Acoustic Insulation

Acoustic insulation is covered by Part E of the Building Regulations: ‘Resistance to the passage of sound’. It deals with both airborne and impact sound. Airborne sound spreads through the air and the atmosphere, such as sounds from a radio, traffic or people chatting. Impact sound is the consequence of a vibration or a shock on a floor or wall. Think of falling objects, a person’s steps or furniture that is moved around.

Noise protection needs to be consistently considered during the project planning- and implementation stages. Problem-specific solutions for roofs, partition walls, façades and ceilings must be optimally integrated into the structural components. PAVATEX woodfibre insulation is for all-purpose use in both masonry and lightweight structures.

Acoustic Insulation: Health Benefits

Airborne noise is becoming a bigger issue, and it has a detrimental impact on the building occupant’s mental and physical health. After all, noise negatively affects our quality of life and our ability to concentrate, leading to potential sleep problems and stress.

Part E of the Building Regulations is meant to ensure that dwellings achieve the necessary levels of acoustic insulation to prevent sound transmission from adjoining buildings or differently occupied parts of the same building. It consists of four sections:

E1: protection from noise from adjoining buildings including flats, terraces, and semis; protection against sound from separating walls and floors from other parts of the same building and adjoining buildings.
E2: sound transmission within the home itself; protection against sound internally within a dwelling-house, for example, internal walls between bedrooms or a room containing a water closet and other rooms, and internal floors.
E3: protection against reverberation sound in the common internal parts of buildings containing flats or rooms for residential purposes.
E4: protection against sound in schools.

The performance standards for separating walls, floors and stairs in rooms for residential purposes are as follows: