Sound Testing In House Conversions

Due to the housing shortage many houses are being converted into flats, which has resulted in a massive spike in noise complains amongst neighbours in such developments. Much of this rise in complaints are due to insufficient acoustic design at the start of the project, this means the dividing partitions are not being designed or constructed to comply with Part E of Building Regulations for Conversions.

In our experience many of the sound insulation tests we undertake on refurbishment projects achieve 30-35dB for airborne sound, which is well below the required 43dB as stipulated in Part E. For impact sound testing, the figures are usually around 70dB which is well above the required 64dB, which is also a massive failure.

Essential Acoustic Design
Taking the above into account is it essential that the acoustic design is addressed right from the start of the refurbishment project. The usual existing construction is 175mm joists with floorboards attached to the top and a single layer of plasterboard – as per the below detail:

Upgrades or changes to the buildings structure, i.e. previous service works for water pipes, drainage and heating systems may have removed acoustic materials or interfered with acoustic isolation. This can lead to a wide disparity in performance between damaged and undamaged floors or walls.

To overcome many of these issues we can visit site and undertake sample sound insulation testing through your property to establish the current noise levels. Once the noise levels have been established we can advise on acoustic upgrades to help you improve the sound insulation levels. it may be as simple as the installation of an acoustic resilient layer on the floor, or a minor wall upgrade.

UKAS Accredited Sound Testing
APT Sound Testing provides UKAS accredited sound testing for London and the whole of the UK as required by Approved Document E of the Building Regulations.

We undertake sound testing on all types of residential buildings and commercial buildings. We also undertake sound testing on schools and buildings containing rooms for residential purposes.

Our team of experienced sound test engineers are dedicated to giving our customers the best quality of service and offer acoustic design advice where possible, to help our clients achieve the required acoustic results to pass the sound testing and attain building completion. We can also undertake ‘in house’ UKAS accredited air tightness testing in one seamless package, lowering costs and negating coordination issues.