Guide to Sound Control in Building Floors InspectAPedia® -
Quiet floors: how to control floor noise transmission in buildings
STC: Sound transmission class ratings for different floor structures
Principles of sound transmission in buildings
Sound deadening underlayment for laminate floor installations
How to make a building quiet: sound isolation strategies
Sound insulation designs for building walls
List of soundproofing materials
This article explains methods and materials used to control sound transmission in or through building floors - how to build quiet floors, how to prevent noise transmission between apartments or rooms in buildings.
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This article series discusses noise and sound control in buildings, and includes excerpts or adaptations from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss, courtesy of Wiley & Sons.
The page top photo shows floor re-framing in process in an older building where no sound control details had been applied. Details of floor soundproofing designs are given below.
The sound transmission class (STC) rating of a floor measures only the reduction in
airborne sound transmission. A floor, however, also transmits
structure-borne sound, such as footsteps or a slammed
door, directly through the materials.
The ability to reduce
impact sound is rated by the Impact Isolation Class (IIC)
rating.
The most cost-effective technique to reduce impact
noise is to add a carpet and pad.
For example, adding a
carpet and pad to a conventional plywood subfloor over
a gypsum ceiling increases the IIC rating from 37 to
65. By comparison, it increases the STC rating by only
4 points.
Where higher STC and IIC ratings are needed, a resilient
channel can be added to the ceiling below.
Where
this is not possible, for example when the joists are exposed
below, you can use a floating floor over a layer of
soundboard or a high-mass floor over a layer of sand or
lightweight concrete. (see Table 5-19).
See our Table of STC and IIC ratings for Typical Wall/Ceiling Assemblies - also shown in part at the top of this article.
IIC levels are of greatest concern in stacked multifamily
dwellings or in a single-family dwelling with bedrooms
below other living spaces.
Acoustical experts recommend
a minimum IIC rating of 50 to 55 in ceiling/floor construction,
separating living units in multifamily construction.
IIC levels are of greatest concern in stacked multifamily
dwellings or in a single-family dwelling with bedrooms
below other living spaces.
Acoustical experts recommend
a minimum IIC rating of 50 to 55 in ceiling/floor construction,
separating living units in multifamily construction.
HUD recommendations for bedrooms under living spaces
are shown in Table 5-20. While these recommendations
were developed for multifamily dwellings, they provide
reasonable targets for single-family homes where sound
privacy is desired.
Use a Sound Control Underlayment for Laminate Floor Installations
Our photo (left) (from a Home Depot® display) shows Roberts Consolidated Industries AirGuard™ laminate flooring underlayment product used for "click-lock" and laminate floors.
This flooring underlayment incorporates raised foam beads that add sound-deadening cushioning below the laminate floor while also, according to the manufacturer, permitting some air movement below the flooring material. The underlayment is also treated with Microban® to reduce mold growth.
Continue reading about methods for sound control in buildings by using the links provided just below.
Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com.
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Marpac, produces white sound generators, a product that they identify as the Marpac sound conditioner. Marpac can be contacted at http://www.marpac.com/ or contact the Marpac Corporation,
P.O. Box 560 Rocky Point, NC 28457 Phone: 800-999-6962 (USA and Canada) Fax: 910-602-1435 1-910-602-1421 (worldwide), 800-999- or email: info@marpac.com
Sound Oasis sound conditioners are produced by Sound Oasis: http://www.sound-oasis.com/ email: info@sound-oasis.com or 1-866-625-3218
Roberts Consolidated Industries, Boca Raton FL, www.robertsconsolidated.com
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