Improving Sound Insulation on London Refurbishment Projects
Many of our new clients ask ‘ how can we improve our sound insulation on our London Refurbishment projects’. One of the main problems is that a large number of the dwellings in London, consist of flats converted from large Victorian houses. Unfortunately at the time of the building conversion, designing for sound insulation was not a high priority and so many of the dwellings suffer from adverse noise transference between the floor and wall partitions. This can be extremely stressful to the occupant’s well being is a major cause for concern.
There are ways to improve the airborne and impact performance by improving the wall/floor partitions ability to reduce the amount of sound transmission from one side of a construction element to the other. By isolating the different materials may not be enough its own and you may need to improve the mass of the partition as well.
Video Showing Main Noise Transference Points Through Existing Partitions.
Improving Existing Floor Partitions
In our experience of undertaking hundreds of sound insulation tests in London, refurbishment projects usually achieve 30-35dB for airborne sound and 70dB for Impact Sound, if the existing construction has not been acoustically upgraded. These figures do not meet the required 43dB & 64dB as stipulated in Part E of Building Regulations. As sound double every 10dB this is a massive failure and acoustic improvements must be made. Many existing construction consist of a similar construction as shown in as detail 1 below.
Detail 1: Existing Floor Partitions Rated At Approx. 30dB
Acoustic Improvements to Existing Floor Partitions
To reduce airborne and impact sound transmission this usually means adding density and isolation to the floor construction. This can be as simple as adding a drop ceiling consisting of 125mm timber frame. The top of the frame must be a minimum of 25mm below the existing ceiling finish – such as lathe and plaster. Then, to the inside of the timber frame add 100mm of Acoustic Wool and two layers of sound-board tacked to the bottom of the timber frame – all boards to be lapped. This should improve your sound test results by approx. 10-15dB depending on the existing site conditions and quality of the installation. Detail 2 shows this in more detail.
Detail 2: Acoustic Flooring Partition Upgrade
If you would like advice on your acoustic design or require sound insulation testing in London, please contact us now on 07775623464 or contact us at info@aptsoundtesting.co.uk.