Part E system to soundproof separating walls using an independent steel or timber stud system with, Soundblocker Quilt Plus

and Acoustic Plasterboard. Particularly useful when converting any wall into separating walls for flats. TYPICAL APPLICATIONS

Suitable for non Loadbearing separating wall applications, for new build or to upgrade existing masonry walls with confidence. Offers very effective remedial solution where sound flanking down cavity walls has resulted in failure on site. Can assist with meeting external walls thermal requirements by allowing the use of lighter block work and offering an added U-value performance. A timber stud application is also acceptable and easily used although the test results were obtained using steel stud.

The Soundcel Floor System is a purpose-designed, acoustically-insulated floor construction offering high levels of sound reduction for both airborne and impact sound transmission. Developed to offer a proven sound insulation solution for intermediate floors, the Soundcel Floor System features a construction of Masonite Beams, with Soundcel acoustic insulation enclosed by a double layer of plasterboard on the underside and 15mm floor decking on the upper face. Insulated battens installed on top of the floor decking provide the dual benefits of additional impact sound insulation and the convenience of a built in service zone for carrying cabling, pipework and other services. A similar service zone is provided on the underside of the floor to carry cables for ceiling-mounted lights, alarm sensors and other electrical devices in the room below. The floor system is completed with the addition of a 19mm plasterboard plank, offering additional sound damping, and 18mm tongue and groove chipboard, which provides the walked on floor finish.

The entire floor is sealed with perimeter sound insulation to isolate it from the walls of the property.

Acoustics Regulations
The purpose of acoustic control is to limit noise pollution from external sources or from activities within the building. Noise can be described as unwanted sound, the intensity of sound depends on pressure levels which are measured in decibels (dB). The human ear responds to sound intensity which also depends on the pitch. Pitch frequency is expressed in cycles per second, hertz (Hz).

Sound Insulation in Buildings

Sound Insulation in Buildings Sound insulation refers to the ability of the building fabric to resist the transmission of airborne and impact sound.

Airborne sound insulation refers to sound insulation between:

vertically or horizontally adjacent rooms where the sound source is airborne, for example, loudspeaker, speech or TV; or the inside and outside of a building Impact sound insulation refers to sound insulation between vertically adjacent rooms where sound source is an impact, for example, footsteps. Airborne and impact sound insulation are determined by both direct and flanking sound transmission. Direct transmission is sound transmitted directly through a wall or floor element, and flanking transmission is structureborne sound travelling down a wall or floor into another room.

Room Acoustics
Room acoustics usually refers to the acoustic quality of rooms in terms of their reverberation time and speech intelligibility. This is particularly relevant for educational buildings, offices, theatres, performance spaces, etc.

Reverberation time is a measure of how long it takes a sound to decay in seconds. It is determined by the amount of sound absorption in the room and room volume. Speech intelligibility is determined by the position of the speaker and listener, room geometry, background noise level and reverberation.

Noise Control Measures

There are ways which acoustic insulation can be used to control noise:

Controlling Transmission Loss Transmission loss is the reduction in the amount of sound energy passing through the building element or assemblyroof- wall-floor. This is expressed in decibels (dB). Noise can be either impact sound or airborne Controlling Sound Absorption Typically hard surfaces have a characteristic of reflecting sound and amplifying noise reverberation. Internal lining and ceiling systems Acoustic performance systems are available from specialist suppliers.

The sound absorption coefficient of materials varies with the sound frequency hertz (Hz).

Faade Sound Insulation

Roof and wall sound insulation concerns only the airborne sound insulation of the roof and walls of the building facade to: prevent excessive transmission of external noise, for example, road traffic, rail traffic, aircraft, etc. from outside to inside prevent excessive transmission of internal noise, for example, machinery noise within industrial premises, from inside to outside Sound insulation criteria are dependant on country specific regulations and client specification requirements which may also include Planning Authority constraints.

Sound Absorption
The sound absorption coefficient of a material defines how much sound it can absorb across the frequency range. The more sound absorbed, the less is reflected back into the room to cause reverberation. Total absorption will occur if the material has an absorption coefficient of 1. The results for all Kingspan insulated panels are shown below.

Enhanced Acoustics
If improved acoustic performance is required, e.g. higher sound reduction values or reduced reverberation times, Kingspan insulated roof and wall systems can be constructed as indicated below. Two solutions are provided, one for low humidity environments where there is low levels of air moisture and/or reasonable ventilation, and the second is for higher humidity applications such as swimming pools.

