No, eggboxes can’t soundproof a room! While many people believe in this myth, egg boxes haven’t got sufficient mass to block noise. Egg boxes are ‘used’ to absorb noise, like the foam you get in music studios. However, they aren’t the ideal choice for absorption, either.
For a material to absorb noise, it should ideally have an open structure so that air (and sound) can enter and become trapped. While egg boxes are not able to reflect noise (block noise) and cause much reverberation, their lack of open structure means they don’t make the ideal absorption product.
What to use besides egg boxes
Happily, sound absorption materials for your walls don’t need to be expensive and look a lot better than egg boxes! We recommend a Class A absorption material because it will give you the highest performance. Our Still Note panels and baffles have an absorption coefficient of 0.9 and will give you space clarity.
Why eggboxes can’t soundproof a wall
Eggboxes can’t soundproof a wall as they haven’t got enough mass to reflect noise. Materials that have a high mass are able to block noise as the sound hasn’t got sufficient energy to pass through. However, eggboxes have a very low mass and will not be able to block noise. While sticking them to your wall may reduce a little reverberation (if you stick a lot of them up!), they will never block sound.
The principles of soundproofing are high mass, absorption, and isolation (decoupling). You may wonder if eggboxes would make good acoustic insulation in floors or walls, but again, no. For insulation to be considered to have acoustic properties, it needs a mass of 45kg/m3 or higher and egg boxes in their normal state do not satisfy this.
Does soundproof wallpaper work?
Soundproof wallpaper is not good for real soundproofing as it hasn’t got sufficient mass. One 1.2m x 1.2 meter acoustic plasterboard weighs 18kg and this is used alongside other products to produce good wall soundproofing. So one roll of ‘soundproofing’ wallpaper cannot hope to block the noise coming through from next door. When it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
Differences between sound absorption and soundproofing
The difference between sound absorption and soundproofing is that the former makes noise clearer (less echo) and the latter blocks noise (both in and out). While absorption is not soundproofing and visa versa, they are not mutually exclusive, either. Sound absorption is in fact one of the three core ingredients to the best soundproofing. Without absorption, soundproofing can be left vulnerable to the drum effect in cavity spaces.
Do trees block noise?
Trees do not block very much noise at all, even though many people use them to block sound. Trees have many gaps between leaves and branches, but also, the very dense sound-blocking wood only covers a small surface area of the whole tree footprint. This means you have created a barrier full of holes.
Acoustic fences, like Noistop, are made of soundproofing materials to provide insulation and absorption of noises outside. These can also be turned into green walls to melt away into your garden quietly.
What is a soundproofing material?
A soundproofing material needs to have a high mass, decouple materials, or, absorb sound. By themselves, one of these three characteristics cannot soundproof a room, but together they can. Common soundproof materials include:
- Soundproof plasterboard
- MuteBoard 2, 3 or 4
- MuteClips (for decouplings)
- Acoustic mineral wool
We have a full index of the best soundproofing materials for you to read through. It will explain how a soundproofing system is created and why each material is needed.