Soundproofing floors and noise absorption

Soundproofing floors

Floor soundproofing – the act of reducing the disruptive impact noise carried through the floor and walls – is one of the main features of carpet.

Do you throw regular parties at your house or apartment? Your neighbours will thank you if the living space is carpeted. Since carpet is an exceptional sound absorber, carpet can reduce the sound of walking by 25 to 34 decibels — whereas laminate flooring reduces surface sounds by only 1 to 6 decibels. Consider it a gift to your neighbours.

At the same time, carpet reduces noise in the living space itself, as well as noise from neighbours. The reverberation time (reflection time for sound waves)  in a carpeted room is halved compared to a space with hard flooring, creating a soft atmosphere where people talk more quietly. In addition, carpet also substantially reduces noise nuisance from road traffic and construction work. 

What is impact noise

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What is impact noise?

Impact noise accounts for 60% of all domestic noise complaints

Sound transmission through floors is an important issue, and impact noise (footfalls) accounts for 60% of all domestic noise complaints. Together with the sound of technical installations, elevators, water pipes, etc. it can be a great source of irritation.

impact noise complaints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Source: The Building Performance Centre, Napier University, Edinburgh, 2002)

Impact noise is mainly transmitted through the floor, but it can also reverberate through the walls. (Source: The Building Performance Centre, Napier University, Edinburgh, 2002

impact noise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Source: Scottish House Condition Survery by Scottish Homes – 1996 

Carpet absorbs better

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Carpet absorbs better

Carpets absorbs sounds up to ten times better than hard flooring, to make sure that you and your neigbours are not disturbed.

sound absorption

(Source: The Building Performance Centre, Napier University, Edinburgh - 2004)

 

Level of impact noise improvement (dB) comparing

level of impact noise

 (Source: The Building Performance Centre, Napier University, Edinburgh - 2004)


Carpet lowers the sound levels

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Carpet lowers the sound levels

Compared to hard flooring, the generated sounds in a carpeted room are lower. In addition, the duration of the reflected sounds is shorter, so there’s no irritating distortion. This enables people to talk more softly.

sound level

(Source: GUT, Gemeinschaft umweltfreundlicher Teppichboden e.V.)

Reducing outside airborne noise

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Reducing outside airborne noise

Of all flooring materials, carpet offers the best noise reduction.  It strongly reduces sound reverberation and absorbs over ten times more airborne noise than any other flooring material. By creating more quietness, carpet considerably enhances the feeling of well-being.

Noise Reduction Coefficient

noise reduction

Source : Dow Chemical

Carpet: the floor covering of choice to fight unwanted noise

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Carpet: the floor covering of choice to fight unwanted noise

Due to its ability to lower generated sounds and shorten the duration of reflected sounds, carpet is the floor covering of choice in cars, trains, airplanes, meeting rooms, cinemas, concert halls and open plan offices... and your home.

Carpet the best floor covering to fight unwanted noise

(Source: The building performance centre, Napier University, Edinburgh, 2004)

Ever wondered why ...

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  • cars, trains and aeroplanes are fitted with carpet floor coverings? It all has to do with the  excellent sound insulation properties of carpet floor coverings.

     airplane

  • besides concert halls and cinemas, many meeting rooms, university lecture halls and open plan offices worldwide are fitted with carpet? Here also the optimization of the space’s acoustics is the key issue.

     

Did you know that ...

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  • 23% of Dutch adults have problems with excessive noise from their neighbours? (Source: Dutch Noise Abatement Society - 2004)
  • Of all German citizens with neighbours, only 10% cannot hear them? The remaining 90% have to listen to what their neighbours are doing. (Source: Deutsches Umweltbundesamt, UBA) 
  • 75% of noise complaints in Great Britain in 2001-2002 concerned noise nuisance at home and the number of complaints increased by 350% over 17 years? (Source: CIEH – The Environment in your pocket – 2004) 

Noise sources most annoying to residents

most annoying noise sources to residents
Source: Scottish House Condition Survery by Scottish Homes - 1996)