Sound insulation standards in the uk: A decade of change

Authors

  • Roderick Mackenzie Building Performance Centre, Institute for Sustainable Construction, Edinburgh Napier University, 42 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5BT, United Kingdom
  • R. Sean Smith Building Performance Centre, Institute for Sustainable Construction, Edinburgh Napier University, 42 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5BT, United Kingdom
  • Chris Steel Building Performance Centre, Institute for Sustainable Construction, Edinburgh Napier University, 42 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5BT, United Kingdom
  • Richard Mackenzie Building Performance Centre, Institute for Sustainable Construction, Edinburgh Napier University, 42 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5BT, United Kingdom

Keywords:

Construction industry, Floors, Construction sites, Design and tests, House building, Masonry Blocks, Pre-completion testing, Steel designs, Timber frames, Wall design

Abstract

The article outlines the causes and consequences of change in residential sound insulation standards across the UK. It was also put forward in the draft document, and later confirmed in the full ADE, that 10% of attached dwellings of any partition type on a site should be subject to Precompletion Testing (PCT) for sound insulation. The RSD project commenced in September 2002 and was to be completed 9 months later for submission by the house building industry to the government The scale of the design and test element to the project was a world first. As each new wall and floor design would require at least 30 tests, spread over 4 different construction sites, using at least 2 different developers and 3 different testing companies. The process of gaining RD status remains the same today, with over 30 RD wall designs and over 20 RD floor designs incorporating masonry block work, concrete, timber frame and steel designs.

Additional Files

Published

2011-09-01

How to Cite

1.
Mackenzie R, Sean Smith R, Steel C, Mackenzie R. Sound insulation standards in the uk: A decade of change. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2011 Sep. 1 [cited 2026 Apr. 29];39(3):196-7. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2478

Issue

Vol. 39 No. 3 (2011)

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada

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