Part E Building Regulations

Part E Building Regulations

Noisestop Systems provides help and advice for conversions and new build projects that meet current Part E Building Regulations. Part E requires properties that have been converted (material change of use) and new builds to meet certain acoustic requirements.

Resistance to the passage of sound Part E 2010

• Protection against sound from other parts of the building and adjoining buildings
• Protection against sound within a dwelling-house etc

Residential dwellings have to ensure the separating walls and floors and internal partition walls within dwellings meet the required sound insulation values outlined in the table below. The construction requirements for the walls and floors outlined in the Part E document can be used as a guide for construction methods.

Noisestop Systems offers tested materials and systems that can be used in these areas to ensure they meet the required standards.

Part E Building Regulation Requirements

Products to Soundproof Separating Floors to meet Part E Building Regulations

A combination of acoustic products must be installed on the separating floors to comply with Part E, ensuring airborne and impact sound levels are achieved. It is important that the floor, the floor joists and the ceiling below are all soundproofed. Missing any of the areas could result in a failed sound test. This would mean added expense of remedial work and the cost of another sound test.

The requirements for soundproofing a timber separating floor to meet Part E are detailed below. A soundproof floor has to be used either directly to the joist or over an existing sub-floor. Floor joists must be insulated with soundproof insulation 100mm/60kg/m³. Ceilings should be double-boarded using acoustic plasterboard, which is hung from soundbreaker bars.

Noisestop Systems provide floating floor solutions that comply with Building Regulations. Depending on the type of installation you are carrying out, the solutions can be used directly to joist or over an existing sub-floor.

Floating floor solution to comply with Part E Building Regulations

Acoustic insulation must be used between the floor joists. This will increase the mass of the separating floor, ensuring the airborne sound transfer is blocked and absorbed. To increase the separation in your ceiling structure, fit soundbreaker bars to the underside of the joists. These acoustic hangers will reduce vibration through the structure of the ceiling. Reducing sound that vibrates through the ceiling is a key element to the overall noise reduction. Finally, the ceiling should be boarded using two layers of acoustic plasterboard. Soundproofing the ceilings with two layers of plasterboard will ensure the ceilings are also fire rated for one hour.

Installation of a Part E compliant ceiling

Soundproof Underlays to meet Part E

Floors that have an existing sub-floor can use acoustic underlay mats on the floor to comply with Part E. Acoustic underlay mats are also a quick fix for floors that have failed the Part E sound tests. If your separating floor has failed a sound test, one of the best methods of increasing the airborne and impact levels is to lay an acoustic underlay over the floor.

Noisestop Systems soundproof underlays can be combined with any floor finish and suitable for timber and concrete floors. When installed with the correct combination, as detailed in this article, it will comply with Building Regulations.

To satisfy Part E installation requirements, you should adhere the acoustic membranes to the sub-floor. Use Isobond adhesive to bond soundproof underlay mats to the sub-floor.

Stair Soundproofing

Stairs must be treated in a similar way to the separating floors. The stair treads should be treated with an acoustic underlay Noisestop F7; this will ensure the floors are protected for impact sound. The underside of the stairs should be insulated with 100mm insulation and two layers of acoustic plasterboard.

Separating walls have to be treated to meet the airborne sound levels stated by Building Regulations. The best method of soundproofing walls is to increase the mass and create separation. Depending on the wall type, you can use different solutions to meet the required level. Soundproofing brick party walls will require a different acoustic treatment to soundproofing stud walls. Below is a range of solutions that can be used to soundproof the most common wall types.

Applying directly to wall soundproofing panels is the best way of soundproofing brick party walls to meet Part E if space loss is a concern. Wall soundproof panels will ensure the separating walls meet the required sound levels without compromising the living space. Below is part of our range of panels that you can use in this way.

If your walls have already failed a Part E sound test, the best remedial fix would be to apply a direct to wall soundproofing panel, and these panels will bring the wall up to the required standards.

Soundproofing stud wall solutions are used to soundproof internal separating walls between rooms and separating walls between dwellings and communal areas. Use a combination of acoustic insulation, soundbreaker bars and soundproof plasterboard to ensure this type of wall construction meets the required levels of sound reduction. Below are examples of two types of stud wall construction you should be used to meet Part E for stud partitions.

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. It 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 a material change of use; neither is it 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.