Noise is unwanted sound. Noise can be produced by many sources, people talking and shouting, music and television, walking or dropping things on the floor. What people class as an acceptable level of sound in one property can be a noise nuisance to a neighbour in an adjoing property.
How is this measured?
Sound is measured in decibels (dB). This scale is logarithmic meaning that an increase in 10db is twice as loud, and an increase of 15dB is three times as loud. The figures that we have given on our site for individual products are the expected level of reduction for that individual product. Figures for the kits represent the systems applied to typical wall, floor or ceiling constructions.
Scale of sound in dB
| Leaves rustling | 10dB |
| Whispering | 30dB |
| Living
room | 40dB |
| Conventional speech | 60dB |
| Hair dryer | 80dB |
| Train | 100dB |
| Jet
plane | 120dB |
| Rock concert | 140dB |
When you spend money soundproofing your home or place of work you need to know that what you are using will offer the acceptable levels you are looking for. To establish this here are examples of typical constructions sound levels before soundproofing.
| Party wall | 45dB |
| Internal stud wall | 40dB |
| Floor
airborne noise | 43dB* |
| Floor
impact noise | 64dB** |
*Current regulations stipulate this is the minimum value for airborne noise a floor should be.
** Current regulations stipulate this should be the maximum value of impact noise that should be heard.
Contributing factors to noise
Other factors that also need to be taken into account when decidng on how to soudproof an area are the existing build properties. The two important factors that need to be taken into account are the mass and the seperation of the area. In general the higher the mass of an area the better the airborne soundproofing will be so in order to improve the area you may have to look at creating seperation to improve the soundproofing. To improve problems of impact noise you may have to increase the separation of the structure.
Flanking noise
Flanking sound transmission is used to describe the passage of sound comming around a barrier. In terms of wall soundproofing this can often mean sound travelling under or over the top of the soundproofing through floor and ceiling cavities. When soundproofing a floor or ceiling the flanking path would be the stuctural walls of the building. When undertaking soundproofing work you should also pay attention to these areas.
For more detailed information please contact our technical team. Tel: 08451 306269
