18 Jan Soundproofing – What is it?
Soundproofing is directly related to noise.
What is noise?
Noise is an unwanted sound. The intensity of noise (it’s loudness) is measured in decibels.
Noise is a cause of stress to many people when it’s occurrence is out of their control. It can cause sleep deprivation or interruption, or maybe just interrupts the enjoyment of your own home and entertainment. With particular reference to domestic situations, noise travels in two forms – Airborne and Structural.
Structural Noise is also known as impact noise, and is caused by one hard surface striking another. When a neighbour walks across their wooden floor wearing hard-soled shoes, this can be a cause of stress to those living below or adjacent to them. Structural noise occurs when the impact travels through the structure of the building allowing the noise and vibration to be felt elsewhere. Structural noise can be difficult to eliminate completely, but can be effectively treated with something like Sylpro Impact Sound Insulation to reduce the noise to an acceptable level.
Airborne Noise is carried through the air as sound waves. These sound waves make contact with the walls, floors or ceilings, causing them to vibrate. These vibrations cause the air on the opposite side to oscillate, re-creating the sound waves, at reduced volume. Airborne noise is speech, music from a hi-fi, sound from a television, etc. Soundproofing for airborne noise can be very effectively treated with Tecsound, and depending upon the volume and frequency, may be eliminated completely, or at least reduced to an acceptable level.
R’w
Known as the Weighted Sound Reduction Index, R’w is a single number (dB) referring to the ability of a wall or other building structure to provide sound insulation. The higher the number, the better the sound insulation.
L’n,w
Referred to as the Weighted Standardised Impact Sound Pressure Level, L’n,w is a measure of the noise impact performance of a floor. It is a field measure of the amount of impact sound reaching a space via a floor. L’n,w is characterised by how much sound reaches the receiving room from a standard tapping machine. The lower the number, the better the performance.