Question 1

What Rw values do your acoustic partitions achieve?

Accepted Answer

We install acoustic partitions from standard meeting room performance (Rw 43 to 45 dB) through confidential office and boardroom performance (Rw 50 to 55 dB) to specialist high-performance assemblies (Rw 60 dB and above for recording, broadcast or highly sensitive environments). The assembly required for each Rw target is specified from the manufacturer's tested system document: British Gypsum White Book, Knauf System Selector or Siniat Drylining Manual. We confirm the target Rw with the architect or acoustic consultant before procurement and install exactly to the tested assembly.

Question 2

What is the difference between laboratory Rw and in-situ performance?

Accepted Answer

The laboratory Rw figure is measured under controlled conditions with no flanking paths. In a real building, sound also travels around the partition: through the ceiling void above it, through the structural floor below it, through shared ventilation ductwork and through service penetrations. This flanking transmission typically reduces in-situ performance by 3 to 7 dB compared with the laboratory figure. Achieving the target acoustic performance in the room therefore requires flanking path control as well as the partition assembly itself: a correctly sealed perimeter head, acoustic treatment above the ceiling in the void above the partition, sealed service penetrations, and acoustic doors of equivalent performance to the partition.

Question 3

What assemblies do you use for meeting rooms?

Accepted Answer

A standard meeting room at Rw 43 to 45 dB typically uses a 70 mm or 92 mm double stud with mineral wool infill and two layers of standard plasterboard each side. A confidential meeting room at Rw 50 to 55 dB typically adds staggered stud construction, resilient bars or isolation framing, denser mineral wool infill, and additional board layers. A boardroom or highly sensitive office at Rw 60 dB and above requires a full isolation assembly: separated structural framing, multiple board layers, dense infill and a fully sealed perimeter including the structural head and base. We specify from the tested assembly for the target Rw, not from a standard rate per m².

Question 4

How do you control flanking at the ceiling void?

Accepted Answer

The ceiling void above a suspended ceiling is a common flanking path for acoustic partitions that terminate at the suspended ceiling face rather than continuing to the structural soffit. Where the acoustic brief requires it, we extend the partition to the structural soffit and seal the junction, or install an acoustic barrier above the suspended ceiling level across the full width of the partition line, sealed to the structure on both sides. The method depends on the target Rw, the ceiling construction and the access requirements for services above. We agree the flanking path control strategy with the acoustic consultant at pre-start.

Acoustic Partitions in Belfast

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We do more than acoustic partitions here

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Dry Lining in Belfast

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