Reduce Foosball Noise – 8 Ideas Try To Make Your Table Quieter

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Reducing Sound Form A Foosball

Reducing the sound from a foosball table can be a lengthy and costly endeavor. However, the first cheap and straightforward thing to do, is to try changing the ball, for a lighter and quieter cork ball, like these here. This is by far the easiest thing to try first.

Right, the cork ball did not work! What to try next.

What Are The Two Types Of Noise

Experts say that there are two types of noise to consider when trying to reduce noise levels. These noise types are.

Airborne Or Ambient Sounds

These are sounds that travel through the air; the most obvious example of this is when you are speaking to another person, the sound travels through the air. Other cases are ringing phones, noises from a TV, and similar. These sounds are transmitted through air, then through floors, ceiling, etc. When playing foosball, this type of noise is caused by the ball, hitting the back of the goal, and is the easiest to reduce.

Impact Sounds

These sounds travel through solid objects like your floor and are caused by something making contact with it. People walking/running, dropping something on it, will all make impact sounds. When playing Foosball, trapping the ball under a player's foot can cause impact sounds.

They occur because the impact creates vibrations (Sound is just vibrations that are picked up by your ear) in parts of the room, then travel through the connected objects. Stop on the floor, go through the connecting joists to the ceiling below, where the vibrations are converted into sounds as the roof vibrates.

This type of sound is far harder to reduce than airborne sounds. This can be difficult in an existing building. The best way to overcome this type of noise is to decouple the materials that are connected. For example, Floor and ceiling coverings.

How to soundproof a floor

Reduce Foosball Noise – Making Foosball Quieter

There are some things you can try to do, to reduce the noise that is made when you or someone else is playing foosball. Alternatively, you may need to print this page out a subtly slip it under your Neighbour's door!

1. Blocking The Sound

This one may be obvious, but you have got the windows and doors closed, right? Just closing these is going to reduce the noise to the outside world considerably. It will help no one living below you though.

2. What The Ball Is Made From

Let’s face it, the majority of the noise on a Foosball table comes from the ball, as it is flying around the table. So this needs to be the first on our list of things to “Fix.” Using lighter balls results in a lot less noise being made.

European style tables often use a cork ball. These are lighter, softer, so usually quieter. They make a game more strategic, and learning to play with a cork ball, while it may seem strange at first may improve your game.

You should be able to practice deception and try out pin shots more. This type of ball is known for being sticky, and this helps with controlling it, allowing more finesse. Trying a cork ball is by far the cheapest and simplest option for reducing the noise, so I would suggest that you try this method first.

3. Ball Hitting The Back Of The Goal

You are trying to shoot the ball as hard as you can into the back of the goal; this is going to make a noise! This is usually made of wood or metal, try putting some foam rubber behind the goal. To try it out, put some foam rubber, like an old mouse mat, into the back of the goal.

Now hit the ball at it as hard as you can. It should have reduced that thunk considerably! If this is working, consider attaching it with something like Velcro, so that it stays in place, but you can remove it or replace it as required.

4. Rods Hitting The Table Sides

We all get a bit carried away during an exciting game of foosball, and those rods are slamming in and out against the table sides. Some extra rubber stoppers and making sure that the rods are well lubricated may reduce some of this noise.

5. The Position Of The Table

Moving the table is not always possible, as tables are usually large and take up a lot of room. But the location of the table can make a big difference.

Naturally as far away from the people being disturbed as possible, also if there is a hollow space below, you this echo any noise, try to find something substantial, like a supporting wall to rest some legs on. This will reduce any impact noise.

Soundproofing The Room

Rooms can be soundproofed as well. This is a bigger job than all the others, and I do not know a great deal about this. After Googling I can give this advice: Hard surface and angles reflect sound, it bounces off like a pool ball on the table sides.

Adding a soft cushiony surface to these will absorb the sounds and stop the echoing. This will significantly reduce them and transmission of sound.

Add Rugs and carpets to the floors, cloth wallpapers, and hanging tapestries, heavy curtains, acoustic ceiling tiles will all reduce the sounds in a room. Even rearranging the furniture can make an enormous difference.

All factors considered, most homeowners paid between $1,015 and $2,585, with the average soundproofing job costing about $1,746.

More Info

Cheaply Soundproof A Room

How Much Does It Cost To SoundProof A Room

The cost of soundproofing a standard room will incur:

$170 to $250 for materials
$190 to $300 for labor
$20 to $40 for tools need to do the work

Larger rooms and rooms with a complex shape will cost more.
Does not include changing any existing structures

Table Legs And The Floor

A lot of the noise that is generated from the table travels down the legs and is then amplified via the floor. This is especially true if the floor is not stable. To reduce this effect, a thick heavy rubber backed carpet will reduce the noise a lot.

This is an expensive option, a cheaper alternative, though slightly less effective, is to put some solid rubber under each of the legs to reduce the vibrations. Foam rubber mouse mats will not do here because of the weight. You can buy proper rubber feet from hardware shops.

What To Look For In Sound Reducing Materials

Sound Transmission Class – STC is a numeric value, that tells you how well a floor will reduce airborne noise. The higher the value, the better the effect of reducing any airborne noise.

Impact Insulation Class – IIC is a similar numeric value to STC, but determines how well something will reduce any impact noise that occurs. Particularly useful for Foosball Tables, as this type of sound can be a problem. The higher the value, the better this material is at stopping any impact noise.

Density and Thickness. When soundproofing, it is mass that stops a lot of the sound. The best soundproofing materials are going to be thicker and more substantial than the others. This means that they will cost a little more. Buy specialist materials, not basic underlay from large home improvement stores, if you want the best results.

Floor Noise Reduction

The following materials can help reduce noise on floors:

Acoustic Underlayment

These are materials you lay over a floor, which cushions the floor, reducing the effects of impact and airborne noise. Look at the IIC and STC ratings.

Sound Deadening Vinyl/Mass Loaded Vinyl

A thin, dense vinyl sheet. The mass of the layer dampens the noise of the floors. Look at the IIC and STC ratings.

Sound Absorbing Floor Insulation

You need to take up your floor and put this material in the gaps between the joists. Can also be installed in the ceilings. Look at the IIC and STC ratings.

Acoustic Floor Tiles

Tile your floor with these in rooms with hard floors to reduce the echo and noises transmitted through the floor.

Sound Absorbing Carpet Padding

Cheap carpet with thin padding does not absorb sound well. Get a thicker, more substantial, noise absorbent padding.

Be Quiet!

Last but not least is the cheering and whooping that you do when you score that winning goal! Try to keep that down as well. This can be difficult at first, but if you have something like a “swear jar,” for excessive noise, and make the fine expensive you will soon learn to be quiet.

Cheaply Soundproof A Room