June 2017: High Rise Construction – acoustic insulation solutions
London’s skyline continues its transformational phase with planning permission being granted for skyscrapers and high-rises cropping up all over the capital. As with many city locations, this is a great option when there is limited space available for development yet high demand for both business and residential property.
Last year alone, construction began on an additional 455 skyscrapers in London with Canary Wharf and Docklands as a particular focus. 420 of these will be for residential use and 7 for student accommodation. The 2017 London Tall Buildings Survey has also see a steady increase in more tall buildings in outer London, up 5% from 2015.
Noise Control in Tall Buildings
Whilst all this news is positive for the UK Construction market, we all have to ensure quality standards are met for this type of build. Noise control is a big issue for high rise builds and there are regulations in place to ensure the right levels of noise control are achieved through Approved Document E of Building Regulations. These regulations protect residents from the noise levels of activities in other rooms – above, below or adjoining. Sound transfer from noises such as TV, music, footfall and plant is not an option for residents and would be an aggravating problem that is detrimental to the quality of life of the people in that building – whether for residential or business use.
As well as meeting the needs of these building regulations, we recognise that the construction market needs solutions which provide assurance that the full initial acoustic performance is maintained throughout the life of the building. These long-term solutions need to be dense and tough, suffer virtually no short or long term compression under load, be resistant to damage and displacement during screeding and be robust for more difficult fittings such as around corners and services.
Rubber based acoustic materials provide a cost effective way of meeting these long term requirements that foam based materials cannot match. We use various forms of rubber in the production of our acoustic products to ensure quality whilst maintaining competitive pricing. The products listed below can be used to achieve regulatory requirements, none of which suffer long-term compression under load and are strong resistance to damage making them a great materials for high-rise builds and longevity.
Acoustic Installation Problems
Many acoustic problems can be prevented if greater attention is spent during the design and construction process. It is a difficult and expensive process to rectify once noise problems are identified by the residents! Errors such as faulty installation of the floor perimeter is the single biggest cause of sound test failures in screeded floors. Installation also needs to allow for corners and pipe penetrations needing a skillful treatment for which a simple ‘monolithic’ turn up of the under screed mat is inadequate.
So, as well as ensuring the products meet demands, it is instrumental that people have the resource available such as installation guide, technical information and safety information to ensure products are installed correctly from the start and these types of problems don’t arise on any build.
Acoustic Products for High Rise Buildings
At Thermal Economics, we have a number of products that are well suited to the construction of high-rise buildings. An overview is provided below, but for more detail, please click on the relevant links to the product pages.
As well as meeting Approved Document E, we know that the industry needs complete solutions that meet a range of acoustic regulations such as Robust Details Compliance, BREEAM Credits, High Performance Low Frequency Solutions and Vibration Absorption Solutions to give architects, specifiers and builders the confidence that the products are going to meet the building needs. The R&D we invest in our products recognises these requirements.
Please note, for any of our products marked NEW below, contact us as we have the products in stock, but our literature containing further information is in production.
Underscreed Products
Isorubber Base – 6mm rubber acoustic and vibration reduction mat. Main component of the two most used Robust Details. Over 6 million m2 installed in the UK.
Isorubber HP3 – 3mm rubber acoustic and vibration reduction mat. Favoured by UFH installers.
Isorubber Profile – Rubber mat with profiled underside providing high performance acoustic and vibration reduction. Available in 8/4, 10/5 & 17/8mm thickness.
Isorubber Wave (NEW) – Specially developed mat with profiled underside providing very high performance acoustic and vibration reduction. Available in 8/4 & 17/8mm thickness.
Soft Coverings
Isorubber Top – 3mm rubber and cork soft covering. Suitable for use below all floor coverings including vinyl and ceramic tiles.
Isorubber Contract – 3mm rubber and cork soft covering. Suitable for use below most floor coverings including hardwood and ceramic tiles.
Isorubber CC3 – 3mm rubber and cork soft covering. Suitable for use below most floor coverings including vinyl and ceramic tiles.
Isorubber Black Uni (NEW) – High performance soft covering designed specifically for use below vinyl floor coverings. Available in 2 & 3mm thickness.
Floating Floors
Platform Floor 21 (NEW) – 21mm thick floating floor comprised of 18mm T&G Chipboard (P5) and 3mm Isorubber acoustic layer.
Platform Floor 25 – 25mm thick floating floor comprised of 18mm T&G Chipboard (P5) and 7mm fibre board acoustic layer.
Platform Floor 30 (NEW) – 30mm thick floating floor comprised of 18mm T&G Chipboard (P5) and 12mm fibre board acoustic layer.
Isosonic Dek 30 – 30mm thick floating floor comprised of 22mm T&G Chipboard (P5) and 8mm Isorubber acoustic layer. Can be used as structural floor.
Isosonic Screed Plank – Range of extremely high mass gypsum T&G panels. Provides a monolithic screed like floor finish. Available in 18 & 20mm fully supported or 20 & 25mm structural floor variants.
Acoustic Hangers
Isosonic Brackets – Acoustic hanger for MF ceiling constructions. Available in 45 or 125mm drop variants.
Isosonic Cleats – Acoustic cleat for use in MF ceiling constructions. Compatible with most types of MF ceiling.
Isosonic Cleats Plus (NEW) – Enhanced acoustic cleat for use in MF ceiling constructions. Compatible with most types of MF ceiling.
Flanking Isolation
IsoEdge 6/260 – Perimeter strip for isolating screed from walls. Utilised in all TE under screed solutions.
IsoEdge 6/75 – Perimeter strip for isolating floating floors from walls. Utilised in all TE floating floor solutions.
Isosonic Ceiling Strip – Perimeter strip for use in MF ceiling constructions.
IsoEdge Door (NEW) – Door isolation strip for use in under screed solutions
IsoEdge Pipe (NEW) – Service pipe isolation strip for use in under screed solutions
Adhesives
Isobond Adhesive 5 Litre – Soft Covering Adhesive. One 5L tub covers approx. 20m2 of floor area.
Floorbond Adhesive 1 Litre – Adhesive for T&G joints of timber based floating floor products.
ScreedPlank Joint Adhesive 1 Litre – Adhesive for T&G joints of Isosonic Screed Planks
If you would like to speak to one of our Technical Team about our high-rise building solutions, please either contact us directly on 01582 544255 or email us at [email protected]