Page 13 - New Jersey Cooperator January 2019

of developers on less high-end projects won’t put the expensive materials in.” Consequently, “there’s a poor quality of sound control.” White agrees. “We see how fast devel- opers are putting up new buildings, and with soundproofing it’s about quality, not quantity,” he says. “We see cheap materi- als that aren’t installed correctly in new units, and sometimes they don’t do any- thing to decouple the floors, which is bad for impact transmission.” The proliferation of glass buildings over the past two decades has made the problem even more acute. Glass does not act as a sound reduction agent in any way. Many new buildings are constructed with shared walls between units, as well as between units and common areas, which adds to the likelihood of airborne sound infiltration, as well as structural transmission. Solutions So back to the cup and the string. Dr. Bonnie Schnitta, President and Owner of SoundSense, an acoustical consulting and engineering company with offices in Long Island and New York City, says: “If we’re talking about a wall, a floor, or a ceiling, there are certain things that improve or are successful in inhibiting sound. The criteria are that it has to be dense, must have some level of flexibility or resiliency to it, and has to have a com- plete seal. You can have the best wall in the world, but if it’s got a hole in it, it’s not going to work.” The culprits when it comes to sound transmission between apartments are often single studs and back-to-back elec- trical outlets, which do little to reduce or interrupt the flow of unwanted noise. Though strongly cautioned against by architects, developers will often ignore these pitfalls for the sake of saving a bit on construction costs. Marsh adds that “some soundproofing materials are used within the initial con- struction, and some installed after. The easy ones are after construction – things like carpeting and curtains. Resilient un- derlayment is used in floor construction to reduce sound conduction. It might be foam or fiber. It could also be roof felting, cork or rubber.” Bedrock for soundproofing between floors is a 9-inch-thick poured con- crete floor. Anything else, according to Gaynor, will not prevent sound – partic- ularly structural sound – from transfer- ring from one floor to another. Schnitta agrees, but cautions that “a thick poured concrete floor itself is great for stopping sound, but if it’s not thick enough, it will be terrible for footfall,” or anything else with an impact on the floor, such as dropped articles. She explains that in New York there is a required ‘IIC,’ or Im- pact Insulation Class. “Many old build- ings were not subject to this requirement. The requirement to cover 80 percent of your floor with carpet was enacted to ac- count for this, but if it’s not the right car- pet or padding, it won’t solve the prob- lem. There is a special carpet pad called Vibramat that is very effective for this. It raises IIC by 20 percent.” Schnitta explains there are many other sound-stopping options today. In new buildings, she recommends loaded vinyl as a means to reduce sound transference through studs. “It’s impregnated with non-toxic metals, and it’s dense to add flexibility,” she says. “This doesn’t con- tain lead—remember lead walls!—which NJCOOPERATOR.COM THE NEW JERSEY COOPERATOR — JANUARY 2019 13 continued on page 17 ISTOCKPHOTO.COM • Design & Specs • Roofing • Siding • Drainage • Drone Inspection • Roadways • Reserve Studies • Transition Studies • And more... Putting the Pieces Together Our holistic approach to all projects, large or small, will complete your puzzle! Call today to discuss how Kipcon can take your project from inception and design through construction and successful completion. Engineering Means 800.828.4118 Kipcon.com • 5 Penn Plaza • 23rd Floor • New York • NY 10001