Soundproofing Case Studies

Factory Noise – Morgan Office Furniture

Morgan Office Furniture (MOF) are based in Essex and manufacture high quality bespoke office furniture to blue chip companies around the world including: BP, RBS and Centrica to name a few. 

MOF contacted Office Soundproofing to help them with excessive factory noise entering their factory canteen area and also barrier noise transmitting from their factory floor to one of their offices nearest the factory. 

A site visit was conducted and all the required measurements were obtained by our acoustic engineer. Office Soundproofing designed and installed an acoustic floating wall system to barrier factory noise entering the main office area. We also installed new acoustic doors and a ceiling system to the canteen area.

MOF no longer have issues with noise transfer from the factory the office or canteen and thier employees have a healthier work environment.

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Soundproofing Doors - Bunn

Soundproofing doors at BUNN® UK Head Quarters

One of our recent case studies was for BUNN®UK Head Quarters in Solihull. BUNN® are a worldwide manufacturer of dispensed beverage equipment and supply many of the most well know coffee shops across the world.

Office Soundproofing was asked by BUNN® to reduce the noise entering the main office area from the lavatories. Toilet noise is a common soundproofing enquiry we receive from many commercial offices across the UK. The lightweight construction of most modern office interiors does not incorporate soundproofing insulation. Sound will transmit along walls, through lightweight doors and uninsulated suspended ceiling voids will allow noise to travel across the entire office. This is mainly because of cost effective traditional building techniques that do not take into consideration the way sound travels.

At BUNN®UK HQ the solution was to soundproof the noise at source.

After a thorough investigation of the problem and a few acoustic tests, it was clear that as well as the walls, the doors would also need upgrading to soundproofing doors. The walls were light weight gypsum based walls and the original doors allowed too much noise to escape into the reception area.

The solution was fairly straight forward with the installation of our 50mm office panel system to the walls and two new soundproof doors installed in the reception area, treating the noise problem at source. This minimised the disruption to the main office area and this also saved money as we soundproofed a smaller area. We also treated the conflicting doors with new 64mm thick, 44dBRw acoustic soundproof doors. The main flanking walls were also treated too, in order to reduce vibration down the walls into the main office. Each new soundproofing door required the existing frame removed and a new high spec frame with acoustic seals installed.

Office Soundproofing carried out the complete service for BUNN including all the wet plastering, plumbing, painting and decorating. We took colour samples of the existing interior and had paint mixed to match the colour exactly. As well as completing a high quality finish to the interior, the toilet noise was completely eradicated! A massive improvement to the working environment:

“Thanks for a job well done”

Director Technical Services EMEA International BUNN®

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Open Plan Office Ceiling

One of the most common office soundproofing enquiries we receive is ‘a noisy office environment’. The problem is the noise transfer between rooms, for example a conference room that is partitioned off from the main office floor but still incorporates the main office suspended ceiling.

Clients struggling to cope with the noise; entering and leaving a conference room making presentations, confidential meetings and video conferencing difficult and unprofessional

Although the majority of suspended ceilings we investigate already have a basic insulation; the insulation is normally not dense enough and offers no sound absorption and does very little to barrier the noise transfer between rooms. Some of the soundproofing enquiries we receive come from accountancy firms where client confidentiality is very important, it is not very professional if the confidential meetings are not really confidential!

Large boardrooms with dividing bi-folding doors are also another common enquiry, although it appears to be the doors that are letting the sound through, the problem is most commonly noise transferring over the bi-folding doors through the suspended ceiling system. It can usually be treated quite quickly with minimal disruption.

Suspended ceilings were originally designed for aesthetic reasons and to provide easy access for repairs and inspection to the air ducting, lighting, sprinkler systems and these days communication cabling, all installed in the void above the suspended ceiling tiles.

Although the acoustic performance of particular ceiling tiles has dramatically improved over the years, they are unfortunately not so good at blocking sound or tackling the noise transfer between rooms.

There are many solutions to meet all budgets and every project is different, however,  most cases require us to treat the ceiling and occasionally fit a new door.

Our ceiling products are designed to both absorb sound within a room and reflect sound back into the room. We will install sound proofing insulation designed for suspended ceilings to reduce room to room sound transfer of noise.

Sound Absorption

Village Hall – Hornton

We were contacted by Hornton Village Hall as they were having complaints from their users about the amount of echo, reverberation in the hall.  This was making it really uncomfortable for people to use the hall; the echo was making it hard for people to hear what instructors were saying in their activity classes, or to concentrate on their class and people were suffering with headaches after children’s parties in the hall as the volume of noise within the room was so loud.

