A Successful Sound Insulation Test
There are many considerations to achieving a successful sound test on your development. The main areas that need to be addressed are the dividing wall and floor construction.
When dealing with walls you normally just need to worry about airborne sound; however with walls it’s both airborne and impact sound which can be far more difficult to deal with.
The usual noise problems associated with airborne sound transmission is TV noise, music and speech. This can be dealt with by applying ceiling treatments as well as mass and isolation to the building components. Impact sound (footfall) performance is increased by the used of resilience layers and isolation of components to prevent noise flanking through the partition.
Airborne Sound Testing
For airborne sound insulation testing Building Regulation Part E requires you achieve at least 45dB for new build properties and 43dB for conversion developments, this applies both to party walls and floors between properties. This level is the difference between the source level and the receiver level during sound testing. 
The measurement is corrected for several factors such as background noise, room characteristics and frequency weighting, giving the final sound insulation performance value of the tested partition. In this case the higher the number the better the sound insulation performance. The measurement is done by using a Class 1 Analyser and the associated equipment.
Impact Sound Insulation Testing
For impact sound insulation testing Building Regulation Part E requires you achieve at least 62dB for new build properties and 64dB for conversion developments. Impact insulation performance only applies to party floors and related to the effectiveness of the floor construction in absorbing shock such as footfall noise.
Good Acoustic Design
To try and ensure you meet the standards stipulated within Building Regulations Part E, careful consideration should be shown to the acoustic design detailing from the start of the project. Tackling the acoustic design for both new build and conversion project requires two different construction techniques and acoustic design detailing. With new build properties you have a blank canvas in terms of the overall design whereas with conversions you usually need to work with the existing’ onsite’ construction which can be quite difficult.
We offer an acoustic design package, which contains the following elements:
- Sample Sound Testing – of the existing construction. This offers an accurate overview of the acoustic performance of the existing partitions which enables us to offer a targeted acoustic design using the sound insulation performance of the existing construction.
- Acoustic Design Review – a full design review of the proposed developments party walls and floors.
- Site Survey Visits – to let us view the existing site construction. This allows us to check for potential problematic construction such as inclusion of lightweight blocks in the existing construction. It also lets us check that the installation teams are installing the acoustic materials as per manufacturer’s guidelines.
- Final Precompletion Sound Testing in compliance with Building Regulations Part E.
If you have a project that’s needs acoustic design advice or sound insulation testing, then please contact us at: info@aptsoundtesting.co.uk or phone us directly on 07775623464.
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