The effort to meet new carbon emission goals includes reducing building thermal losses. The retrofit effort to improve thermal insulation is a perfect opportunity, with the help of an acoustical engineer, to also improve soundproofing for acoustically sensitive spaces, with very little additional cost.
UN climate change Summit (COP 21) in Paris was completed on 7-8 December, 2015. 196 countries had gathered to decide whether or not to commit to a low-carbon future in a legally binding way.
This article is written for an owner of a semi-detached house, a semi-detached home, a townhouse, or a row house, who is bothered by a noisy next-door neighbour. The article explains how to soundproof a party (demising) wall between neighbours. You do not need to keep suffering; your problem can be fixed.
Music reproduction in a listening room is very complex, especially high-quality music reproduction. It depends on room acoustics and many inter-related electromechanical and electronic components, such as:
Most builders and general contractors do not have the specialized knowledge required for soundproofing (sometimes called noise proofing) to be done correctly. An acoustics consultant should guide a specialized soundproofing company to ensure the job gets done correctly.
The Internet contains myths, rumors, and legends about many subjects, including soundproofing. Allow me to present three examples of misconceptions about how to soundproof a room. Soundproofing a room should not be based on Internet rumors but solid scientific evidence.
Surprisingly, there is synergy between two disparate building design disciplines, soundproofing (noise proofing) and fireproofing. In most situations, architects and builders can achieve cost and performance benefits if they consider sound and fireproofing design objectives.
Both design disciplines are separate, have unique design details, and require different expertise. However, recognizable similarities can be used to effectively meet the design objectives for soundproofing and fireproofing. What are the similarities?
Judging by the poor acoustic quality of many residential and commercial buildings, it appears that architects and builders do not have ears, or at least they do not care about the quality of room acoustics and architectural acoustics.
An architectural acoustics, or building acoustics consultant, is the specialist who knows soundproofing. First, let me explain what soundproofing is. The dictionary definition is: "impervious to sound; to cause to be soundproof". I think this definition is somewhat circular.
The short answer is yes. Apartment noise is always a concern, but apartment soundproofing is feasible. However, the success of the soundproofing effort depends on many factors, including your budget. The devil is in the details.
A client called me to review a nearly completed construction project for a family counseling practice. The facilities had a reception area and three adjacent counseling rooms that required office privacy. The client's building contractor has seemingly followed appropriate office soundproofing methods to ensure office conversation privacy in the counseling rooms.
Was the office privacy objective achieved?
