Exterior Noise Ingress in Greater Vancouver Residential Buildings: Prediction versus Field Measurements

Authors

  • Gary Mak BKL Consultants Ltd.
  • Mark Bliss BKL

Abstract

Most municipalities in the lower mainland prescribe acoustic requirements for rezoning applications to study outdoor noise ingress and necessary facade improvements to meet interior noise limits such as those mentioned in the CMHC Road and Rail Noise: Effects on Housing criteria. However, there is no standard method of performing this assessment. As there are often no requirements for post-construction testing, the actual interior noise levels are not measured and compared with the initial predictions. After a number of assumptions and theoretical calculations, how accurate are these interior noise predictions?

For a number of residential development projects, we conducted post-construction measurements to measure the actual noise level inside bedrooms. The measurement results were compared with the original predictions to assess the accuracy and identify tendencies to over- or under-predict. In addition, we looked at factors which could influence the accuracy such as facade noise exposure estimate, transmission loss data, and noise ingress calculation. This paper discusses our findings and recommended best practices for interior noise level predictions for Greater Vancouver residential construction.

Author Biography

Gary Mak, BKL Consultants Ltd.

Gary Mak graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. During his studies, he completed courses in acoustics, vibration and HVAC design. Since joining BKL Consultants Ltd. in 2011, his work covers the areas of environmental noise assessments, mechanical/industrial noise control and architectural acoustics.

Additional Files

Published

2016-08-25

How to Cite

1.
Mak G, Bliss M. Exterior Noise Ingress in Greater Vancouver Residential Buildings: Prediction versus Field Measurements. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2016 Aug. 25 [cited 2024 Nov. 18];44(3). Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2998

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 3 (2016)

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada

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