Sound Testing for Leasehold Compliance
Clients often get in touch with us when they have run into trouble whilst undertaking refurbishments to their London apartments. In many cases they have a lease agreement that requires a sound insulation test be undertaken prior to the commencement of works and secondary sound testing upon completion of the works. Most people do not adhere to their lease agreements because they haven’t read the conditions which may result in very costly modifications to the finished floor finishes at the end of the project.
Many lease agreements contain something similar to the following conditions: ‘If the tenant wants to change the floor construction within his dwelling he shall’:
- Commission an independent acoustic consultant to carry out a pre-installation test, design the new acoustic installation and carry out a post installation test and provide the results to the landlord’s surveyors for approval; and
- Invite the Landlord’s surveyor to inspect the acoustic insulation before it is concealed; and
- Accept that the Landlord, whilst granting this Licence, does not accept any responsibility for the design or performance of the insulation provided and that if any issues arise, the Tenant will address these immediately. In the event of reasonable complaint being upheld by the Landlord or his agent concerning noise affecting other Tenants within The Building, the Tenant will arrange for carpeting (the provision of which shall be determined by the Landlord) to be positioned and maintained at the Tenant’s sole cost.
To overcome potential problems and neighbour disputes we can undertake Sample Sound Testing of the existing construction. This offers an accurate overview of the acoustic performance of the existing floor partition/s prior to the commencement of construction works. we can then undertake an acoustic design review to improve the performance of the existing floor partition – even if you are changing the floor finish from carpet (soft finish) to engineered timber floor (Hard finish) We can also undertake a site visit – This allows us to check that the installation team is installing the acoustic materials as per manufacturer’s guidelines. We can then undertake Precompletion Sound Testing in-line with Approved Document E. This provides an accurate overview of the acoustic performance of the upgraded partition/s, the results of which can be handed over to the relevant person for sign off.
If you are about to make changes to your apartment, and you think you may require Sound Testing for Leasehold Compliance and/or our acoustic test and design service, then please contact us now at: info@aptsoundtesting.co.uk or phone Darren directly on 07775623464.