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Acoustic Systems
ACOUSTIC SYSTEMS
Features :
MastaBoard Soundshield Systems |
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MastaBoard Soundshield Systems
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Acoustic Solutions for Modern Living
The increasing levels of noise, part of everyday life both at work and at home, are serious environmental health concerns for residents in the majority of developed countries. As the global trend of urban regeneration accelerates, the population densities in smaller areas increase. Australia’s major cities and urban areas are no exception, with a growing number of housing re-developments and multi-residential buildings.
This demand for contemporary living has also led to an increase in modern appliances and fittings such as home theatre entertainment and surround sound hi-tech music systems and even the "smart house" concept with fully automated control systems. Such appliances make life easier, save time and undoubtedly add to personal comfort. They also adversely affect personal acoustic comfort. The need to create acoustic comfort zones within the home is becoming increasingly important to the homeowner, especially since the average Australian spends 90% of her / his time indoors. Noise level is one factor influencing the quality of indoor living, as well as thermal comfort and air quality. (Ref: CSIRO Media Release 98/48 Smart Buildings to Deliver Huge Savings)
The convenience created by such home environments and lifestyles is a standard all homeowners expect. However "putting up with" the excessive intrusion of day to day noises created by home design and fixtures is not something homeowners expect.
To help the architect, homebuilder and homeowner choose the appropriate level of acoustic comfort, Lafarge MastaBoard Soundshield Acoustic Systems’ technical bulletin offers a range of acoustic system solutions for the variable levels of noise reduction or control required within the home.
What homeowners hear and what they expect to hear
A homebuyer considering the purchase of a new or old house or unit would not accept an unfinished home, e.g. without exterior or interior walls or bathroom fittings but often accepts inadequate sound insulation or low levels of acoustic comfort.
Homeowner expectations of what noise levels are acceptable from within the comfort of their homes and from adjoining homes are often not realised until s/he has moved into her / his new home. The option to install the appropriate building systems to provide better acoustic levels or to redesign room fittings and appliances so that noise levels can be reduced, is by this time expensive and probably impractical.
As the owner of a modern home becomes more affected by noise within and outside the home s/he will also become more aware of the effects of poor design and the installation of non acoustic materials within the building’s structure. CSIRO Acoustics Services Manager, Dr John Davy, believes that the increasing number of complaints relating to noisy neighbours is the result of the lack of acoustic materials and design within Australian homes.
Whilst Australia’s Building Code provides standards for minimum requirements of Sound Transmission Class the modern home, with its changing designs and demanding uses, may require increasingly higher levels of acoustic comfort and noise control between rooms. Good design, taking into account room uses, their fittings or appliances, quality acoustic materials and systems and their appropriate installations are considerations which the homeowner cannot overlook.
The Building Code of Australia (BCA) requires that a wall between units / adjoining houses should have Rw 45 or 50. The City of Sydney however specifies that "in order to assist acoustic control of airborne noise between units a wall shall have a Field Sound Transmission Class (FSTC) of not less than 50." (Ref: The City of Sydney Council, Residential Buildings and Serviced Apartments, DCP Amendment No. 5, Acoustic Privacy 6.1.1.3) Another NSW council, Rockdale
Council, has recently reviewed its building code Rw / STC requirements. "All internal walls dividing one sole occupancy unit from another sole occupancy unit shall receive a Rw of 55 and walls dividing sole occupancy units and common areas shall achieve a Rw of 50."
This Council Resolution also states that " testing and evaluation of the wall system is to be carried out at post construction by a suitably qualified acoustic engineer." (Ref: Rockdale City Council, Development Consent Council Resolution) Other councils have different requirements.
Such variations in standards have led to the Australian Association of Acoustical Consultants’ (AAAC) "Proposal to change the sound insulation provisions of the Building Code of Australia" which was presented to the Australian Building Codes Board in January 2001 and is still under review. (Ref: ABCB, Regulation Document RD 2001/02 of January 2001.)
Currently there are no Building Code of Australia, STC or Rw (weighted sound reduction index) requirements for walls between rooms within the home.
The guide below helps to demonstrate how industry measurements Rw for acoustic systems relate to human hearing and how they impact upon the homeowner’s personal comfort when his/her home is designed with walls / ceilings with these ratings.
| Rw / STC What this means for personal comfort? |
| 25 |
You easily hear and understand normal speech
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| 30 |
You easily hear and understand loud speech
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35
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You hear loud speech but you can’t understand
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42
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You hear loud speech as a murmur
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45
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You strain to hear loud speech
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| 48 |
Loud speech is almost inaudible
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| 50 |
Loud speech is inaudible |
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