SOUND SOLUTIONS ‘SOUND RATED PARTITIONS There are a wide varity of pation Wypes and syetoms avilable to the building designer and cantacta, and making an approvate selection for your projects ot alays easy. Ther ae many fcr to consideincuding ‘aalality, cos, maintenance, appeaarce, thermal pormance, ire aig, ‘sound rating, 28 well as other facto. The purpose of his article i 10 ove the reader some basic knowledge about patton sound ratings and ove acoustical petoxmance so that you wil be beter able to select an appro ate sytem for your projec. The most widely utized sound rating for panitons Is the SIC (sound Ueansmisson class) rating. This sa single number rating in decibels dete mined by laboratory cound traremetion Toes toe of tho parton unéor contraled conditions at various frequencies. Generally, the higher the SIC umber the gale the reduction in soune transmission thrcugh the wall. The ralingis fended o allow diect comparcoas tetweon diferent pation systems, but iis primarily weghied (or messuiing the efetiveness in ‘ducing speech and speech ike sounds. Inmos cases the STC ratings arelable mathod of comoaina patiens.In some cases, howevey, a higher SIC rating does not mean lower noise levels inthe adjacent space. Tis is often the case wit lew frequency rectanical ‘of commanly used sound rte paritions are shown ‘approximate STC ratngs. These patcuarpatiions are shown because they ae usually the mest cost efecive means of achieving Ine speiie level of perrmance. Ofcourse, thee ae auerous possi modiications to these fout basic wal types which may be more appropiate in gatcuar situations. The following paragraphs provide same ‘udarce for evaluating cher options, Internal Acoustical Insulation filing the stud cavity with fiberglass oF ‘mera wool bal insulation gray improves the scund transmission loss of ‘mast waltypes aa equencies. In gererl, omitting te batt insulation will reduce the STC value about § dB. One shocid be cautioned not to use rigid tharma iesuion in the stud cavity because provides title or no acous ial ve ® ® © Red boo 4 bese No.4 ‘Mass ve. Thickness, The surace weight ofthe patton (in pounds por ‘savare fot of surface are) is a prime facor determining SIC. For single layee partons (Such as a concrete wal), each doubling ol the sul ‘weight should increase the STC by 5 48. Fr double ayer partion (such {yp G shown below), improved performance can be oblained by increasing the mass of the gypsum board panels 0: by increasing the cavity air space. ‘One common method of increasing the mass cl gypsum board panels is to laminalealaye of sheet lead te the drywall In this way itis passible to double Suc weahl le parton wine Spica inasng ts chess. ‘Steal ve. Woed Stude. In gent wood sud partons of similar constucon, This i because tthe inerent Nexbity ofthe seel stud which alows-tre soure side panel to wbrade ‘somewhat indepondertl rom the gypsum pant onthe receiver side of the Daron, Wed ud patiten easy wegaph ths vatan fon he source side tothe receiver se ofthe wall. The acoustical perfomance of wnoed stud pattions can be raised to the level of equialet see! stud Daritions by insarting 2 metal reliet channel helween the sid 2 doywall (on one side ofthe partion, The restien chantel approximately" tick) is screwed dic to the wood SlUd, and the otywal 1s sceved 10 the teslien channel. Care should be taken fo ensue thatthe eryral screws do nocortact the wood studs, Resilient channels are not necessary on couble stud pattions Masonry vs. Gypsum Construction. For most purposes gypsum board Corsiruticn is prelered over masonry Because of wer cost and weight for Comparable acoustical performace. The piimaty exception is te case of 'solting lov fequency noise. Deperding upon the frequency and the lvl of he noise, # may ne necessary 19 use masomy constuction to mest ddesgn goa. For example, the sound transmission loss of prion ype A a1 63 HEIs on ie order of 20 8 whereas the type C partion is about 30.08 a be same fequency. Eventhough the STC values ae about the same, 63 He mechanical noise woul be atout 10 4B higher twice as lous) in the agjicent space using ihe lype A parttion instead ol ype C. imple eel etd parttions out.petom wore ort vsuuton cay J oss sTe4s sre-se Penetrations and Leaks. Of couse, the acoustical performance of a Datiion can be severely degraded by cenetations and leaks, Snail leats ‘geteraly cause problems ony a mid and high frequencies, but these can De very annoying. Cetin, i does not make sense to vest good money in an acoustical partion if thee wil beleas to destroy its performance. Leats ae common al duc, pipe and conduit penetriioxs above the ceiling, at back to back electrical cules, and atthe pation perimeter. Leaks can Uustaly Oe preerie oy sealng tne opening wilt « nahardening, ecous tical cauking. Note thatthe partion sections shown above call for contin ‘ois acoustical caulking atthe foorparitonirerice. That axe many other acoustical lactors which should also be considered ‘when stlecing an aporogtalz partion system for a given project (¢.9., flanlng transmission, nose transfer tough HVAC ductwork, et), Du these ate beyond the Scope o! this article. These issues shouldbe referred ‘oa qualified acoustia! consultant to ensure optimum rsuls at minimum €ostto the owner “hesvow ulomabontan ber evawe! #4 PieedW bencua owt we AaBOne ho FaPODIY Wes Sn