Noise - A Universal Complaint

Noise - A Universal Complaint

According to a recent Daily News poll, most New Yorkers cite NOISE as the most annoying feature of urban life(1). Furthermore, when the NYC Police Department instituted its quality of life telephone hotline in August, 1996, 43% of complaints received related to noise(2).

The noise that annoys New Yorkers comes in many forms from many places. Shrieking subways(3), thudding pile drivers(4), roaring boilers(5), noisy neighbors(6), raucous restaurants(7). Community meetings throughout the City regularly address the failure or refusal of City agencies to effectively respond to noise complaints.

Excessive Noise is Unhealthy

Excessive noise is hazardous to our physical and mental health(8). The body reacts to unwelcome noise of any intensity indirectly as it does to other intrusive stressful stimuli: elevated blood pressure, excessive secretion of hormones, changes in the rhythm of the heart. There is a growing body of literature that suggests that these physiological responses may lead to actual bodily damage in adults and in children(9). In addition, the frustration of not being able to limit distracting noise compounds the body's physiological responses. In some cases, noise drives people to commit homicide or suicide

If this is a sign of the times then Sound Control best be on everyone's mind

Reprinted from Associated Press Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Rise in home building suggests industry turnaround

Dec. 20, 2011, 1:46 p.m. EST

AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — A surge in apartment construction gave home builders more work in November. And permits, a gauge of future construction, rose largely because of a jump in apartment permits.
Some analysts say the gains, though coming off extremely low levels, suggest the depressed housing industry may have reached a turning point.
Economists now say 2011 will be the first year since the Great Recession began in 2007 that home construction will have helped the economy grow. Before this year, the industry endured two of the worst years ever.
"Homebuilding is through the worst and is now steadily improving," said Paul Diggle, a property economist at Capital Economics.
Builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 homes in November, a 9.3 percent jump from October, the government said Tuesday. It's the highest level since April 2010.
Still, the rate is far below the 1.2 million homes that economists say would be built each year in a healthy housing market.
Construction of single-family homes rose 2.3 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 447,000. Apartment construction jumped 32 percent to a rate of 238,000 units. Single-family homes account for about 70 percent of homebuilding.
For the year, work is expected to have begun on 430,000 single-family homes and 185,000 apartments. Those figures remain far below the roughly 840,000 single-family homes and 360,000 apartments that would be started in a healthy economy.
Tuesday's home construction data, along with encouraging economic news out of Germany and Spain, helped fuel a huge rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 300 points, or 2.7 percent, by mid-afternoon.
Patrick Newport and Michelle Valverde, U.S. economists at IHS Global Insight, said the better-than-expected figures show that the housing industry is "finally getting off the mat."
"It'll keep getting better through next year," said Jared Franz, an associate economist at T. Rowe Price.
Last year, builders began work on roughly 587,000 homes. That barely surpassed the 554,000 homes started in 2009, the worst year ever.
Though new homes represent just 20 percent of the overall home market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Renting has become a preferred option for many Americans who lost their jobs during the recession and were forced to leave their houses. The surge in apartments has provided a lift to the beleaguered housing market but has not been enough to completely offset the loss of single-family homes.
Permits rose 5.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 681,000, boosted by a 16 percent jump in permits for apartment buildings, to 246,000.
Builders typically begin construction on single-family homes six months after getting a permit. With apartment projects, the lag time can be up to a year.
Over the past year, permits for apartment buildings with five or more units have surged more than 80 percent. Permits for single-family homes have risen much less: just 3.6 percent.
Demand for new homes is weak. Record-low mortgage rates and plunging home prices have done little to help.
The chief problem: Builders are struggling to compete with deeply discounted foreclosures and short sales. Short sales occur when lenders allow homes to be sold for less than what's owed on the mortgage. Few homes are selling.
After previous recessions, housing accounted for at least 15 percent of U.S. economic growth. Since the recession officially ended in June 2009, it has contributed just 4 percent.
In October, sales of new homes rose slightly, largely because builders cut their prices in the face of weak demand. Sales hit a six-month low in August. And this year is shaping up to be the worst since the government began keeping records a half-century ago.
Another reason sales have fallen is that previously occupied homes have become a better deal than new homes. The median price of a new home is about 30 percent higher than the median price for a re-sale. That's nearly twice the markup typical in a healthy housing market.
The homebuilders' trade group said this week that its survey of industry sentiment rose in December to 21, the highest level since May 2010. Still, any reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment about the housing market. The index hasn't reached 50 since April 2006, the peak of the housing boom.

