FEATURE
OH SO QUIET
Modern resilient flooring delivers more than durability and safety. Dave Ford, specifications manager for the north at Altro, explores how acoustic flooring can reduce noise and enhance wellbeing across a range of environments.
Reducing sound is more than just a ‘nice to have’ – it promotes the health of staff and service users. Noise levels from people and noise pollution from equipment and devices reverberate over sound-reflecting hard surfaces, extend over distances and linger; consequently, they can have a serious impact on the wellbeing of everyone.
A positive sound environment occurs naturally outdoors; our ears are tuned to the natural environment, and the sky absorbs noise. We need to create the same indoors, absorbing or diffusing noise to help support a stress-free environment. Designs that have good acoustics, along with natural light and ventilation, help create a positive, therapeutic atmosphere.
Acoustic flooring generally refers to flooring that helps provide sound insulation, thus dampening the effects of sound from within the room, be it airborne noise or impact noise. Acoustic flooring is different from soundproof underlay or flooring, which is designed to reduce sound coming through the floor from adjoining areas.
With a range of vinyl flooring that has sound-dampening properties, you can find Altro products that will serve your needs in more ways than one. With different levels of sound reduction, you can tailor your project to its exact specifications.
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WHERE CAN ACOUSTIC FLOORS BE USED TO BEST EFFECT?
Commercial kitchens – Whether in a restaurant, hotel, hospital, university, school or care home, they have one thing in common: they are really noisy. Trolleys clatter over the floor bearing loads of wobbling crockery; plates are loaded and unloaded in dishwashers; food processors blitz away and chefs need to make themselves heard above all this reverberating noise. Acoustic and impact sound-reducing floors can help reduce noise significantly to enhance the wellbeing of all those who work here.
Hotels – Nothing disturbs a good night’s sleep more than the sound of other guests moving about in the room above yours or wheeling their suitcase past your door at midnight. Acoustic flooring will help reduce sound transmission between storeys and adjacent rooms and increase sound absorption along corridors to keep your guests coming back for some peace and quiet.
Care homes – Improve the chances of residents sleeping well and not disturbing each other by incorporating sound-reducing flooring into your corridors and bedrooms. They are also beneficial in visitor lounges, to enhance that sense of privacy.
www.tomorrowscontractfloors.co.uk
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