The Reasons for Excess Noise Between Dwellings
There are a variety of reasons why sound insulation may need to be improved. Some of the typical reasons given by occupants, property managers and developers are:
- Poor workmanship at the time of construction has led to poor sound insulation and noise flanking due to bridging the acoustic elements via incorrect fixings etc. and its damaged the original components.
- A change in material of wall or floor finishes (e.g. carpet to laminate flooring), has increased the level of noise transmitted to the dwelling below – this is one of the most common reasons and increase in noise.
- Changes have been made to the existing construction which has had a negative impact on the sound insulation
- The original existing construction was never suitable to meet the insulation standards required of a separating wall or floor structure – in-line with Part E of Building Regulations.
- The existing wall or floor components have deteriorated over time and are in need of replacement this may be because the wrong fixings have been used on the existing floors.
- The upgrading of the existing windows to double and/or triple glazing has reduced external or background noise through the building façade, thus making neighbour noise more noticeable through separating walls and floors.
- New cut outs in the existing wall to hide new cable for the wall mounted LCD TV’s is another popular reason for noise bridging through walls.
Other factors may have an impact on the overall noise levels, such as when new neighbours move in. Occupants may be more aware of sound insulation issues due to different living patterns between neighbours.
Upgrades or changes to the buildings structure, i.e. previous service works for water pipes, drainage and heating systems may have removed acoustic materials or interfered with acoustic isolation. This can lead to a wide disparity in performance between damaged and undamaged floors or walls.
In our experience, one of the most common triggers for noise complaints is the change of a room surface e.g. from carpet to wooden laminate flooring or floor tiles. This can typically lead to a 10-20dB reduction in insulation performance. This can lead to neighbours below the apartment changing their assessment of impact noise from “acceptable” to “intolerable”. This can often lead to protracted and expensive legal issues especially if your lease doesn’t allow for hard surface upgrades.
People who live in detached houses or well-insulated attached houses may never have experienced hearing noise from neighbours, so when they move into a flat or attached dwelling they may feel that the level of sound insulation is poor, when infact it complies with Building Regulations Part E.
If you suspect that your noise levels are too high and you would like us to undertake sample sound insulation testing, or you would like us to investigate your noise complaints, please contact us now at: info@aptsountesting.co.uk or phone us on 07775623464