Just how do you calculate STC ratings?

For those of you that want to know how to calculate STC, here it is:

Measure the transmission loss (TL) for the wall system from 125 Hz to 4 kHz and plot on a chart.  The STC for the wall is determined by superimposing a contour chart (not shown here) upon the TL curve such that (1) there is no more than a 8-dB deficiency between the TL and the STC contour at any 1/3-octave frequency (i.e., no test point may be more than 8 dB below the STC contour), and (2) the total deficiency between the STC contour and the TL curve (i.e., the value of the STC contour minus the value of the TL curve summed at all 1/3-octave frequencies from 125Hz to 4 kHz) must be less than or equal to 32 dB.  Once the curve has been adjusted to met these two criteria, then the STC value of the wall is equal to the TL value of the contour at 500 Hz.

Makes sense?  Not really!

Best way to say it is:  The more noise the wall system reduces – the higher the STC number.

Building Codes

In the case of construction of new (or remodeled) apartments, condominiums, hospitals and hotels, many U.S. states and cities have stringent building codes with requirements of acoustical analysis, in order to protect building occupants from exterior noise sources and sound generated within the building itself.^[8]. With regard to exterior noise, the codes usually require measurement of the exterior acoustic environment in order to determine the performance standard required for exterior building skin design. The architect can work with the acoustical scientist to arrive at the best cost-effective means of creating a quiet interior (normally 45 dBA). The most important elements of design of the building skin are usually: glazing (glass thickness, double pane design, etc.), roof material, caulking standards, chimney baffles, exterior door design, mail slots, attic ventilation ports and mounting of through the wall air conditioners. A special case of building skin design arises in the case of aircraft noise, where the FAA has funded extensive work in residential retrofit.
Regarding sound generated inside the building, there are two principal types of transmission. First, airborne sound travels through walls or floor/ceiling assemblies and can emanate from either human activities in adjacent living spaces or from mechanical noise within the building systems. Human activities might include voice, amplified sound systems or animal noise. Mechanical systems are elevator systems, boilers, refrigeration or air conditioning systems, generators and trash compactors. Since many of these sounds are inherently loud, the principle of regulation is to require the wall or ceiling assembly to meet certain performance standards (typically Sound Transmission Class of 50), which allows considerable attenuation of the sound level reaching occupants.
The second type of interior sound is called Impact Insulation Class (IIC) transmission. This effect arises not from airborne transmission, but rather from transmission of sound through the building itself. The most common perception of IIC noise is from footfall of occupants in living spaces above. This type of noise is somewhat more difficult to abate, but consideration must be given to isolating the floor assembly above or hanging the lower ceiling on resilient channel. Commonly a performance standard of IIC equal to 50 is specified in building codes. California has generally led the U.S. in widespread application of building code requirements for sound transmission; accordingly, the level of protection for building occupants has increased markedly in the last several decad

C. F. Evans Construction Endorses dB-3Pro Sound Control

Building Pride

CONSTRUCTION

“We build it like it’s ours.”

The products from United Plastic Corporation are lightweight, environmentally responsible

and easy to install.

Winter 2012

Using Recycled Materials To Mitigate Sound

 

Living in a high-density apartment community offers many benefits and

conveniences. For those with a busy lifestyle, among the greatest conveniences

are the lack of yard work and a maintenance staff that repairs appliances and

fixes other problems free of charge that homeowners would otherwise have to pay for. In

addition, apartment dwellers enjoy the year-round use of luxurious community amenities

such as swimming pools, outdoor fire pits, dog parks and movie theaters, and most

communities these days are in excellent urban locations, within walking distance of parks,

stores and your neighbors.

Those who rent are also free to move whenever the lease ends, without worrying about

selling a home. However, one of the challenges of apartment living is dealing with the

sounds from outside one’s apartment that can travel into the living space. For developers,

sound attenuation is an extremely important aspect that must be properly addressed when

building a multi-unit building.

Sound attenuation is the combined effect of the scattering (or reflection) of sound and

the absorption of sound energy. Attenuation results in a weakening of the sound, such

as what occurs when sound travels through a medium like a wall or floor in a building.

