Soundproofing Building Regulations Part E - The Sound Solution, York

In this section you will find products and systems that will help new builds and conversions comply with the current Part ‘E’ Document, including party wall solutions and separating floor and ceiling soundproofing solutions. 

Separating Floors & Ceilings Part E

Part E Building Regulations require an airborne and impact sound test to be carried out on new builds and conversions, products and systems in this section have been found to achieve the required levels of soundproofing necessary to pass the current levels. Installations for timber floor constructions would require a double plasterboard ceiling, two layers of the 12.5mm soundblock plasterboard hung from soundbreaker bars fitted directly to the floor joists at 400mm centres would complete the ceiling part of the installation and achieve the one hour fire rating. In between the joists should be insulated with the Dense Fibre Matting (DFM) 100mm 45kg density, this should be cut to fit between each joist ensuring the whole area is filled, the material will self support so no fixings are required. The soundproof flooring that is used can be laid either directly on to the joist or over an existing floor, these should be laid as floating floors and do not require any mechanical fixings such as nails or screws, depending on the required floor heights that are required please see which floating flooring product best suits your application from the list below.

• Noisedeck 32
• Noisedeck 36

Note: If you have a project that has failed a sound test and you are looking for materials that can bring the project up to the desired levels the NSSF7 product has helped projects that have failed up to 6dB.

Separarting Walls Part E

The Building Regulations stipulates that any wall that separates either, one separate dwelling from another, or a separating wall between a habitable area and communal area must comply with Part E. For existing party walls that have a cavity wall you would usually only need to plasterboard with the soundblock board and plaster, assuming the over all thickness of the wall is around 210mm thick. Flat conversions are often divided up to make self contained flats, in this case false walls would have to be added to the existing walls or new separating walls built. Our Wall System 1 and Wall System 2 have both been used as false walls to bring existing walls up to the desired level. If the existing walls only need a thinner application the NSSW2 and NSSW2+ panels can be bonded to the existing wall.

Download Part ‘E’ Document

or browse précis below.

Approved Document E ‘Resistance to the Passage of Sound’ 2003 edition

Approved Document E ‘Resistance to the Passage of Sound’ 2003 edition plus amendments 2004 (ADE2003), stipulates single figure sound insulation ratings for both airborne radiated noise, at separating Part E floors and walls, and for impact radiated noise at Part E floors.

Whilst the regulations are divided into 4 categories, E1 to E4, the only requirement for pre-completion testing is to prove compliance with regulation E1. Regulation E1 concerns itself with protection against sound from other parts of the same building and adjoining buildings and is relevant to separating walls and floors between dwelling houses, flats and rooms for residential purposes.

The ADE2003 requires at least 1 set of tests to be carried out for every group of up to ten dwelling-houses, flats or rooms for residential purposes, whether a material change of use or a new build. Pre-completion testing is not normally required at existing walls or floors in a building subject to material change of use, neither is usual to test across walls between kitchens and/or bathrooms. Room volumes of less than 25m³ would not normally be included in a testing programme.

Acoustic Testing

Tests in Dwelling Houses – One set of tests comprising two individual (airborne) sound insulation tests each across separating Part E walls at a pair of living rooms and a pair of bedrooms Tests in Flats with separating floors – One set of tests comprising four individual sound insulation tests, 2 airborne and 2 impact, 1 of each being across separating Part E floors between a pair of living rooms and a pair of bedrooms.

Tests in Flats with separating walls and floors – One set of tests should comprise six individual sound insulation tests. 4 airborne and 2 impact as a combination of the tests stipulated above.

Where layouts do not permit full testing as outlined above, e.g. only 1 pair of rooms in adjacent flats, then the number of airborne and impact sound insulation tests may be reduced accordingly. New build developments and developments which form a material change of use of the building have different performance standards which must be achieved. These are tabulated below:-

Table 3.1 Dwelling Houses and Flats – Performance Standards for separating walls, floors and stairs that have a separating function.

		Value in dB	Dwellings formed by material change of use
Walls, floors and stairs	Airborne Sound Insulation DnT,w + Ctr (Minimum value)	45 dB	43 dB
Floors and Stairs	Impact Sound Insulation L'nT,w (Maximum values)	62 dB	64 dB

Table 3.2 Rooms for Residential Purposes – Performance Standards for separating walls, floors and stairs that have a separating function.

		New Build	Dwellings formed by material change of use
Walls, floors and stairs	Airborne Sound Insulation DnT,w + Ctr (Minimum value)	45 dB	43 dB
Floors and Stairs	Impact Sound Insulation L'nT,w (Maximum values)	62 dB	64 dB

Soundproofing products list

Floors	Ceilings	Walls
NoiseDeck 32 NoiseDeck 36 Dense Fibre Matting NSSF7 Plus NSSF7 NoiseStop Isolation Tape NoiseStop Isolation Mat Noise Stop Quilt Polyfoam Floorfoam	Dense Fibre Matting NSSC1 NSSC1+ NSSC2 NSSC2+ SoundBreaker Bars	Dense Fibre Matting NSSW1 NSSW1+ NSSW2 NSSW2+ SoundBreaker Bars