Your Guide to Flooring Sound Control

The following article explains everything you need to know about the sound control measures you can implement to ensure that flooring does not have an adverse affect on the noise within a building.

What is Sound Control?

Sound control is a means of preventing noise such as voices or music and impact such as footsteps from being carried between rooms in a building.

Why is Sound Control in Flooring Important?

For many people, having peace and quiet in their home or place of work is a top priority. Also, it is also important in venues such as museums or theatres, where excess noise could potentially ruin a performance.

To help achieve this, there are a number of measures which can be implemented to reduce the impact of outside and internal noises in the rooms in your home.

Health and Safety & Building Regulations

Sound insulation is important from a health and safety perspective, as under Government guidelines, people have a right to go about normal daily activities free from the distraction of unnecessary noise and distraction. Because of this, employers have a duty to ensure that the flooring in their offices and premises has adequate provision for sound control.

In addition to this, modern building regulations mean that those building new, or renovating existing properties, must have adequate sound control measures in place.

Types of Sound Control Flooring

There are many different ways of controlling the amount of sound transmitted by using flooring, these include dedicated floor panels, battens and cradles, which hold both flooring and ceiling in place and aim to limit the amount of noise and impact which is transmitted through the floor.

Floating flooring - When looking at effective sound reduction, builders often implement floating flooring panels, which can be used in both structural or overlay board capacity. In structural terms, the additional rigidity of the floor, together with a special sound-controlling layer, adds effective sound insulation between floors.

Composite Battens - These are used to hold floating floors to help to effectively control sound, effectively reducing sound transmission.

Cradles - Cradles support the battens, ensuring that the flooring is level. They have been proven to drastically improve sound insulation.

Ceiling and Wall Bars - Ideal for separating ceilings and walls, ceiling and wall bars provide a virtual second wall or ceiling, reducing sound transmission by soaking up sound waves before they have chance to enter the room

Joist Infills - Used with floor panels, battens and cradles, these add additional sound insulation where necessary. Joist infills are particularly suitable for insulation against sound leaking between walls or floors.

Choosing the Right Sound Control Flooring

The type of flooring which will aid sound control will differ greatly between buildings, so it is advisable to consult a flooring specialist who will be able to advise you on the best course of action to take.

Find out more about Sound Control, accessories and more Sound Control Information as well as what you need to know about UK Building Regulations Part E, at Hush.uk.com.

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