Low Humidity Application

These designs are for enhanced acoustic performance in a high humidity environment, e.g. swimming pools, leisure centres, and other high humidity processing environments. The construction is designed to prevent condensation occurring within the acoustic layer. The construction is designed so that the thermal insulation requirement is provided solely by the insulated panels, and the acoustic layer is only used for acoustic absorption and sound insulation. To eliminate condensation in the cavity it is necessary to provide ventilation with air from inside the building. This can easily be achieved by incorporating extractor fans within the acoustic profiled liner.

High Humidity Application

acoustic walls
acoustic panels for party brick wall (upto 13db)

acoustic panels can be an effective and cheap solution to damping airborne noise passed through a brick party wall. due to advances in acoustic damping technology, they create a balance between increasing the mass of the wall transmitting the airborne noise, and a spring type action brought on by the air caught in a special acoustic mineral wool layer. dependent on manufacturer, acoustic panels may increase your acoustic damping by up to 13db. most acoustic panels, are derived by a process that combines a mineral wool type layer, directly bonded to a second layer of acoustic plasterboard. this solution is generally targeted at party walls consisting of at least 100mm of brick (44db 48db). acoustic panels are not suitable for breeze block type party walls, or stud / wooden frame type walls due to their specific acoustic properties.

upgrade a stud wall to an acoustic stud wall (upto 17db)

upgrading an existing stud wall can be a great space saver, requiring little extra space to be consumed by having a full acoustic wall. by removing one side of the original stud wall plasterboard, the original stud wall can be used in conjunction with various products all designed to add their own damping properties. by fixing u rails to the existing stud frame work, once one side of plasterboard is removed, a double boarded acoustic side can be attached to the rails giving around 12db of damping to the new wall. to increase this to around 17db, the use of acoustic mineral wool between batons and acoustic membrane over frame, can be added before fixing the new double board acoustic layer. the spring like action of the u rails, in addition to the mineral wool, acoustic membrane and double board acoustic layer, offer a great 17db improvement to an existing stud wall, without imposing on any extra space into the room.

acoustic walls for all party wall types (upto 22db)

unlike acoustic panels, an acoustic wall can be used in conjunction with party walls constructed of any type of material, offering a solution for stud, wood, breeze block and brick construction. construction of an acoustic wall is completely down to the level of acoustic damping that is required, using an array of products all designed to add their own levels of damping. the bare minimum required for an acoustic wall would be wall batons, u rails and acoustic plasterboard, used to step the new acoustic wall away from the transmission wall, offering a spring like action to the wall to prevent radiant transmission. in addition to the acoustic wall, which offers around 14db 16db of acoustic damping, by means of u rails and acoustic plasterboard, acoustic mineral wool and acoustic membrane can also be added for a further 5db - 6db improvement. by filling the gaps between the wall batons with acoustic mineral wool, and laying the extra lining of acoustic membrane, you should be able to achieve an approx total of 22db total damping.

additional acoustic stud wall (upto 30db)

one of the most extreme methods of airborne noise damping for walls, is to introduce a second wall slightly in front of the original wall. whilst this is the most extreme giving the best results, labour, materials, space and cost are all a significant factor, making it a very expensive solution that will have a detrimental effect on your space. think of this like a double wall being separated by an air cavity, where the first wall is the original and the second is a stud wall spaced approx 25mm away from the original wall to provide the cavity. first a stud wall frame is created, suitably spaced from the original wall to provide the cavity required. in between each baton in the new stud wall, the space is filled with acoustic mineral wool. next comes an acoustic membrane overlay, fixed to the batons, covering the entire stud wall frame and fixed at the batons. next comes u rails,

offering the spring type action necessary to separate the acoustic plaster board from the stud wall frame. the final addition sees a double boarded acoustic plasterboard layer, fixed directly to the u rails. the additional acoustic wall, whilst carrying extra cost and limiting space requirements, is one of the most extreme solutions available, giving a standard flat wall finish. whilst there are other solutions available for extreme reduction, this solution provides the best reduction of airborne noise whilst maintaining a flat plastered finish.

Penetrations. Openings throughout concrete masonry walls for scuppers, drains, plumbing, and electrical conduits must be properly flashed and sealed so that the wall can effectively resist moisture penetration. Proper installation of joint sealers around pipes and conduits is especially important since the sealer often

serves as not only a moisture barrier but also a flame barrier.

