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 Mobile View INTERIORS of BUILDINGS AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine AIR BYPASS LEAKS AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION AIR SEALING STRATEGIES ANIMAL ALLERGENS APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN BUILDINGS ATTIC LEAKS, CONDENSATION & ATTIC MOLD BATHROOM VENTILATION BASEMENT HEAT LOSS BASEMENT LEAKS Moisture or Mold BLOWER DOORS & AIR INFILTRATION CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR COMBUSTION AIR for TIGHT BUILDINGS CRAWL SPACES ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS FIREPLACE Damage & Unsafe Hearths - Settlement FLAT ROOF MOISTURE & CONDENSATION FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FLOORING CHOICES OVER CONCRETE SLABS FLOORING TYPES & DEFECTS FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS HEAT LOSS DETECTION TOOLS HEAT LOSS INDICATORS HEAT LOSS PREVENTION PRIORITIES HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET ICE DAM PREVENTION INSULATION & VENTILATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE INSULATION LOCATION in BUILDINGS - WHERE TO INSULATE INSULATION LOCATION for BASEMENTS INSULATION LOCATION for BRICK VENEER WALLS INSULATION LOCATION for CAPES, CRAWLSPACES INSULATION LOCATION for CATHEDRAL CEILINGS INSULATION LOCATION for GREENHOUSE or SOLARIUM INSULATION LOCATION for PASSIVE SOLAR FLOOR SLAB INSULATION LOCATION for SOUND CONTROL in BUILDINGS INSULATION LOCATION for SWIMMING, INDOOR INSULATION R-Values & Properties LOG HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY LOG HOME GUIDE LOG HOME WALL INSULATION VALUES MOBILE HOME INSPECTIONS MOLD INFORMATION CENTER ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE PAINT FALURE, DIAGNOSIS, CURE, PREVENTION PLASTER & BEAVERBOARD & DRYWALL ROT, FUNGUS, TERMITES TERMITE SHIELDS vs TERMITICIDE ROT, TIMBER FRAME SEARS KIT HOUSES SOUND CONTROL in BUILDINGS ACOUSTICAL SEALANTS Principles of Sound Transmission How Sound Levels are Measured Sound Absorption vs. Sound Isolation Sound Isolation Strategies Cut Off Flanking Sound Paths Sound Transmission Class Ratings Sound Control for Walls Sound Control for Floors Sound Control for Plumbing Properties of Soundproofing Materials Acoustical Sealant for Sound Control Resilient Channel for Sound Reduction Insulation Details for Sound Reduction Gasketing for Noise Control Duct Insulation for Soundproofing White Noise & Sound Conditioners STAIN DIAGNOSIS STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS STUCCO OVER FOAM INSULATION STRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS & DEFECTS SUMP PUMPS GUIDE THERMAL TRACKING & HEAT LOSS VAPOR BARRIERS & AIR SEALING at BAND JOISTS VAPOR BARRIERS & CONDENSATION in BUILDINGS VAPOR BARRIERS & HOUSEWRAP VAPOR CONDENSATION & BUILDING SHEATHING VENTILATION in BUILDINGS WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS WINTERIZE A BUILDING WOOD Burning Heaters Fireplaces Stoves More Information  InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
Here we discuss methods and materials used to control sound transmission in buildings: how to make a quiet home, office, or place of business using sound isolation for ceilings, floors, walls, plumbing, etc. This article includes excerpts or adaptations from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss, courtesy of Wiley & Sons. The page top illustration from the above text shows an example of a design to reduce transmission between building floors. © Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, Steve Bliss, Wiley & Sons, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. Quiet Please! Best Practices Guide to Sound Control in Buildings Because of its stiffness, wood framing (photo at left) readily transmits low-frequency sounds and impact noises through wood- frame houses. This is particularly a problem in floors and walls separating two housing units, but it can also be an issue within a single-family home. For example, a person with a home office or music room might want to isolate it acoustically from the surrounding rooms so meetings or music proceed in private and so outside noises will not intrude. Bedrooms located under living spaces can also require special treatment to reduce impact noises from above. Another kind of noise control is important where a house sits by a highway or under a flight path. The goal here is to keep outdoor noises from entering the house by reducing sound transmission through windows, doors, and exterior walls and ceilings. Special acoustical windows rated for low sound transmission are often required for substantial reductions in outside noise. Principles of Sound TransmissionSound can travel through both air (airborne sound) and solid materials (structure-borne sound). Structure-borne sound can be directly imparted to the building structure by a vibration, such as a humming compressor, or by direct impact, such as a boot stepping on a hardwood floor. As sound energy travels through a building, it changes from one type of transmission to the other and back, losing energy in each transition. Because of its rigidity, wood framing is a very good transmitter of low-frequency sound and hollow wall cavities and thin doors do little to reduce sound transmission. How Sound Levels are Measured in Buildings - What is a Decibel
