What is the benifits of sound insulation testing?
The aim of Irish Building Regulations Part E is to raise sound insulation standards in attached dwellings for both airborne and impact noise as to provide reasonable living conditions for occupiers.
To what standard are the tests carried out?
Airborne and impact sound insulation as described in EN ISO 16283-1 and EN ISO 16283-2.
How many tests are required?
The number of required sound insulation tests on new build residential developments are stated in the table below. Assuming no initial tests have failed, the minimum number of ‘sets of tests’ for each group or sub-group is outlined in Table 3A
When should a sound insulation test be carried out?
The sound insulation tests should be carried out once the dwellings either side of a separating element are essentially complete, except for decoration.
Testing should be conducted more frequently at the beginning of a series of completions than towards the end, to allow any potential problems to be addressed at an early stage.
On large developments testing should be carried out over a substantial part of the construction period.
Whats Results Are Required To Meet requirements of Part E?
All separating walls or separating floors, subject to the requirement of the Part E document, should be designed and constructed to achieve a weighted standardised sound level difference of no less then DnT,w 53dB for airbourn noise and a weighted standardised impact sound pressure level no greater then L’nT,w 58db for impact noise.
| Table 3A Minimum frequency of testing per group or sub-group type (Par. 2.2.3) | |
| Number of attached dwellings | ‘Sets of tests’ required |
| 4 or less | At least 11 |
| Greater than 4 but less than or equal to 20 | At least 2 |
| Greater than 20 but less than or equal to 40 | At least 2 + 10% x No. of attached dwellings greater than 20 |
| Greater than 40 but less than or equal to 100 | At least 4 + 5% x No. of attached dwellings greater than 40 |
| More than 100 | At least 7 + 5% x No. of attached dwellings greater than 100 |
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NOTES:
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Where can I get the Irish Building Regulations on Sound?
