How Soundproofing Works​

How Soundproofing Works​

Sound is created when air molecules vibrate and move as sound waves. As the amount of vibration increases, the level of sound becomes louder.

Soundproofing is the process of eliminating or reducing sound waves from travelling by using soundproofing material.

There are four main soundproofing methods that are commonly used; decoupling, absorption, damping and mass. Whilst all techniques have their merits and achieve different results, for the best ratings, it is recommended to use all four methods in one assembly.

Decoupling

When there is more contact surface area between two sides of a structure, the vibrations are able to easily travel through and can be heard on the other side. By reducing the contact surface area, the sound waves travel through less areas or pathways and are reduced by the time they reach the other side of the wall or floor.

Do you have soundproofing questions for your project, contact our specialists at sales@buildcorpdirect.com

Absorption

Fiberglass insulation uses the absorption method by preventing air particles from vibrating and making echoing sounds through a cavity. The air gets trapped between the fibres and turns into heat whilst absorbing sound.

The value of absorption is increased significantly when the assembly is decoupled.

Damping

The interior of a wall or ceiling assembly is one way of damping a wall or ceiling and soundproofing a room. The vibration energy is cut off by providing soft, yet tuned, isolation between the source and the structure, thus reducing noise.

Mass

Mass involves making the wall structure as heavy as possible. A heavier partition with greater mass is more difficult to vibrate, while a light-weight partition is easy to vibrate, so adding more layers on either side of the wall and increasing the mass in the assembly will let through less sound vibrations.

Taking all four of these principles into account when soundproofing will help to reduce sound transfer, but for maximum performance in your project, we recommend that you combine these techniques within one assembly.

If you would like more information about soundproofing for your project, contact our specialists at sales@buildcorpdirect.com