Sound can be absorbed, contained or amplified based on how a building is designed. Recently, JL Architects attended two presentations on controlling acoustics within a space. We had Regupol America and Kwik-Wall visit us. Regupol shared information regarding sound transmission through floors, while Kwik-Wall shared about sound proofing on operable walls.
Sound affects our quality of life, and everyday sound moves through spaces. In restaurants, the quality of sound affects how easy it is to converse with the person sitting at the same table. In offices, it affects concentration when conversations are carried across a space. Everything in a room contributes to the sound quality of the space: the number of people in the room, the type of furniture, the amount of hard spaces, the type of flooring, what the walls are made of and what the walls are attached to. There are three types of sounds that need to be addressed in acoustic design; they are airborne, structure-borne, and flanking sound transmission. The four main types of noise control methods used to address these types of sound are absorbing sound, increasing mass, damping, and decoupling.
There is a standard method to measure sound in a space. It is called STC or Sound Transmission Class. The STC levels of privacy tell you what type of noise would be not heard through a material. These range from normal speech, which is around 25, to shouting which is around 50. If a wall or floor assembly has an STC rating above a certain number, then that is the quality of the sound that is blocked out. The rating varies depending on the assembly of the entire room, thus it is important to ask for the official lab report to have the most accurate assembly possible.
Sound travels through the joints in the wall and floors. If there is no absorption, then the space below or above will hear what is happening. Regupol America is a rubber flooring manufacturer who uses recycled rubber to help with sound control and sound vibration. Their rubber and foam floor products are used in a variety of places. They designed a flooring panel that can prevent the sound of weights being dropped onto the floor from echoing; this allows gyms to not be limited to the first floor.
Kwik-Wall specializes in operable walls that separate spaces from each other. They have designed walls that can move into several different configurations that prevent sound from traveling to a space it should not travel to. These walls allow for large spaces to have better noise control when divided into smaller spaces.
“STC and IIC requirements should be established early in the design phase. Depending on construction type (metal deck, concrete slab, wood frame, etc.) and type of floor covering, your structure will have different acoustic benefits/limitations. Carpet, for example, is extremely resilient. Thus, it will yield a much higher IIC rating than a denser flooring surface such as tile, hardwood, or vinyl. Acoustical rubber underlayment is among the most versatile and resilient product available, and different types of specialty acoustic underlayments have been engineered for specific types of flooring.” -Nate O’Donnell, Regupol Acoustics
Sound is an important part of our lives. If quality of sound is not controlled then, people will not be happy with the space they live in. In multifamily residential a common saying is “the walls are paper thin”. Unwanted noise negatively impacts human health and behavior, contributing to stress, hypertension, sleep disturbances, and reduction in productivity.
-Alex Schleicher, Architectural Designer