INSULATION 49 PEACE AND QUIET I
Phil Brown of Pilkington explores the reasons why filtering out noise pollution is becoming more important for homeowners and renters.
nsulating building interiors against noise is a necessity for many new commercial builds like airports, city
offices, bars and restaurants. However, noise control glazing is now becoming more and more popular for residential properties too. Homeowners are looking to filter out the increasingly noisy outside world, with property developers and landlords acknowledging the importance of sound insulation, especially for high-end developments.
This increase in popularity may come as no surprise to those living in city centre properties or houses in urbanised neighbourhoods. City residents battle against everything from 24/7 traffic and noisy nightlife, to the sound of early morning deliveries. Being able to filter out the noise of the city can be a real blessing for such residents.
REGULATIONS For developers, insulating a house or flat against external sound can also give the home a competitive edge over other properties on the market. To support this, there is a new international standard under development that may help (or hinder) property owners marketing their property based on acoustic insulation. The acoustic classification scheme currently in development for dwellings, ISO 19488 Acoustics, could introduce a classification scheme to make it easier for developers to specify acoustic requirements for new-build homes. An approach could be introduced into national Building Regulations, and may even be applicable to older properties after renovations have taken place.
The classification scheme proposes six
classes, class A being the highest and class F the lowest. For each class, limit values are given for airborne sound insulation (traffic sounds, speech and music), impact sound pressure level (footsteps, jumping and dropped objects), and noise from service equipment.
FOR DEVELOPERS, INSULATING A HOUSE OR FLAT AGAINST EXTERNAL SOUND CAN GIVE THE HOME A COMPETITIVE EDGE OVER OTHER PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET
A property that achieves the highest classification (A) would be expected to provide a high level of protection, and would be a necessity for homes under flight paths or near music venues. Meanwhile, under normal circumstances, without too much restriction to the behaviour of occupants (like an inner-city apartment), class B should provide good protection. The lowest class (F) is described in the standard as offering no protection against intruding sounds, which could make the property fairly undesirable to potential occupants, unless it was in the countryside perhaps. In the suburbs, specifying building elements like noise-control glazing is more of a necessity for homes under flightpaths,
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