“Human sound,” such as TV noises, talking and basic appliances, is filtered out when the

Sound Transmission Class, or STC, of a wall or floor is around 50. STC is the rating that a

wall or floor receives based on how well it filters out sound; the higher the STC, the more

effective that wall or floor is at reducing noise. Typically, builders install insulation in a wall

that filters out higher frequency noises, and often a type of blocker material is used that

can increase the STC of that wall.

C.F. Evans Named Best Places To Work Finalist

For the third year in a row, C.F. Evans Construction was named

a finalist in the Best Places to Work

in South Carolina Small to Medium

Business Category. This year, we

are extremely grateful to be named

in the Top 10. We would like to

take this opportunity to thank

our employees, clients, partners,

subcontractors and suppliers.

Without you we would not be here.

We wish you and yours a happy and

healthy New Year.

continued on page 4

CONSTRUCTION

Building Pride through

teamwork and innovation

“We build it like it’s ours.”

We’re doing our part.

This newsletter is printed on environmentally-friendly paper—50% recycled, using 25% post-consumer waste,

and is composed of a mixture of fibers from certified forests, post-consumer recycling processes and fibers from other controlled sources.

United Plastics Corporation was

founded in 1946 as Carolina Plastics

Co. and manufactured products for the

automotive industry. Located in Mount

Airy, N.C., United Plastics produces

flexible, rigid and dual durometer profiles,

PVC cellular foam profiles, flexible sheet

and roll goods for the construction,

automotive, furniture and many other

industries.

United Plastics Corporation is dedicated

to producing environmentally-friendly

products. They utilize more than 80,000

lbs. of post-industrial scrap each day

that would otherwise end up in landfills.

Products contain recycled materials and

many of their consumer and commercial

products qualify for LEED points.

There are many products that can help increase STC ratings. Recently, we learned

about several innovative products developed by United Plastics Corporation that can

assist in this effort and are environmentally responsible. dB-4looring, dB-3 for walls

and dB-2 for retrofitting are just a few solutions United Plastics has developed to assist

builders with sound control strategy. Builders can increase the STC of walls and floors

by approximately five levels per layer of sound material used. If the product is used on

both sides of a wall or floor, the STC rating can increase by 10!

Most of the sound that disturbs people is generally in the spectrum 4,000 to 5,000

Hz (hertz). “Our product performs exceptionally well within those ranges and in the

lower ranges of hertz from about 150-400, which are the bass sounds, the vibration

sounds from objects such as a subwoofer, TV or stereo,” explains John Bishop of

United Plastics.

What appeals to us most are the environmental qualities of United Plastics’

products. Most blocking materials are virgin products made from petroleum-based

materials, which means they are affected by the changes in oil prices and comprised

of a minimum of recycled materials. On the other hand, dB-3, dB-2 and dB-4looring

products are made of 100% recycled materials, and because of the amount of polyester

materials included, they are incredibly flexible. This flexibility allows the products to

scatter low frequency sounds, rather than transferring the sound through.

Another benefit of United Plastics’ products is that they are only one-eighthinch

thick. When using them, builders can use standard width jams and avoid

special allowances or floor plan changes to account for increases in thickness of the

wall as may be required with double layer drywall. Installation is as easy as drywall:

the material is very lightweight, so drywall installers can perform the work and

builders can avoid additional hiring. And if that isn’t enough, the product acts as an

impermeable vapor barrier so water/moisture will not pass through.

As construction managers, we constantly seek materials to help our clients achieve

their construction, environmental and budgetary goals. United Plastics Corporation

has developed products that offer great promise in each of these areas. For more

about the company responsible for these high-performing products, please see the

accompanying sidebar.

Recycled Materials…

continued from page 1

United Plastics has developed products for

walls, floors and retrofits. Shown here is the

dB-4looring with a tile floor

Just how much would a damped wall system cost for a 10K s/f project

This was taken from a Construction Blog dated June 22, 2007.  I doubt if anything has changed in 4 years, it more than likely costs more to do than what was originally published. 

To elaborate a bit further on QR (which btw, I think is a great product, just costly). The QR which is 5/8" thick is about $140/sheet. The QR-IIwhich is 1 3/8" thick is about $180/sheet.

