Why sound behaves like water!

We do a lot of Approved Doc E Building Regulation Sound Testing – a lot! So when we do unfortunately highlight a sound test failure we do know where to start looking first, and that’s behind cupboards and flooring perimeters – especially kitchen and bathroom fittings. Why? because sound behaves like water and if you put water in a bucket with holes then (duh) it’s going to leak. Sound is the same, sound will find the weakest path in your construction. So even if you have built those walls or those floors with multiple layers of plasterboard, used mineral wool, even perhaps utilised resilient bars and other bespoke systems, if the final detailing is poor, if you have holes for sockets, or joint gaps or fitted to the perimeter walls without flanking strips and mastic then you may fail the test, or at the very least you will reduce the sound insulation performance and your spend on materials becomes less effective. Think about sound like water, don’t try and take a bath without first putting the plug in! – If you need acoustic design assistance with your project or Pre-Completion fully accredited sound testing then give us a call 01237 478142