Sound insulation testing is required on all house conversions or New Build developments where two or more dwellings are connected either by a party wall or party floor.

The testing needs to be carried out by an Independent Acoustic Consultancy with either A.N.C or UKAS Accreditation. Without this Accreditation, any test report produced could be refused by the Local Authority Building Control as invalid, meaning that the properties will need to be re-tested at additional cost to the developer.

Not all dwellings need to be tested however. In fact, it is the party floor or party wall that is tested; not the dwelling as such. One set of tests is required for every 10 dwellings. A set of tests would normally consist of:

• Two Airborne Wall Tests
• Two Airborne Floor Tests
• Two Impact Floor Tests

Obviously, party walls can only be tested if the dwellings are connected horizontally. Additionally, for any walls or floors to be tested you need to have habitable rooms on both sides of the partition. The test rooms also need to be a minimum of 25mᶟ in volume.

Where the residential unit is above a commercial unit, then Impact Tests are not required as the noise risk is perceived to be from the commercial unit into the flat; not the other way round.

Where the commercial unit is perceived to generate a larger amount of noise such as a music shop, public house or night club, then an increased level of acoustic performance is deemed necessary. This would normally be controlled by the Planning Department or Building Control Department.

Please see below for a range of sound insulation testing scenarios:

3 storey building

• Two Airborne Floor Tests
• Two Impact Floor Tests

2 storey building

• Two Airborne Floor Tests
• Two Impact Floor Tests

1 storey building

• No tests required

Connecting 1 storey buildings

• Two Airborne Wall Tests
• No Floor Tests

Connecting 2 storey buildings

• Two Airborne Floor Tests
• Two Impact Floor Tests
• Two Airborne Wall Tests

Connecting 8 storey buildings

• Four Airborne Floor Tests
• Four Impact Floor Tests
• Four Airborne Wall Tests

Sound testing is a fundamental part of home improvement and understanding the basics can allow you to improve your home.

Guest Post By:
Louise Orr