One popular remedy for soundproofing your hardwood floors is by installing hardwood flooring with a resilient underlayment and damping compound. The resilient underlayment separates the construction materials, and the damping compound helps to further disperse sound energy. The damping compound is especially important when dealing with lower frequencies that an underlayment can’t absorb.
Cork is another common soundproofing material used under a wood floor and can be purchased at most home improvement stores.
Cork comes in two forms: with adhesive backing and without. The product with adhesive backing is easier to install, but more expensive, as you will have to purchase some flooring adhesive to use in conjunction with the cork. You can install the cork without adhesive backing, as it will stay down on its own but requires additional work when the floor needs to be repaired or refinished.
While underlayment is ideal for hardwood floors that haven’t been installed yet, if you already have hardwood floors down and you’re looking to soundproof them, there are several ways to do this. Carpet and pad is the most effective way to reduce noise on your floors. The thicker you can get your carpet and pad, the better they will work at absorbing noise.