The modern hotel must be a sanctuary of style, cleanliness and, most importantly, peace, with guests in even the most budget rooms intolerant of pipes that go clunk in the night. With the ever present online review making or breaking the popularity of these places of leisure and business, corners can’t be cut when it comes to what’s going on in front, or behind the scenes. Victoria Willis, Product Manager for Geberit, explains how good design and the right product can keep bathroom noises to a minimum.
he main criteria for many hotel visitors is having a good night’s rest, but, with running water, flushing toilets and drainage all seemingly unavoidable bathroom noises, particularly in buildings with multiple floors and bathrooms, ensuring guests achieve this aim can be a challenge.
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Apart from the obvious toilet flush, bathroom sounds are caused by noises in the stack due to water discharge, impact in the system – usually in the transitional area between horizontal and vertical pipes, and noise generated by the water supply; cisterns being the main culprit. This wastewater noise is often neglected in planning, with installation elements having direct contact with walls and floors and standard drainage pipes specified that do not absorb sound.
In Geberit’s opinion, bathroom noise prevention must begin at the specification stage and end in good design and installation – sanitary noise cannot be considered in isolation from drainage noise; it must be a whole-system approach. In fact, good installation is one of the most important elements to get right when trying to reduce sound. Tests in Geberit’s own Acoustics Laboratory show that the performance of a product’s sound reducing capabilities can be seriously compromised by poor installation.
Pipework design and installation Pipework in particular can be very noisy, with solid-borne sound travelling through walls in a building. In hotels and apartments where the drainage stack serves multiple floors, solid-borne noises are exacerbated. Many think that by simply insulating the pipes they are going far enough to reduce noise, but this simply isn't the case.
The standard for piping, EN14366 – created as an attempt to provide standardised installation by comparing different pipe systems – doesn’t go far enough. Its main focus is the installation of exposed drainage pipes, which are very rarely seen in buildings, with guidance
These pictures are taken with an acoustics camera, which shows where the loudest noises in the pipework occur.
Bathroom noise prevention must begin at the specification stage and end in good design and
installation – sanitary noise cannot be considered in isolation from drainage noise; it must be a whole-system approach.
based on fixed flow rates. In reality, the flow rate in a soil stack can vary from nothing to several litres per second – in most cases it is a transient noise due to the pattern of discharge from sanitary appliances. To limit pipe sounds, however, the whole system must be considered, from toilet to drain. To reduce noise, pipe system design should encompass the following: Pipe offsets should be staged so the sound generated as water flows through is reduced
Sharp changes in direction should be avoided where possible, with shallow bends used for offsets in the stack – every bend or offset is a source of noise due to the force of water at these points. It’s not just the design of the pipework
system that can help with noise reduction. When it comes to drainage, there are specialist products designed to limit the sound of water as it travels round a building. Geberit’s Silent-db20 has stone mixed into the polyethylene to increase density and reduce sound. Silent-db20 also features ribs at impact points to deaden the sound and has brackets with a rubber inlay and the nature of the bracket means that you can't over- tighten them; over-tightening = more noise.
Sound reducing sanitaryware Wall-hung is a better choice than traditional pedestal WCs and basins, as it prevents noise vibration through the floor. Geberit Duofix frames provide additional sound reducing benefits, including a quiet
Diagram showing the points of most noise transfer in a plumbing system.
filling valve, acoustic-lined brackets and rubber-lined push rods, as well as a jacket around the cistern itself. It is also best to de-couple the WC from the building's construction to minimise solid-borne sound. Pre-wall acoustic de-couplers sit on a rubber mount fitted to floors and ceilings. With an undisturbed sleep at the very core of the hotel experience, helping your hotelier customers get this right will be something they definitely thank you for. Installers and specifiers must take a holistic view to plumbing system design and installation, while choosing complimentary sanitaryware to further reduce noise. Following manufacturers’ instructions is essential; free training can help too, of which Geberit provides a range of courses – we can also advise on- site where necessary.
www.geberit.co.uk
Keeping the peace at one of London’s most exclusive hotels
he iconic Café Royal on Regent Street has recently been re-opened as a five star luxury hotel, with Geberit Silent-db20, used for the soil stacks, ensuring visitors are not disturbed by plumbing. In addition, wall-hung sanitaryware has been used, utilising Geberit Duofix frames. Wall-hung is a better choice than traditional pedestal WCs and basins, as it prevents noise vibration through the floor. Geberit Duofix frames also include quiet filling valves, rubber-lined brackets and push rods, which de-couple the frame from the structure of the building to prevent solid-borne noise, as well as a jacket around the cistern itself.
T AUGUST 2015 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER 15
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