Practical Considerations of Ontario’s Tarion Builder Bulletin 19: Acoustical Reviews for New Condominium Buildings

Abstract

Under the Ontario New Home Warranties Act Plan, all new condominium projects must be registered with the Tarion Warranty Corporation under the Builder Bulletin 19 (B19) program.  The program is intended to ensure the building design and construction meet required standards to protect both the buyer and Tarion as the warranty holder.  Apart from the legal requirements of meeting Ontario Building Code, Tarion B19 further requires that the design and construction meet good architectural and engineering practice in specific risk areas outlined by Tarion.

Acoustics are included in the B19 risk areas with sound transmission and mechanical sound/vibration being major areas of concern.  Successfully implementing these acoustical requirements for condominium projects involves careful coordination with the entire design team and the builder.  Even with recent updates to the B19 documents that highlight acoustics as a separate risk area, these items still remain an afterthought for many architects, developers and builders.

In this paper, we discuss some of the challenges raised by the B19 process for the acoustical consultant during the design process including ambiguity in the design requirements and acoustical approvals. Common areas of concern identified during the design reviews and typical solutions for resolving issues which satisfy both the owner and the acoustical consultant are also presented.

Additionally, the B19 process involves field reviews and proof of performance tests to confirm the design requirements have been adhered to.  We present prevalent issues which are identified during field review site visits, the consequences of these deficiencies in as-built configurations, and proven remedial approaches where non-compliance is found.