Construction
All units are custom designed to meet the acoustic requirements and the physical constraints presented by the application. Units are either double or triple glazed with acoustically lined reveals. The window frame is manufactured to fit within the builders-work opening and, where a raked central pane is employed, the frame secures and seals the pane in place. The frames, glazing, reveals and architraves are delivered ready for site assembly/installation. The frames are secured to suit and the architraves close minor gaps around the periphery, after these have been acoustically sealed.

Glazing
Laminated glass is generally used, as this provides better acoustic performance than monolithic glass and is inherently safer in the event of breakage. Most designs utilise dissimilar thickness panes of either 6.4mm, 8.8mm or 10.8mm thick glass. The panes, with the exception of centrally fitted raked elements, are pre-sealed into aluminium frames ready for face fixing into the MDF frame. Fixings are concealed by a plastic extrusion fitted into a peripheral recess. Care is taken with the specification of raked elements in triple glazed designs as, whilst these can reduce resonances in the air cavity, the benefits are only achievable where the separation between panes is significant. Toughened, Georgian Wired and Polycarbonate alternatives can be supplied if required.

Reveals
Acoustic material, usually fabric covered resin bonded glass fibre board, is used to line the reveals to provide sound absorption between the panes.

Acoustic Performance
Windows are generally designed to meet specific performance criteria up to a maximum of Rw50-55.

Soundproofing
We know a lot of people use this term, but we dont really like it, let us explain why. The dictionary definition of the adjective soundproof is not penetrable by audible sound. With high sound levels it takes a very dense structure to totally eliminate audible sound, acoustically this is usually impractical, if not impossible, to achieve. So, when it comes to unwanted sound (noise to you and me), we prefer to consider its attenuation or reduction. A lot of enquiries we receive relate to common acoustic problems, such as the sound of traffic transmitted through windows and noise from neighbours penetrating party walls, floors, ceilings or doors. We will take a look at each of these here and offer some practical advice and solutions.

Traffic Noise
If you live near a busy road you are probably well aware of the nuisance this can present. The transmission of traffic noise into buildings is usually through windows or doors. In most cases it is unlikely that high levels of sound will penetrate the building structure, as the high mass provided by walls will usually adequately attenuate much of the sound energy.

What can we do about sound entering through windows? We get asked a lot whether our acoustic curtains can help, the answer unfortunately is no, as they do not provide additional mass. Youve probably guessed by now that increasing the density or mass of the weak parts of the structure is the key to controlling noise intrusion. So with windows secondary glazing, which unfortunately we do not supply, or blocking up openings is the only solution. The airspace between any additional and existing glazing needs to be as wide as is practical and the new pane should be of dissimilar thickness and as heavy as possible, say 6.4mm or 8.8mm laminated glass. This must be seated in a frame that is acoustically sealed and with opening elements to meet the building regulations. It is also useful to acoustically line the reveal between the panes to absorb sound within the cavity. If the sound is only a nuisance say at night or perhaps you play a musical instrument and you want to contain the sound, a panel to cover the window could be the answer. Clubs and bars sometimes use this approach when they have music or live acts late in the evening. This can be a relatively inexpensive way of adding mass over a weak area but you do need somewhere to store the panel when not in use. Figure 1 shows how this can be done. Prices for supply and installation are available on request.

How do I improve doors? Well the easy answer is to replace poorly performing doors with purpose made acoustic doors (Acoustic Doors.pdf). This can, however, be expensive and is not always necessary. There is probably not much that can be done to improve a hollow core door or one that has huge gaps at the threshold and around the jambs, but if the door is of solid construction and well fitted, the addition of acoustic seals (Acoustic Door Seals.pdf) may be all that is needed. Prices for supply and installation are available on request. Another option is to use a panel to fit within the doorway, as per the above window treatment. This can be manufactured in a similar fashion to that shown in Figure 1, but adapted to keep the floor area clear of any permanent fixtures.

Noisy Neighbours
A common problem with flats or offices shared by several occupants, or any building with party walls, is the passage of sound from one space to another. This can take the form of either airborne or structure borne sound transmission. The first step is to try and identify which is the problem and what route the sound is taking not always an easy task!

