Sound from your own sound system or home theater can turn around a bad day, immerse you in another world and, and even keep you occupied until you fall asleep.

On the other hand, if you're hearing your neighbor's sound system or conversation while you're trying to sleep, that's just noise. Annoying noise. Noise that's disturbing your sleep, relaxation, or impeding your ability to hear your sound system. Noise that might be creating a little conflict amongst the family - or neighborhood.

Areas where soundproofing abound in any home. You can well no doubt a situation where a husband decides to help his marriage along by making a conscious effort to reduce the noise coming from the entertainment room (aka his man cave) in the basement. You can also imagine the wish to minimize the noise coming from the laundry room to the kitchen and between the kids' bathroom and the master bedroom.

Sound is a lot like water in a bucket. If there's a hole in a wall or ceiling, sound will come pouring right through, which makes home renovation projects to reduce noise challenging.

There are new technologies available to make renovating for noise reduction more effective:

- Renovate by adding sound damping drywall to your existing walls. It can be applied in a regular drywall assembly in place of drywall or it can be applied to the current wall assembly, reducing the need for tear-down during renovation. This solution can block and dampen noise by up to 75% (in some cases, even more than that). It's a sure fire, easy way to get great soundproofing results.

- Be sure to also use an acoustical sealant around the perimeter of the room. In general, soundproofing sealant should be used to fill all air gaps in wall or floor/ceiling assemblies so that the room is completely air and sound tight. Be sure all joints and jams are filled appropriately, especially around the edges, hinges and locks. The smallest air gap in a wall assembly can cause a large decrease in the noise reduction.

- Acoustical putty will secure your soundproofing efforts over electrical, phone, and plumbing outlet boxes. It's very easy to work with. Simply cover up all outlet boxes, electrical switches, and plumbing hookups with the putty.

With today's technology and remodeling techniques, the only noises you have to hear are your favorite sounds. If you currently rent an apartment or townhome, know that building code is changing to have stricter requirements for noise control and soundproofing. So, here's to a quieter future, for all of us!