ACOUSTIC DESIGN
We provide acoustic design advice for new build and change of use residential developments to meet the Building Regulations Approved Document E standards, including advice regarding the construction and sound insulation performance of separating and internal walls, floors and stairs, and reverberation in the common parts of buildings containing flats or rooms for residential purposes.
We have vast experience in this type of acoustic design work having had successful input on many new build and conversion residential development projects. We can work with architects on a project to review the proposed designs and make the necessary recommendations to achieve the required acoustic standards on site. Following construction, we can also carry out the final Sound Testing for Building Regulations sign off on the project.
Get in touch to see to how our Institute of Acoustics qualified and experienced consultants can assist with your project.
REVIEW THE PROPOSALS
Firstly we will carry out a detailed review of the proposed design and architect’s drawings and specifications against the Building Regulations Approved Document E or local authority required standards.
ACOUSTIC TESTING
If the project involves a change of use conversion, then it can be worthwhile carrying out acoustic tests on the existing separating walls and floors to determine the sound insulation performance before getting started with the design work.
ACOUSTIC DESIGN REPORT
After completing a review of the proposed design and any on site testing, we will deliver a clear and detailed acoustic design report, presenting our review and recommendation of the suitable construction details to meet the required standards.
ACOUSTIC DESIGN PROCESS
MORE INFORMATION ON ACOUSTIC DESIGN
When developing a new residential development, either from scratch as a new build, or by way of a material change of use by converting a shop or office to a new dwelling for example, the Building Regulation Approved Document E standards will usually apply to the development. In this case, all separating walls, floors and stairs as well as internal walls and floors, will need to achieve the Approved Document E standards. Showing compliance with Approved Document E is typically achieved by presenting building control with pre-completion sound insulation test results that meet the required standards. It is therefore critical that dwellings are suitably designed and built before completion in order achieve the required acoustic standards, and to avoid costly and time- consuming remedial measures if pre-completion sound insulation tests fail to meet the required standards.
Acoustic design advice can also be provided for proposed residential dwellings located next to adjoining commercial premises where a higher level of sound insulation may be required.
In these cases, we can visit the existing site and carry out investigative acoustic testing on the existing separating walls and floors, and then make the necessary recommendations for acoustic upgrades where necessary.
As well as sound insulation design advice, we are also able to provide advice for room acoustic treatment. Offices with meeting rooms and video conference rooms can often have problems with excessive reverberation and echo which can make speech unclear during meetings. This is often due to rooms with hard reflective surfaces which cause sound to bounce around the room in the form of reverb and echo, which can have a masking effect on the direct sound of speech coming from the person who is talking. When looking for a solution to this type of problem, it is often best to contact an acoustic consultant first who can carry out reverberation acoustic tests in the problem space, and from there, recommend the necessary solutions. The acoustic consultant’s recommendations can then be handed over to an acoustic treatment supply and installation contractor. Contacting an acoustic consultant for advice in the first instance, rather than going direct to an acoustic treatment supply and installation contractor, can result in more accurate and detailed advice which can prevent over specification of materials and therefore reduced costs in the long run.
We can also provide acoustic advice for the design of schools (BB93), hospitals and healthcare buildings (HTM 08-01), offices, gyms and other commercial premises.
ACOUSTIC CONSULTANTS PROVIDING NOISE SURVEYS & NOISE ASSESSMENTS ACROSS THE UK
We operate across Central London, Greater London and the rest of the UK. Contact us for a noise survey, noise assessment or acoustic design services in Camden, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, City of Westminster, Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, Waltham Forest, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Brighton & Hove, Medway, Milton Keynes, Southampton, Portsmouth, Aylesbury Vale, New Forest, Basingstoke and Deane, Wycombe, Maidstone, Wokingham, Canterbury, Reading, Wealden, Arun, West Berkshire, Oxford, Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough, Mid Sussex, Guildford, Cherwell, Swale, Reigate and Banstead, Thanet, Isle of Wight, Horsham, South Oxfordshire, Elmbridge, Vale of White Horse, Eastleigh, Tonbridge and Malling, Ashford, Havant, Waverley, Test Valley, Winchester, Bracknell Forest, Chichester, Sevenoaks, East Hampshire, Tunbridge Wells, Fareham, Dover, Crawley, Folkestone and Hythe, Worthing, West Oxfordshire, Dartford, Gravesham, Eastbourne, Lewes, Woking, Spelthorne, Rushmoor, Hart, Chiltern, Rother, Hastings, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Mole Valley, Runnymede, Gosport, Epsom and Ewell, South Bucks, Adur, Bath, Birmingham, Bradford Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, Carlisle, Chester, Chichester, Coventry, Derby, Durham, Ely, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Kingston upon Hull, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Lichfield Lincoln, Liverpool, City of London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Ripon, Salford, Salisbury, Sheffield, Southampton, St Albans, Stoke- on-Trent, Sunderland, Truro, Wakefield, Wells, Winchester, Wolverhampton, Worcester, York or anywhere else in London or the UK.