Tip #1: Find your problem areas.

The first item to do when reducing noise in your home is to find where the noise is coming from or your problem areas. The most common areas where noise enters or transfers through your home are at windows and doorways, through the attic, and through non-insulated walls. If you know where the noise is getting in, you can take measures to keep it out.

Tip #2: Noise reduction at the window.

Windows are commonly the way for noise to get in (and out of) your home. Single glass panes and wood window frames are the biggest offenders to letting noise through. If you are really serious about reducing the noise in your home, consider replacing your single paned windows with double-paned. Double paned windows can reduce noise up to 20%. If you replace wood window frames with vinyl, you could reduce noise transference by up to 50%.

If replacing windows and window frames is too expensive for your home improvement budget, using soft materials such as curtains around your windows helps absorb sound rather than letting it transfer. Use double hung floor length curtains with a valance for the most sound absorption (curtains that puddle on the floor are great sound blockers).

Tip #3: Insulate everything.

If noise is coming in through your attic, insulation is probably a problem. Insulating your attic not only reduces noise transfer from outside, it also helps conserve energy and money on your heating and air conditioning bill. Insulating interior walls will help with noise reduction from room to room and adding extra insulation in exterior walls will help dampen noise from outside.

Since your attic is one of the biggest offenders in transferring noise, consider stapling an extra layer of asphalt tiles to your roof. This is especially helpful for homes near an airport. It is an inexpensive noise reducer.

Tip #4: Stagger entrances when possible.

If you are building new or remodeling your home, help yourself with noise reduction by staggering your doorways. Don't line doorways up and you'll create more surfaces to absorb sound before it travels out of a room or into your house. The farther a noise has to travel, the less you hear it. And speaking of entrances, keeping doors closed also helps reduce noise around the house.

Tip #5: Sound proofing materials.

The more soft surfaces you can add to a room, the quieter it will be. Add curtains, upholstered furniture, carpet, rugs, and any other soft surfaces you can to rooms to create noise reduction and noise control. At least 25% of every room should have sound absorbent materials if noise is an issue in your home.

Your carpet pad can make a difference too. The denser you carpet pad is, the less noise it will transfer. If your rooms aren't carpeted and have some sort of solid or resilient flooring, you can still add a noise reducing layer to your sub-floor before you install your flooring.

If you have specific walls that have problems with noise transfer, you can add an extra layer of regular drywall to help with noise reduction. There are also specific drywall products out there for sound-proofing which you can use.