# Birds vs Soundproofing



## Fever (May 28, 2007)

I've been trying to solve this dilemma for a little while now, and thought someone here might have some expertise. I live in a very old apartment building with zero soundproofing. Though it has never bothered anyone in the past year, my new idiot neighbours are complaining about my doves. I have soundproofed the room using mattresses and it works to keep the noise down, but that was our bed, so now my fiance and I are sleeping on the futon downstairs. 

I guess what I'm wondering is if anyone knows a good way for insulating a room with doves. It doesn't seem to take a lot to lower the noise, and from the research I've done, high-frequency noise is easier to insulate against than low, and none of my doves are exactly Barry White. I'm thinking of putting a couch in there and I have a wool carpet, and maybe putting in some of my storage boxes of clothes. It's gotta be pretty sound-tight though, so I'm open to any ideas if someone's got any good tips.

Also, I won't go on too much of an angry rant, but please don't think I'm an irresponsible neighbour. My doves are really not loud, but these people, though extremely loud themselves, will pound on my walls and yell if they hear so much as a peep. There is a wall, a hallway, and another wall between them and the birds. I sleep in the room next to them and can barely hear them. No other neighbour, even the ones in their apartment before, has ever told me they bother them. But to keep the peace (and my birds), I'll walk on their eggshells.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I don't have any advice except shoot the neighbors.........what jerks some people can be.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

you may try covering the cage when "those people" are around or when they seem to notice it more. or play nice and invite them over for a cup of tea and show them how pretty your birds are and be real sweet, maybe they will feel different then..?......or you can shoot em just kidding of course.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Is there another room you can move the doves to, that isn't as close to the neighbor's wall? You need to have your bed back.


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## Pegasus (Feb 6, 2007)

*My Opinion*

Fever, Im not sure where are you located but if you think theres no loud-noise law like in NYC, dont worry about them pounding the walls, this is what I told my neighbors when they confront me about my 2 pitbulls (now I only have 1), I told them "Im so sorry if they bark at night", but in the morning it dont matter if its Sunday and people needs to take a rest, when I let them out past 9am I dont careless how many hours they work in a week but my dogs have to do what they have to do outside and then send them back in. Besides I said "if my dog start MEOWING then tell me that theres something wrong with my dog/s until then dog/s will bark" and the only way I can stop them from complaining is if they want to make any complain call the POLICE...After all that confrontations no one make any more comments...I only share this coz it works for me, Im not saying everybody will take your words...Good Luck...


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## Fever (May 28, 2007)

Shoot the neighbours - trust me, I've contemplated it many times. Especially whilst lying awake at 3am listening to them thug out to bad music when my fiance and I both need to be up early. Oh, we've thought up all kinds of different creative ways of getting rid of them.  All in good fun, of course.

I don't think moving them would work... that room is about as isolated as it can get, and it's one of the few places in my house that is designated cat-free. I keep the room dark right now until about 9am, when I leave for class. I guess I'll head over to a hardware store and see what I can find for acoustic panels (but they might be more heavy-duty than I need, blocking bass and higher-frequency). There's probably a good diy solution, I'll just try different things in the room, and see what absorbs sound best.


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## Littlecoo (Apr 20, 2008)

Fever said:


> Shoot the neighbours - trust me, I've contemplated it many times. Especially whilst lying awake at 3am listening to them thug out to bad music when my fiance and I both need to be up early. Oh, we've thought up all kinds of different creative ways of getting rid of them All in good fun, of course.
> 
> I don't think moving them would work... that room is about as isolated as it can get, and it's one of the few places in my house that is designated cat-free. I keep the room dark right now until about 9am, when I leave for class. I guess I'll head over to a hardware store and see what I can find for acoustic panels (but they might be more heavy-duty than I need, blocking bass and higher-frequency). There's probably a good diy solution, I'll just try different things in the room, and see what absorbs sound best.





> I guess what I'm wondering is if anyone knows a good way for insulating a room with doves.


You'll need quite a lot of doves to cover an entire room....and getting them to all cooperate is entirely another matter- perhaps placing them in a boygirlboygirl configuration may work....

Seriously though, it sounds like you have the more valid cause to complain about your neighbours' noise 
In a similar situation I used some of those thin foam-rubber mats like the type used as yoga/exercise, camping mats etc and flooring underlay and pinned this to the walls. I'm sorry to hear that you have such selfish, unreasonable neighbours


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Lol Littlecoo. 

