Multi-family is back in the limelight with baby boomers, Gen X and Gen Y all considering changes in the way they live and the places they call home. That means developers are working on housing specifically developed for students, low-income, young professionals, families, and (maybe the most booming type of all) senior housing. The National Association of Home Builders even has a sub segment dedicated to the soon to retire crowd.
As the baby boomers and empty nesters transition out of their single-family homes many turn to “Seniors Only” apartments for a myriad of reasons. These facilities provide them with a low maintenance housing option with an excess of amenities all while creating a sense of community with their peers.
The Linwood Mill Apartments is a perfect example of this type of housing. Built in 1870 the Linwood building was originally a cotton mill and it remained unchanged until construction started in October of 2011. Old mill buildings were designed for manufacturing. When repurposing a mill building it is essential that great care and planning take place to ensure that the end product will be a comfortable and livable space for the prospective tenants. One aspect that cannot be overlooked is noise control.
The developers and designers of the new Linwood Mill Apartments made sure to take the appropriate steps to creating a quiet and comfortable living space when they choose to go with Keene Building Products’ QUIET QURL 60/040 RF MT. The most common issue found in these buildings stems from impact noise that can be heard from footfall between units. To combat this, QUIET QURL 60/040 RF MT was placed on the old wood subfloor and then covered with a layer of gypsum concrete.
QUIET QURL 60/040 RF MT is a luxury entangled net sound mat that Keene Building Products has manufactured for this type of specialty construction. It takes advantage of two performance increasing patents which are the Reinforced Fiberglass scrim (RF) and the Muffling Technology (MT) which are adhered to the sound mat.
The RF fabric was designed to address one of the most apparent needs in concrete made from gypsum; a lack of tensile strength. Composed of fiberglass fabric and scrim, the RF fabric adds strength to gypsum concrete topping and helps thin the underlayment thickness. The MT fabric is a highly compressible polyester fabric which is adhered to the bottom side of the sound mats. Tests have shown the addition of the MT boosts the sound mats performance by 4 to 7 points in IIC.
Converting an old mill building, while rewarding, can sometimes require an increased awareness of how all the last minute details fit together. With the use of QUIET QURL 60/040 RF MT in their floor-ceiling assembly the design team can rest easy and know the system provides the best results.
Sounds good, doesn’t it?