Decibel levels for common sounds are shown in the table at left. Continuous exposure to sounds above about 85 dB can cause hearing loss in most people. Sound Absorption vs. Sound Isolation in BuildingsSounds in an acoustically “live” room with all hard surfaces will seem loud and harsh due to the sound reverberating off the hard surfaces. Adding sound-absorptive materials, such as carpeting and soft furniture, will make sound softer and more pleasant within the room, but will do little to reduce the transmission of sound to adjacent rooms. To reduce transmission requires sound isolation strategies, typically using high- mass materials, double-framed walls, or resilient connections between the drywall and framing. Sound Isolation Strategies for Indoor Noise ReductionTo keep airborne sound from passing through walls and floors, there are four main strategies:
A cavity with fiberglass is far more effective at blocking sound if the two wall surfaces (or ceiling and floor surfaces) are mechanically decoupled as in a double-stud or staggered-stud wall. Resilient channel works essentially the same way by breaking the vibration path from the stud or ceiling joist to the drywall. The hardest sounds to block are low frequency, such as the thumping of a stereo bass. Using decoupled construction, such as double walls or resilient channels, is effective. Where that is impractical, adding mass can also be effective. Very massive, non rigid materials such as lead or sand are ideal, but doubling or tripling the drywall is also helpful. -- Adapted with permission from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction. Continue reading about methods for sound control in buildings by using the links provided just below. Share this Article
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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. INTERIORS of BUILDINGS
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Duct Insulation for Soundproofing
Elaborating on some duct insulaton considerations: HVAC experts advise us that conventional practice is to insulate the interior of metal ductwork in order to minimize transmission of HVAC equipment sounds throughout a building. Some fiberglass duct liners are plastic coated and may be able to be cleaned using gentle procedures. But most common is the use of un-faced fiberglass duct interior insulation, typically treated with a surface resin binder to help reduce movement of fiberglass particles into the air stream. Our fiberglass lined duct insulation photo (left) shows clean new metal ductwork with a pink fiberglass mat sound and temperature insulation installed on the duct interior. However our work on indoor environmental and air quality topics suggests that from an indoor air quality maintenance view, we perfer to see insulation on the exterior of metal ducts. That approach permits the ducts to be cleaned, and it reduces the chances of mold growth in the ductwork. See DUCT SYSTEMS and see Other Places to Look for Hidden Mold for more about places to look for duct system defects and hidden mold on HVAC systems. Mold in Fiberglass Insulation illustrates problem mold growth in fiberglass inculation including in duct systems. Construction of HVAC ducts from foil-faced insulating board combines sound and temperature insulation with aluminum foil to product ductwork that is quiet and cleanable. Use of White Noise to Mask Sounds in Buildings
White noise is a sound containing a blend of all the audible frequencies distributed equally over the range of the frequency band. When this sound is generated it tends to make unintelligible or even less noticeable other sounds such as nearby conversation. The proper setting for a white noise generator is not to make the output as loud as possible. Rather, set the volume on the white noise machine to just mask the noise (or conversation) to be overcome. Setting the white noise volume higher than that level risks making the white noise itself an annoyance in the building. Shown is the Sleep Mate™ sound generator produced by Marpac. In addition to white noise, sound conditioners may produce sounds of nature such as that of a river or brook, lakeshore, surf, thunderstorms, or rainfall. Sound Screen® and SleepMate® are registered trademarks owned by Marpac Corporation.
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