Do not let your project suffer from the escalating cost of materials!
Just look at the recent increases in lumber prices alone and the many challenges that have presented themselves as a result. When prices go up, cuts are the decision—And sadly, sound control is usually one of the first to go.
However, sound control does NOT need to be the sacrifice! Developers can increase noise performance and decrease cost!
Keene Building Products patented Muffling Technology (MT) can increase performance and decrease the cost. MT is composed of a “high loft” fabric added to the bottom of the Quiet Qurl entangled net plastic so that when the weight of the gypsum concrete helps enforce the top of the Quiet Qurl, the high loft fabric nestles into the geometry of the entangled net plastic. The effect of adding 3 to 5 IIC points to a given thickness of the Quiet Qurl sound mat.
The floor assembly often created noise through Vibration. However, it can manage the fluctuations through the entangled net matrix by having fewer contact points with the subfloor, where it will dissipate. The Heat build-up is partially helping dissipate by the air space created by the Quiet Qurl entangled net matrix. The thicker spot, the more heat will dissipate. The Pressure Build Up is challenging to treat. Keene’s MT allows the high loft material to fill the void space in the Quiet Qurl entangled net while not taking up airspace. The MT fabric is still filled with airspace but helps simultaneously decrease the pressure build-up:
Traditionally, to increase sound performance, we need to increase the thickness of the sound mat and thus increase the thickness of the gypsum concrete. It also increases the dead load weight on the floor-ceiling assembly and increases the cost. With Keene’s MT technology, we can decrease the thickness of the Quiet Qurl, cut back the thickness of the gypsum, and enhance the sound performance.
Below is an example. Most developers use a standard one-quarter in a thick sound mat with one inch of gypsum concrete. Now with MT, you can use a one-eighth inch of Quiet Qurl (013) with MT and still have the same or better sound performance as the one-inch gypsum with the one-quarter-inch sound mat. The decrease in the gypsum thickness more than compensates for the added cost of the MT solution. It also decreases the weight of the assembly by using thinner gypsum.
Adding Keene’s MT solution to any of our Quiet Qurl products is an exceptionally cost-effective solution for enhanced sound control in your floor ceiling assembly. It also gives architects and developers more choices in times when more cost effective alternatives are needed.
Please contact us for more information on how MT can benefit your next project!