The hall committee were concerned that their beautiful hall would be used less and less as a result of the noisy environment and the much-needed rental payments for hall hire would mean less money for the upkeep of the community facility.

Having done some online research on reducing echo and reverberation, the committee decided to see if sound absorption could help their hall.

Searching online they found lots of companies selling sound absorption panels that would hang down from the ceiling, but they were concerned about what these would look like, how they would work with the ceiling lights, the safety of them hanging above people’s heads and if they would get knocked during classes.

They were also unsure how the committee would afford to have any sound absorption treatment to the hall with their tight budget.

Having watched one of our videos on reducing echo in a sports hall (video) they contacted us to see if we could design a suitable solution for their needs.

Having discussed the noise issue and their concerns over the phone we visited the hall to design a suitable solution.  We also advised the committee on possible funding routes they could take and put them in contact with other village hall committees who had already successfully received funding and gone through the process.

Once the committee had their funding approved, we returned to install bespoke Quietco Quiet panels to the whole ceiling.  We covered the entire ceiling with panels which meant not only was the echo and reverberation reduced but the thermal value of the hall improved as well.

By covering the entire ceiling the look of the room was not changed and no awkward hanging panels were needed. We took care of everything, removing the lighting and reinstalling it, taking away all any waste and leaving a crisp clean ceiling.

The improvement to the hall environment has been transformational, instructors can now be clearly heard, activities can go on without uncomfortable noise levels in the room and birthday celebrations can be enjoyed.

The hall now has a full hire order book and the local community a great facility to use for many years to come.

“Just to let you know my wife and I had a party for 60 people at the Hornton Pavilion a couple of weeks ago and the sound in the room was transformational, in that everyone could hear people on their table, people who wear hearing aids decided they did not really need them and it was just wonderful. So well done again for what you did”

Parish Councillor

School Hall – Brookhurst School

Brookhurst School were having issues with noise in their main school hall.  Not only was the echo and reverberation level in hall high making it difficult to hear clearly in assemblies and resulting in very loud PE lessons.  But also the noise from the hall was disturbing the nearby school offices, making it difficult to work or take phone calls especially during lunchtimes and PE lessons.

Having had the initial phone call to understand the issues and what the result the school was looking for, we conducted a site visit to design a solution for their main hall. 

As there were two main issues to solve we needed a solution to treat the echo and reverberation in the room and also a solution to stop the hall noise penetrating the surrounding offices.

To reduce the echo we installed sound absorption to the entire ceiling, carefully removing and refitting the lighting, overhead projector and equipment in the process.

To reduce the noise disturbing the offices we installed two new sets of acoustic double doors.  These double doors not only stop the noise from getting in and out but by having two sets with a suitable sized air gap between this massively reduces the noise transfer.

Having reduced the echo by ~80% the school can now use the hall for assemblies, PE lessons and events without excessive echo or uncomfortable noise levels in the hall.  The staff in the surrounding offices can now take calls at lunchtime and work throughout the day undisturbed by the hall activities.

‘Quietco were very professional throughout the whole project; solutions that were proposed were accomplished and this made a huge difference to the learning environments.
The echoey and noisy rooms became calm, purposeful learning spaces; reverberation time shortened noticeably, making the rooms echo-free.
Professionals, such as Speech and Language Therapists and Educational Audiologists, who visit the provision have complimented us on the improved acoustics.
The children love their new rooms and their behaviour, concentration and listening has shown great improvement.’

Laboratories - Jaguar LandRover

We were contacted by Jaguar LandRover to look at how we could reduce the amount of echo and reverberation within their testing laboratories in order to make a more acoustically comfortable working environment for their employees.

Having assessed the location, we designed a sound absorption solution that required as little disruption to the building and laboratory equipment as possible.  We installed the solution over the course of a week ensuring that the laboratory could still function.

The result was a significant reduction in echo and reverberation within the laboratory with as little disruption to operations as possible.  This has created a much better working environment for JLR employees, improving productivity of the laboratories.

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Office – Box-it

Office Soundproofing installed high performance acoustic panels to the Box-it reception area. 

Office Soundproofing were approached by Box-it because one of their reception areas was suffering from reverberation, the poor acoustics within the reception area made even telephone conversations difficult.  The receptionists then naturally raised their the volume of their voice over one another in order to be heard. The noise level then filtered out into the main open plan office affecting the working environment and causing distraction to other colleagues.

The client wanted a solution to reduce the noise from the reception area entering the main open plan office but still keep the reception area open and accessible without doors. The client requested minimal change to the structure or office layout.

The solution was the installation of high performance acoustic foam.

