Description

Acoustic testing became manditory in England and Wales in 2003, when Approved Document E was updated. Approved Document E requires new buildings and buildings formed by a material change of use to achieve a reasonable level of sound insulation between dwellings.

There are two ways of complying with the requirements of Approved Document E, you can either build to Robust Details or have on site pre-completion sound insulation tests conducted.

At face value, Robust Details would appear to be the obvious choice, however, Robust Details are quite limited in the range of construction types and applications. For instance, Robust Details cannot be used on a material change of use project and there are only certain combinations of wall and floor constructions that can be used together. In many cases the cost of building to Robust Details is often similar to that of having sound insulation tests conducted.

There is a level of aprehension with conductiong pre-completion sound insulation tests on site, mainly due to the fear of failure. It should be noted, however, that if the design specification is followed, and a good standard of workmanship is maintained on site, there is very little chance of failure. Robust Details are equally strict when it comes to quality and specification. If you deviate from the specification, or the level of quality of workmanship is low, then it is likely that they would require on site testing to be conducted anyway.