How do I stop sound travelling through a wall? With airborne sound transmission the best way of adding additional mass to reduce sound intrusion or escape is to construct a secondary wall over the face of the existing substrate. This should comprise isolated battens attached to the wall, with mineral fibre between, over which should be fixed two staggered layers of Soundbloc plasterboard, separated by a decoupling barrier mat (Secondary Wall Structures.pdf). Once constructed this can be plaster skimmed and decorated in a conventional fashion. How can I stop the sound coming through the ceiling? If this is structure borne sound, such as the impact of footsteps on the floor above, it is usually better to treat the floor. This can be readily tackled with composite construction boards, laid over the existing floor surface, to provide a means of decoupling the impact and adding a little additional mass (Overlay Acoustic Flooring.pdf). In multiple occupancy dwellings there is usually little chance of getting the resident above you to treat his/her floor, so the only respite from the noise nuisance may be to add mass to the existing ceiling structure. This can be done in various ways. In its simplest form this could comprise the direct fixing of further layers of plasterboard to the existing ceiling substrate. Whilst this may seem a practical and easy way of adding mass the acoustic benefits will be much greater if the additional treatment is suspended from the existing structure to form an airspace. This is known in the trade as an MF (metal frame) ceiling. This comprises lightweight metal sections, suspended from the existing substrate, to form a framework that Soundbloc plasterboard can be attached to. The plasterboard should comprise two or three layers with staggered joints, isolated from the existing wall around the periphery with a neoprene seal. The top side should support a layer of sound absorbent mineral fibre. The structure can be mounted relatively close to the existing ceiling where height clearance is a concern although greater depth airspaces will provide better performance. The new ceiling can be plaster skimmed and decorated following completion. What can I do to stop sound travelling through my floor? If the floor is solid concrete then there is, in all honesty, probably little you can do. It will be difficult to add sufficient mass to provide an acoustic benefit where there is already a high mass structure. If, however, the floor is a timber construction, composite construction boards can be laid over the existing floor surface, to provide a means of decoupling impact sound transmission such as footfall and adding a little additional mass to mitigate airborne sound transmission (Overlay Acoustic Flooring.pdf). It should be noted that with respect to all of the above room treatments it is assumed that sound is transmitted directly through the substrate that is to be treated. In many cases flanking transmission may be experienced. This is where the sound is bypassing high mass elements within the building structure and travelling via the weakest elements. This could include windows, doors, stairwells, service ducts or common elements between dwellings. If you require any further information or would like to arrange for an engineer to visit, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Floor Soundproofing
Floor Soundproofing Mats | Floating Floors | Floor Soundproofing Insualtion Floor soundproofing solutions to reduce noise through any floor type including timber and concrete constructions. How to soundproof a floor using underlay mats, floating floors and high density cavity insulation. These floor soundproofing materials will improve impact and airborne noise transmitting between all domestic floors. Our complete range of floor soundproofing products is listed below. For soundproofing underlay mats that can be laid underneath any floor finish the NSSF7 or the NSSF7+ will reduce footfall noise and low levels of airborne noise. For a complete floor soundproofing system the DFM insulation is used underneath floorboards to reduce higher levels of airborne noise. Floating floors such as the Noisedeck range can be applied on top of existing floors or direct to joist and will help new builds and conversions comply with Part E of the Building Regulations. Reducing Impact Noise Impact noise through floors is a common problem for both timber and concrete floors, adding a resilient layer underneath the floor finish is the best way of treating impact noise, reducing the noise at the source of the problem. The NSSF7 and NSSF7+ products are designed for this, we would advise that if using these products with floor finishes other than carpet a layer of 9mm ply is laid on top of the material before the floor finish to reduce movement on the finished floor. The Noisedeck range of floating floors, Noisedeck 32 and Noisedeck 36 are suitable for reducing high levels of impact noise as well as complying with Building Regulations Part E. Impact noise generated from vibration, such as white goods can be mounted on to the isolation mats which reduce the vibration transmitting into the floor. Reducing Airborne Noise

Airborne noise transmitting through floors is due to a lack of mass in the floor construction, this is more common in timber floors rather than concrete floors due to the higher mass of the concrete. The DFM insulation placed between floor joists is the best way to reduce this type of noise, we recommend the 100mm 80kg density for most domestic applications, Building Regulations stipulates a minimum of 45kg density for new builds and conversions.

