Fun Noodling Noisy Neighbors

by Jen (September 25, 2006)

No, this is not an article about whacking your neighbors with a giant stick of sturdy foam; it’s about sound-proofing your door. Less fun, I know: but if you live in an dorm or apartment with people who are incredibly noisy in the hall. I can hear some of my neighbors even when I’ve got my TV up. For a while, I assumed the walls were just thin.
Then I took a good look at my front door and realized it’s got a little gap at the bottom, between the door and the frame. I couldn’t stuff weather stripping in there because it’s already got some that just doesn’t fit. For a while, I jammed a towel up against the gap every time I was home, but that was annoying. Then I found the solution:

1. Get a Fun Noodle for a couple of bucks at Big Lots, drug stores (the seasonal section), Target, Wal-Mart, etc. They’re outdoor pool toys, and they come in various shapes and colors. Mine is sort of flower shaped, but some are just perfectly round tubes.
2. Cut it down to the door’s width.
3. Get some Wall Mounting Tabs from 3M. Put three 1-inch strips on the Fun Noodle (on each end and the middle) and affix it to the door. The wall mounts will protect the surface of the door so you can remove it easily later.

The door opens just fine with it on there. Yeah, it looks a little goofy, but it works unbelievably well and doesn’t damage anything, making it perfect for dorm and apartment dwellers. Now I just barely hear people even when they’re right outside my door.

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