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Guide to acoustic specification
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WE ALL LIKE A BIT OF peace and quiet , but sound is all around us every day of our lives , and when it ’ s unwanted we call it ‘ noise ’. This can have an impact on our well-being and our level of performance when we are working . Mike Carrick AMIOA , Technical Officer , Head of Acoustics at Siderise Group , stresses the importance of design restraints and raises the question of what areas to treat .
UNDERSTAND THE DESIGN RESTRAINTS When considering the specification of any acoustic material , other factors will invariably need to be considered . A building , for example , would need to have a number of attributes ; light , air movement , fire safety , access , aesthetics and functionality to name but a few . For example , adding four layers of plasterboard to a window would make an excellent choice from an acoustic perspective , but very bad from a functionality perspective as there would no longer be a window , we would have a loss of light and visibility . Therefore , the choice of what to use and the limits of its effectiveness would need to be balanced with these and other design factors and restraints . This may seem obvious ,
but specification of a treatment or material that is not acceptable to the client or architect is a waste .
‘ it ’ s always best practice to acoustically treat the lowestperforming element or area .’
IDENTIFY THE AREAS TO TREAT
Identification of the source and receiver , all possible sound paths along with understanding the design restraints should enable you to identify the areas that need to be treated and how they can be treated whilst maintaining the original design intent .
The old saying ‘ a chain is only as strong as its weakest link ’ is very apt in acoustic specification . There is absolutely no point in treating one area if for any reason another area of weakness cannot be uprated . For example , a wall may have a very high acoustic performance , but within the wall there could be a window and a door , both of which offer low acoustic performance . You would therefore need to acoustically enhance both the window and the door . If you only uprated the door , the window would be the ‘ performance limiting factor ’ and the overall difference would be negligible despite time and money being spent on the door . Ultimately , it ’ s always best practice to acoustically treat the lowest-performing element or area .
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CLEARVIEW-UK . COM » MAY 2017 » 93
PROUD SPONSOR OF DOORS & WINDOWS
DOORS&WINDOWS
Guide to acoustic specification
» » WE ALL LIKE A BIT OF
peace and quiet, but sound is
all around us every day of our
lives, and when it’s unwanted we
call it ‘noise’. This can have an
impact on our well-being and
our level of performance when
we are working. Mike Carrick
AMIOA, Technical Officer, Head
of Acoustics at Siderise Group,
stresses the importance of design
restraints and raises the question
of what areas to treat.
UNDERSTAND THE
DESIGN RESTRAINTS
When considering the
specification of any acoustic
material, other factors will
invariably need to be considered.
A building, for example, would
need to have a number of
attributes; light, air movement,
fire safety, access, aesthetics and
functionality to name but a few.
For example, adding four layers of
plasterboard to a window would
make an excellent choice from an
acoustic perspective, but very bad
from a functionality perspective
as there would no longer be a
window, we would have a loss
of light and visibility. Therefore,
the choice of what to use and the
limits of its effectiveness would
need to be balanced with these
and other design factors and
restraints. This may seem obvious,
but specification of a treatment or
material that is not acceptable to
the client or architect is a waste.
‘it’s always
best practice
to acoustically
treat the lowest-
performing
element or area.’
IDENTIFY THE
AREAS TO TREAT
Identification of the source and
receiver, all possible sound paths
along with understanding the
design restraints should enable
you to identify the areas that need
to be treated and how they can
be treated whilst maintaining the
original design intent.
The old saying ‘a chain is only
as strong as its weakest link’ is
very apt in acoustic specification.
There is absolutely no point in
treating one area if for any reason
another area of weakness cannot
be uprated. For example, a wall
may have a very high acoustic
performance, but within the wall
there could be a window and a
door, both of which offer low
acoustic performance. You would
therefore need to acoustically
enhance both the window and
the door. If you only uprated
the door, the window would
be the ‘performance limiting
factor’ and the overall difference
would be negligible despite time
and money being spent on the
door. Ultimately, it’s always best
practice to acoustically treat the
lowest-performing element or
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