NSSF7 Floor System 10mm Description

NSSF7 soundproofing acoustic underlay mat is used extensively in domestic situations to reduce impact noise through timber and concrete floors. Used mainly with carpets, the material can act as an underlay, for best results a traditional carpet underlay should be laid over the top, combined with the perimeter strips around the edge of the room. Airborne noise will be reduced with this product, but this will be improved by insulating between the floor joists with the DFM100mm 80kg. Sheet size Thickness dB increase airborne noise dB increase impact noise Covers area 1200mm x 1200mm 10mm 10dB 29dB 1.44sqm

Installation Each sheet comes in 1.2 metre square sheets making them easy to handle, store and fit. NSSF7 needs to be installed compactly with no gaps between sheets and the joins staggered. You can either bond them to the floor or lay them loose. The edges can be tightly pushed into the edges of the room as sound does not vibrate along the sheets. Carpets- if carpet grippers are required we would recommend the use of the perimetre strips around the edge of the room to ensure the finished floor height is the same. Fix the strips around the edge of the room then lay the NSSF7 product inside the perimetre strips. Attach carpet gripper rods to the strips and then lay the carpet as normal. Laminate or wooden floors- We recommend that a 9mm layer of ply wood or equivalent be bonded on top of the NSSF7 before laying these floor finishes. This should be checked with the installer of the flooring materials. NSSF7 is an acoustic flooring underlay which is used mainly on timber floors to reduce the problem of airborne and impact noise. Its ease of installation makes it the ideal product for use under carpet, as a replacement or supplement to traditional carpet underlay. NSSF7 is ideal for those undertaking conversions as it conforms to building regulations (Approved Document E) offering improved levels of impact and airborne sound insulation, when used on an existing floor.

Fastwarm-Lite is a polyethylene, closed cell, sound deadening foam insulation, with exceptional acoustic and high thermal properties. Fastwarm-Lite is the ideal solution under floating laminate, engineered wood and solid timber flooring, where a high degree of impact sound reduction is required to absorb the transfer of footfall noise and provide a high quality thermal barrier to improve the efficiency of the carbon film, electric underfloor heating system. Due to their hard surfaces, floating laminate and wooden flooring require a sound absorbing, insulating underlay to reduce the transmission of impact noise caused through constant footfall over the flooring, creating a nuisance to people living below as well as inside the room. Electric underfloor heating requires a high quality thermal barrier over the sub-floor to improve its efficiency, both in warm-up times and energy conservation: saving on operating costs. Fastwarm-Lite has improved performance as an acoustic barrier and is extremely effective as a thermal insulation, especially where floating wooden flooring is installed over electric underfloor heating. Fastwarm-Lite insulation conforms to current building regulations as measured to BS EN ISO 140-7 standards for acoustic emissions, where a low decibel rating is required for the flooring. Fastwarm-Lite is suitable for both new build properties and refurbishment projects, where the wood or laminate flooring requires a low impact, sound reduction, to conform with current building regulations Part E (Resistance to Sound). Separating floors must provide impact sound insulation at source to reduce the amount of noise created by footsteps, furniture or heavy objects moving or hitting the floor: a maximum level of sound is permitted within Approved Document E.

Under Approved Document E, all residential properties must provide a good level of acoustic insulation between dwellings to the required decibel standards of performance for compliance. Fastwarm-Lite has been extensively tested at the independent SRL laboratories to ensure it has the necessary performance levels and complies with current building regulation Part E for acoustic insulation between buildings, relating to impact and airborne sound levels and complies with the ADE

standards. Fastwarm-Lite is available in 5mm and 10mm thickness, supplied in 5m and 25m rolls of 1m and 1.2m widths: making laying and jointing a quick and simple exercise. Fastwarm-Lite widths can be jointed using Fastwarm fixing tape.

Impact Sound
Impact Sound Reduction Separating floors must provide impact sound insulation at source to reduce the amount of noise created by footsteps, furniture or heavy objects moving or hitting the floor. A maximum level of sound is permitted within Approved Document E. Maximum values of weighted standardised level sound pressure level (LnTw) as defined in BSEN ISO 717-2:1997 Separating floors between rooms: New build - LnT,w dB = 62 Maximum value Refurbishment - LnT,w dB = 64 Maximum value

Airborne Sound
Airborne Sound Reduction Separating floors must provide a minimum level of airborne sound reduction in the amount of noise televisions, speech and telephones etc may create.