Acoustic & Noise Resources

Flanking paths associated with exposed roof decks in condominiums

by Jeffrey P. Kwolkoski for NOISE-CON 2010, Institute of Noise Control Engineering, April 2010, Baltimore, Maryland

A residential/commercial condominium project featured two-story loft condominiums with an industrial look.  The building was constructed with bare concrete floors and an exposed metal deck roof.  Some condominium owners complained of poor sound proofing from their neighbors.  The investigation showed that structure borne and airborne flanking paths contributed to poor sound isolation.  A combination of conventional and creative methods were implemented to significantly reduce noise intrusion.

Case study: Mitigation of excessive vibration induced by commercial washers on elevated post-tensioned concrete slab

by Andrew J. Kowalyshyn and Jeffrey P. Kwolkoski, NOISE-CON 2008, Institute of Noise Control Engineering, 
July 2008, Dearborn, Michigan

During renovation of a luxury hotel, commercial washing machines on an elevated concrete slab caused excessive vibration of the floor during the extraction cycle.  Vibration was measured and potential isolation options were evaluated.  A custom spring isolated inertia base was engineered and installed, and vibration was greatly reduced.

An effective new approach to isolate plumbing stub-outs in residential construction

by Jeffrey P. Kwolkoski for INTER-NOISE 2006, Institute of Noise Control Engineering, December 2006, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

Noise from plumbing systems is often annoying in multi-family and private residences.  A new approach to isolate plumbing for a shower  as installed in a private home and the results were measured.  This paper summarizes the noise reduction that was achieved and compares the performance with other methods and products.

American National Standard on Classroom Acoustics

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), together with the U.S. Access Board and Acoustical Society of America, created ANSI S12.60, Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements and Guidelines for Schools. The three-part standard provides specific design requirements and acoustical performance criteria to create a classroom environment that optimizes speech understanding so that kids can understand their teachers.

Compliance with the ANSI standard is voluntary.  Many school districts and state and local agencies have adopted the standard as a part of their construction or renovation requirements for schools. ANSI S12.60 Part 1 addresses Permanent Schools. Part 2 covers Modular Classrooms. Part 4 provides acoustic guidelines for Physical Education spaces.