There are many things to consider with your acoustic design and construction, one of the first – and most important) is the decoupling of materials or also know as isolation of materials. Sound travels easily along direct construction pathways, i.e. if the construction is made up of a wooden wall frame with a layer of plasterboard fixed to either side, with this type of construction the sound has a solid mass of materials to travel across. If we “decouple the materials” it reduces the pathway for vibration and the sound levels drop accordingly.
When we design for acoustic partition construction we obviously want less sound vibration to travel from one side of the wall to the other. It is therefore hugely beneficial if we can decouple the partition framing in our walls and ceilings. Decoupling is a simple, inexpensive and highly effective way to improve the sound insulation results for Building Regulations Part E. .
There are many types of decoupled construction that in turn offer varying degrees of separation of the drywall on one side from the drywall on the other side. For instance the image below shows a twin wall construction which is far superior to a single stud wall. if you require good sound test results, this is one of the best types of construction.
By decoupling the wall studs limits by providing a cavity or break between the two walls reduces the vibration trying to conduct through the wall. although this will improves the airborne results, other improvements will still be required. So although our decoupled framing system reduces a good deal of vibration, we need to continue to the other 3 elements, absorption, mass, and to damping to reduce the noise more effectively.
Our next blog will consider absorption and how it can make a large difference to sound test results. If you would like more information to acoustic design and/or sound insulation testing please contact us at: info@aptsoundtesting.co.uk or call Darren on 07775623464.