How to manage different floor heights when soundproofing floors

How to transition between final floor finishes and heights when soundproofing a floor

How to install a door threshold between rooms

A door threshold plate will sit at the bottom of the doorway and provide the transition space between one room and another over the soundproofed floor.

Once installed, a threshold plate will provide a seamless transition between different floor heights and types.

There are an abundance of different types to choose from depending on the final floor finish and personal preference e.g. wood, aluminium and varying colours to tie in with specific room decor. The recommendation would be to always check with the final flooring manufacturer to make sure the correct one is used.

How to install a door threshold between rooms

If you have installed your floor soundproofing in one room and the difference in the final floor finish occurs between a doorway then the below video shows joining a carpet to another carpet. However, the exact same principle also works with all types of floor covering. The door will line up and sit directly over the top of the threshold with means you shouldn't be able to see the joining strip from either room when the door is closed.

Step 1: After installing the floor soundproofing. If using one of The Soundproofing Store's SoundMats, such as the SoundMat 3 Plus, SoundMat 2 Plus or Reverso SoundMat, then these acoustic solutions act a a luxury carpet underlay and no further carpet underlay is required

Step 2: If using carpet gripper rods, then firstly use a carpet gripper rod riser at the opening of the door

Step 3: Place the gripper rods over the riser

Step 4: Lay the carpet over the gripper rods

Step 5: Add the cover plate, or threshold strip and screw it down

Don't drill into the floor soundproofing as this will create a weakness in the system.

How to transition between different final floor finishes on a soundproofed floor

With many people opting for modern open plan living, it is not uncommon for a floor to be soundproofed which needs a dual purpose final floor finish. For example the practicality of a hard floor finish in the kitchen area, such as wood and laminate and a carpet finish in the living area. Again, there are a number of transition options available depending on which final floor finish needs to be joined and it is always worth checking with the flooring manufacturer as to the correct one to use.

The image below shows the Reverso SoundMat which is the ideal floor soundproofing solution for multiple final floor finishes. The Reverso SoundMat is installed soft side up for carpet finishes and hard side up for hard floor finishes, which maintains the soundproofed subfloor height throughout. To transition between the two, the recommendation would be to use a Z style threshold bar to transition between (for example), a laminate hard final floor finish and soft carpet finish as shown below.