Keeping It Quiet In The PRS/BTR Sector
Floored It Blog Series
March 2020
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), excessive noise seriously harms human health and interferes with people’s daily activities, whether that is at school, at work, at home or during leisure time. Getting the acoustic comfort right in private rental accommodation is therefore paramount, after all, unwanted noise pollution could lead to countless complaints, poor sleep quality and the risk of losing tenants. In this blog, Julie Haake, our Key Account Manager for the PRS/BTR sector takes a look at how the choice of flooring can play a fundamental role in acoustic design.
With over 25 years experience in the flooring industry, Julie has a wide experience of dealing with large scale flooring projects across a variety of applications, working with Architects and Designers through to the Contractors and ultimately the End User. As the Forbo Key Account Manager for the Private Rental and Build to Rent sector, Julie is closely involved with major national clients, helping them to find the right flooring solutions for every aspect of their building.
The WHO guidelines for community noise recommend less than 30 (dB) in bedrooms during the night for a sleep of good quality.
In multi-occupancy buildings, the clatter of footsteps can quickly become deafening if measures are not taken to reduce impact noise. The choice of flooring can therefore play a fundamental role in acoustic design, as specialist floor coverings have the ability to mitigate sound transmission from room to room and floor to floor, which can help to create a more comfortable environment for occupants.
As the trend for bringing a natural look and feel into living spaces continues to rise, wood and stone effect aesthetics remains to be popular. However, options such as laminates and even the real thing itself do very little to contribute to the acoustic performance of the space, and ultimately the comfort of the building’s users. Luxury vinyl tiles (LVT), however, are a popular solution thanks to its ability to replicate the realism of its natural counterpart, with the advantages of improved durability and design freedom to create striking flooring schemes. And now, there are even LVT options on the market that offer high levels of acoustic performance, too.
Setting new standards in acoustic LVT, Forbo’s new Allura Decibel range has been developed to offer 19 dB impact sound reduction, without compromising on aesthetics or ease of installation.
The new acoustic collection consists of 30 tile and plank formats in a balanced colour palette of wood, stone and concrete designs, combining beautiful floor design with the perfect balance between the high acoustic properties and outstanding residual indentation performance.
Designed by our in-house team of passionate creators and manufactured in Europe by Forbo, the Allura Decibel collection is 100% phthalate free flooring, resulting in low indoor emissions. The LVT is also easy to remove at the end of its life for recycling or re-use; minimising the impact on the environment. The new range is particularly suitable for multi-occupancy buildings, such as those found within the Private Rental and Build to Rent sectors, where noise pollution and the well-being of tenants is a vital consideration.
Noise can cause annoyance and fatigue, interfere with communication and sleep, reduce efficiency and damage hearing.
In a global move to create better indoor environments, it is increasingly important that designers are recognising the negative effects of poor acoustics within buildings, particularly on occupant health and wellbeing, and the impact that interior building products can have. The latest LVT collections really push the boundaries of manufacturing capabilities whist reflecting the latest trends.
