Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common House Noise

[James Kalin (jfkalin]

I've visited a bunch of cohousing projects and every common house i've
visited has had moderate to serious noise problems.  I'm frankly surprised
how common this problem is, considering how simple it is to avoid...and to
fix.

Retrofitting spaces to control noise needn't be expensive.  What you're
basically trying to do is change hard surfaces into soft ones.  The carpet
under the tables idea is superb, and cheap too.  For ceilings and walls
consider hanging THICK wall hangings and banners.  Consider inserting, in
pillow case or slipcover fashion, acoustic panel (rough cork board is good)
into the hangings and banners, which BTW would also allow 3-D types of
hanging/banner art effects.  Make the hangings and banners of materials
easily launderable and simple to dismount and remount.