Fever, I've been in your position before, and may karma bite your neighbors in their rears.  Hopefully it'll be quick karma. We used blankets/quilts tacked up--these can be bought fairly cheaply at second hand stores; if you hit sale days they can even be a quarter a blanket (found one of those sales last week myself). Also, try the foam egg-carton-looking pieces that a lot of people put on top of their mattress to lay on. You can look for them at some fabric places, or there may be a foam rubber place in town (there's one here, oddly enough). I used to put my doves in the closet at night or in the towel cupboard (it was a large shelf and plenty airy) so they wouldn't start cooing at six in the morning. I still do it with the dove who lives in my room. 

It makes it so much worse that they have the audacity to complain when they are making so much noise. I know all about inconsiderate neighbors--I've put in over $300 on anti-barking sonic devices for the chihuahua that moved in last summer behind my bedroom; it lives outside 24/7 and has an ear splitting shrieking bark. The things I would like to do to those awful, inconsiderate neighbors...... I think the frustration is the hardest part. But I hope some of the advice you get helps and they move quickly. 


I looked up "soundproofing walls" and aside from taking off the drywall and adding soundproofing materials inside the walls, here were some good suggestions:

_Another way to soundproof a room is to decorate it with rough-surfaced furnishings. Rough surfaces absorb sound, unlike smooth surfaces, which allow sound waves to travel back and forth. Applying an acoustic spray texture or other rough material to the ceiling, for example, can help soundproof a noisy room.

Walls can also be treated to help make a room soundproof. This usually involves tacking on some sort of heavy material that will block sound waves. The material can range from carpeting to blankets to manufactured paneling -- even cardboard egg cartons are an option.

Doorways and windows can also be sources of noise. A nearby draft of air can travel through leaks around a door or window, thereby allowing unwanted sound to enter a room. Rooms with doorway-related problems can be more soundproof if weatherstrips are applied to the gaps around the doorway or by buying a solid door. Window-related noise can be reduced by purchasing vinyl-framed or double-paned windows. If a cheaper solution is necessary, then the old standby of hanging drapes may suffice.

_

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080224070727AAe0A8o

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070629115545AAG1VOT


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## Fever (May 28, 2007)

> You'll need quite a lot of doves to cover an entire room....



That made me laugh! Not quite what I meant though!  Thanks to you and Maryjane though for the ideas. The yoga-mat/foam idea sounds like a good bet. Since I've looked into it, I've found a lot of construction supply places around, and I bet they'd sell something similar. I never thought to check the fabric stores, but they'd most likely have some good, dense material for sound reduction. I read somewhere that the material used in most hotel curtains is noise-absorbing. Wonder where they get that? 

Thanks much!


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## amoonswirl (Nov 14, 2006)

Fever said:


> That made me laugh! Not quite what I meant though!  Thanks to you and Maryjane though for the ideas. The yoga-mat/foam idea sounds like a good bet. Since I've looked into it, I've found a lot of construction supply places around, and I bet they'd sell something similar. I never thought to check the fabric stores, but they'd most likely have some good, dense material for sound reduction. I read somewhere that the material used in most hotel curtains is noise-absorbing. Wonder where they get that?
> 
> Thanks much!


Just a thought...
Recording studios use acoustic paneling and egg-crate-like foam to reduce noise and dampen particular frequencies. You may want to look into that. Not sure of the particulars but I have seen this used in a lot of studios. Google "acoustic paneling" to see some options.

Although it might be more expensive than using some of the other solutions mentioned here, it may also be more effective and have a side benefit of reducing the amount of noise you have to put up with from the neighbors.

Sorry to hear about your irritating neighbors. Our noisy neighbors just moved out and we are rejoicing  At least temporarily - we'll see what kind of people move in next. Always "interesting."


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## Littlecoo (Apr 20, 2008)

Fever said:


> That made me laugh! Not quite what I meant though!  Thanks to you and Maryjane though for the ideas. The yoga-mat/foam idea sounds like a good bet. Since I've looked into it, I've found a lot of construction supply places around, and I bet they'd sell something similar. I never thought to check the fabric stores, but they'd most likely have some good, dense material for sound reduction. I read somewhere that the material used in most hotel curtains is noise-absorbing. Wonder where they get that?
> 
> Thanks much!


It may also be worth while to look though the auction listings in your area re the motel curtains/fabrics, and hardware materials etc. This sort of thing does crop up in auction lots from time to time and usually much cheaper than buying from a store.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Someone suggested bubble wrap when I was talking about it today.


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## A_Smith (Aug 8, 2006)

Do a search on ebay for soundproofing for some ideas.  Some simple ideas there can be made yourself. Just need to be creative.


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

How about playing a radio loud enough to drown out the doves?


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

TheSnipes said:


> How about playing a radio loud enough to drown out the doves?


What a great idea!


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