Compare that with the price of two sheets of 4x8 5/8" drywall, along with $1/sq ft for GG. Add in the additional labor to do the 2nd sheet and you can see where the cost of the double drywall with GG is substantially cheaper than QR-II at $180/sheet. Now, if you were just doing a smaller job and didn't want to mess with the GG etc, then it can certainly be argued that QR might be easier/better to work with. But certainly not when you are doing a very large project.

ballpark estimates on a 10k Sq ft job.

QR -II - 1125 sheets = ~$202,500
No additional Labor

2250 sheets of drywall - ~$35,000
GG (120 buckets) - $25,000
Additional labor - $20,000
So, we're talking more than double for using QR vs having the crew do the same work twice. . . Not a pretty site on a large project.

So, you have to ask, is it worth the money and are you saving money?  Are You?

What is Noise?

* Noise as a nuisance is a very subjective matter. Some may consider any perceptible sound from a

neighbor’s residence to be a nuisance, while others just consider it a part of everyday life in multi-tenant living. In any case, nobody ever complains about it being too quiet. Therefore, building codes have taken steps to further their intent of providing for the “general welfare” of the public by incorporating provisions in the building codes to minimize sound transmission through building walls and floors.

The two current model building codes, the

International Building Code (IBC) and the Building

Construction and Safety Code

(NFPA 5000), have similar requirements, with one noticeable exception:

The IBC limits its requirements to only multi-family dwellings, while the NFPA 5000 additionally applies its requirements to hotels, dormitories, lodging and rooming houses, and residential board and care facilities.

*part of an article from www.specsandcodes.com

Why is noise a problem?

The need for noise-reduction solutions in residential and commercial projects are increasing due to a variety of factors. High prices of single-family homes mean more Americans are living in condos, apartments and townhomes, and higher-density development is putting them in closer proximity to their neighbors. In San Diego, building permits for multifamily housing exceeded those for single-family homes in 2006 for the first time since 1990. Also, a recent study shows that the hospital environment noise levels have increased by 25%  since 1960 making recovery time more difficult for patients.  In some cases noise levels exceed 90db, which is equivalent to standing 3ft away from a food blender.  Other factors, including federal patient privacy laws and competitive market forces, have increased the need for privacy and noise control in schools, healthcare facilities and hotels.

Did you know?

Did you know that to days medical facilities are almost 40% higher in noise that back in 1960?  Did you know that some daytime decibel levels exceed those similarly to standing three feet away from a food blender?  Or better yet, standing 3 feet away from a chain saw?  Did you know that the World Health Organization says that levels in medical facilities should be around 35dB during the day and near 30dB at night, not to exceed 40dB?  These recommendations are based on the well being of the patient, exceeding these levels puts more stress on the patient, distrubs their sleep and hinders communication.  These numbers are taken from data and reports that can be found on the internet.  Isn't it time we start "listening" to what really is causing these patients to not heal or respond to treatment?

Three Months Ago

This will be the first of an on going posting of happenings with me and my new company.  Three months ago today I started working for United Plastics Corporation out of Mt. Airy, NC.  Now if Mt. Airy, NC sounds a little to familier, well it's the home of Andy Griffth, yes Mayberry.  Anyway, United Plastics Corporation manufacturers "Sustainable" Sound Control products for residential and commerical use.  Now, I know what you're thinking "plastics", well it's not (PVC) Poly Vinyl Chloride, the stuff that's always in the news.  Our is manufacturered from (EVA) Ethlene Vinyl Acetate, much better from an enviromental standpoint.  Our products were designed using reprocesssed materials that would ordinarily be in land fills.  We take in these materials from numberous locations from around the U.S.A. and transfrom them into new, value-added products.  The products and processes have been created over the past 60 years from our vast knowledge of experience in material developement and specialty processing.  All of our products, at end of use, are completely recyclable.  If a local recycler is not capable of processing the materials, they may be returned to us for reprocessing.  They would then be reprocessed into "like" products and returned once again into viable Sound Control Solutions. 

In the past three months, I have seen over 260 Architects and another 50 or so contractors and GC's, promoting our products.  We have and soon will be having distributorship from the Mississippi River East to the Atlantic in the Eastern U.S.A. 

There is a growing concern about sound control in a number of different disciplines, from healthcare to schools, from office buildings to factories.  Everyone is not immune from unwanted sound, however there are things that can be done prior to or even in renovation work to solve these problems. 

I will be posting as often as I can our success's.  Feel free to ask any questions along the way, I look forward to any feed back.