floor. This system uses spring isolation mounts to float a 2″ concrete slab over the subfloor, and is very effective at reducing vibration transfer. It may be particularly difficult to implement after occupying a new space, since it requires emptying the space and pouring a brand new thin slab.

Another possible option for gym floor soundproofing is to cut the concrete slab between a gym and the adjacent space(s). By cutting the slab, you prevent sound and vibration of a dropped weight through the slab and into the space next door. 

Soundproofing Gym Walls

Many gyms are located in places with thin walls, like strip malls, which do nothing to stop noise from traveling between facilities.

To stop noise from seeping through the walls and into your neighbors’ space, consider hanging mass loaded vinyl, which will suppress sound from moving through even the thinnest of walls. Wall Blokker is easy to install and can even be primed and painted over, so you don’t have to sacrifice style when soundproofing.

Mass loaded vinyl products can be installed directly onto studs and under drywall, or on top of existing drywall with an additional layer of drywall to increase the soundproofing ability of that wall. For best results, you’ll want to install directly onto studs. 

Soundproofing Gym Ceilings

If your gym is located in a multi-story facility, you’re likely irritating your upstairs neighbor with every class you offer.

By installing these noise-blocking panels to your ceiling, you will stop noise from escaping through to the floors above you.

If your gym is constantly fielding noise complaints from angry neighbors looking for some peace and quiet, it may be time to start soundproofing. By following these easy tips, you’ll be able to easily trap noise in and keep your bothered neighbors at bay.

Sometimes soundproofing a gym is complex, and requires an acoustical consultant. Consider retaining a consultant if you have significant noise complaints or a sensitive adjacency to your gym.

Treating Echo in Gyms – Improving Acoustics for Better Speech Clarity

Possibly the most straight-forward solution to treating gym & auditorium spaces is simply adding in acoustical wall panels to reduce echo and reverberation. While this is a great option to improve speech comfort in these spaces, it will not improve the soundproofing between the gym and adjacent spaces. This is very important to note, since some companies in the industry make that assertion; but absorption products will not affect the sound transmission between adjacent units.

Sound absorbing panels do, however, make large spaces, including gyms and auditoriums, much more functional for speaking events and other multi-purpose activities (parties, functions, etc.).

Soundproofing Your Gym Floors, Walls & Ceilings

Gyms need soundproofing for a number of reasons – noise complaints from adjacent tenants, nearby neighbors, or excessive reverb in the space.

First determine what your main complaint is: if it’s airborne noise into the neighborhood, vibrational issues into adjacent spaces, or being unable to have speaking events in your space. This helps determine whether you need soundproofing or acoustical absorption products to solve your issue.

By assessing your problem and right-sizing the solution, Soundproof Direct can help to soundproof your gym.