Impact Sound Reduction Flooring

It all begins with how sound is generated and the medium it transfers through.

Impact sound reduction flooring.

Resilient flooring is acoustically significant only in the area of impact sound transmission. Soundproofing products for floors. The noise can manifest itself as airborne noise such as tv music and speech or impact noise such as footsteps and dropped items. Iic 60 indicates a medium impact sound absorption quality and encompasses floorings such as wood laminates and some vinyls.

Iic impact isolation class astm e492 e989 and stc sound transmission class astm e336 e413 are both tests for sound traveling through the total floor ceiling assembly from an upper living area to a lower living area. Surfaces and areas under the floor influence impact isolation class. When evaluating flooring underlayment sound deadening and acoustical ratings are one of the things homeowners or hoa considers. This dissipates the impact energy before it has a chance to enter the building structure as sound.

Impact noise reduction these products are suited to controlling the transfer of impact sound footsteps tapping etc to floors below. Note however that it does little to mitigate airborne sound such as voices stereo or tv so if those noise sources are part of the problem as well you ll need to. Sound deadening vinyl also known as mass loaded vinyl this is a thin but heavy vinyl sheet that excels at dampening noise especially in floors machinery and vehicles. Acoustic underlayment special materials that lay over a concrete or plywood subfloor cushioning the flooring and reducing the effects of airborne and impact noise.

See the definitions of stc and iic below. Carpeting gives superb results and often resolves the problem of impact noise. Iic 65 is a high level of impact sound transmission absorption and includes superior sound reduction materials like carpet and cork. Impact noise reduction carpet underlays the carpet underlays featured here have been chosen for their sound reduction properties.

Noise transfer through floors is a common issue in residential commercial and industrial buildings. Flooring products for sound reduction. Impact sound complaints are common on floor ceiling assemblies that meet the bare minimum requirement of 50 decibels iic. Mapei s comprehensive line of sound reduction products provides ideal solutions for multi story buildings that are prone to impact noise such as foot traffic.

Sound and noise levels are measured in db and you should look at the db rating on each product to determine its suitability for your needs.