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