After understanding the client’s noise problem, a site visit was carried out with all the relevant measurements and data collected. The reverberation time in the reception area was calculated and Office Soundproofing set out the design of the sound absorption panels within the reception area. The client opted for suspended high performance acoustic panels.

After a quick clean installation Office Soundproofing managed to reduce the noise leaving the reception area, minimizing the distraction from loud telephone conversations leaving the reception area.  This was done with no change to the open plan office working environment, still leaving the reception area open and accessible via the open plan office.

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Complete renovation case study

WS Hearing

Our  Soundproofing Solution Creates Relaxing Environment for Patients and Allows the Client to Fully Utilise Premises

Situation

Our client prides themselves on their customer care and attentiveness, making sure each patient feels comfortable when attending their hearing appointment.

However due to room to room transfer of noise this was getting extremely difficult to do.

Noise; conversations and equipment could easily be heard between the treatment rooms which meant their patients had no privacy. So much in fact that they were embarrassed to have two consultation at the same time. Limiting the number of patients they could see and level of care they could provide.

Challenge

The building also had a basement level which housed the largest treatment room. What should have been the main suite offering the most room and securing the most appointments was in fact rarely used as conversations, footsteps, doors closing, water gushing could all be heard from the reception area above. As a result this meant the Hearing Centre was not being fully utilised.

Solution

Design & Preparation
With the soundproofing solutions designed for the specifics of the noise and the building itself. The whole building was taken back to brickwork. Stud walls, suspended ceilings, dot and dab plasterboard all make noise worse and were all removed. All services e.g. electrical, plumbing, fire alarms, air conditioning were taken back to first fix ready to construct the new soundproofed layout.

Award Winning Soundproofing
Every wall constructed was soundproofed with our TPSEW wall system and the ceilings with our TPS50C ceiling system. Two soundproof testing booths were constructed completely isolated from the rest of the building. Out tired and tested solutions allowed the client to confidently refurbish the entire centre safe in the knowledge that the noise would be significantly reduced.

Fixtures & Fittings
With all the soundproofing systems installed to the walls, ceilings and floors it was time to install the acoustic doors, ventilation system, acoustic vision panels in the booths, joinery, plumbing, electrical, carpet, cables, fire alarm, air conditioning all in a way that did not compromise the soundproofing.

Features

One Touch Service
Quietco managed the whole project from start (taking rooms back to brickwork) to finish (decorating, fixtures and fittings). Coordinating multiple trades, ensuring the timescale was met. Leaving the client to get on and run his business.

Brand Alignment
The finishing touches of LED lighting, floating shelves, product display inserts, sound absorption wall art all done to match the clients brand colours give the centre a wow factor.

Results

The building is a much more comfortable place to be. The centre staff were overwhelmed by the transformation and feedback from clients has been extremely positive. They can now use every single audiology suite without having to stagger appointments. Clients now feel like they have complete peace and privacy during assessments and feel so much more relaxed. Impact noise and footfall has been significantly reduced and water noise in the pipework is virtually non-existant. The centre can now be fully utilised, allowing the owners to increase revenue.

Ecom Management

The Director of Ecom Management had a lovely manufacturing unit, ideal location, great warehouse/manufacturing space with a nice office up on the mezzanine floor.  The only problem was the noise from outside the unit disturbing him in his office.  Hearing employees from neighbouring businesses outside his office during their lunch break and general coming and goings all day made it very difficult for him to concentrate or conduct meetings in his office.

After an initial call with us, it became clear that the office was constructed with light weight stud walls, chipboard floors and suspended ceilings with no consideration for noise transfer.

After a site visit, we designed a solution to meet the specific needs of the client.  Adding basic sound insulation to the stud walls, ceiling and floor would have given a slight reduction but not enough to prevent the noise from outside being an issue.

We therefore designed a soundproofing solution unique to the particular noise issues the client was experiencing.  This involved removing all the existing plasterboard and improving the structural integrity of the main window wall before installing a soundproof wall system to the wall; adding resilient layers and decoupling the wall from the structure.  We then installed secondary glazing to this main window wall to reduce the outside noise getting in.

All RSJs were sound deadened and insulated, the ceiling was insulated and heavy duty soundbloc board applied and the floor was insulated.

As we managed the whole project we also took care of the electrical, plumbing, plastering, decorating, window installation, carpet fitting, skirting and architrave, doors and any other fixtures and fittings.  All done in a way so the soundproofing was not compromised.

Having completed the complete soundproofing renovation within 4 weeks our client can now sit in his office and not hear the people outside in the courtyard.  He can take phone calls and conduct meetings without be disturbed by outside noise.  Treating the floor has given additional benefits of reducing any noise form the manufacturing floor travelling up and getting into the office.