STUDENT HOUSING
ACOUSTICS
Sound*
*is one of the top three complaints of student housing residents.
A wash cycle in the laundry machine can fall anywhere between 50 and 60 decibels.
The ring of an alarm clock lands between 60 and 80 decibels.
Soft whispers can be measured at 30 decibels.
Understand sound from the beginning of a project to avoid unwanted noise disruption and complaints.
Avoid this loss of revenue by understanding what flooring materials can impact your building’s soundscape.
Sound layers, as they exist in a unique environment, create soundscapes—the clicks of typing, machinery beeps or the whirring of an air conditioner. A pleasant soundscape can positively impact our wellbeing, while a soundscape that exists as a by-product of acoustic failings can be harmful to our daily lives. Carefully chosen interior materials help us design a soundscape that encourages positive emotional and physical responses in the built environment.
Our soundscapes are composed of three main types of sound: Impact Sound, Airborne Sound, and In Room Sound. Each of these is a test focusing on a different type of sound absorption or transmission.
To create the ideal soundscape, all three must be balanced in conjunction with the proper floor assembly.
Floor Assembly
Understanding the building construction is especially important when discussing acoustics with your client. Flooring assemblies come in many different thicknesses and components and ultimately contribute to the overall sound rating in a building. See the range of assemblies we suggest when it comes to multifamily constructions.
Soundscapes are
dependent on the selection of interior materials and the floor assembly.
6” Concrete Slab
8” Concrete Slab
12” Engineered Wood Joist
18” Open Web Truss
2 x 10 Multifamily 3/4” Gyp
The International
Building
Code requires an IIC of 45–50 in a field test.
Impact sound: the upstairs neighbor drops their backpack full of textbooks.. over and over.
An Impact Insulation Class (IIC) rating references how well a floor/ceiling assembly, including the finished floor, reduces the impact of sound. Knowing how different platforms contribute to the IIC can help you make flooring choices that align with the acoustic needs of a space.
See How Our Products Score
Reference the charts to the right for our product offerings and their acoustic scores. See the following pages for construction diagrams on each of our products to learn how the layers that make up a product contribute to the acoustics of a space.
LVT Carpet Tile
16–20 oz
1. Face Yarn
2. Primary Backing
3. High-Performance Precoat
4. Thermoplastic Compound
5. Fiberglass Reinforcement
1. Face Yarn
2. Primary Backing
3. High-Performance Precoat
4. Thermoplastic Laminate
5. Woven Reinforcement Layer
1. Primary Backing
2. Thermoplastic Laminate
3. Fiberglass Reinforcement
4. Thermoplastic Laminate
5. Attached pre-consumer recycled PET fiber layer for moisture dissipation
2mm-4mm LVT
1. ExoGuard+ ® Finish Layer
2. Clear Wear Layer
3. High-Resolution Image
4. Commercial Core
5. Backing
2mm-4mm LVT with Groundworx™
1. ExoGuard+ ® Finish Layer
2. Clear Wear Layer
3. High-Resolution Image
4. Commercial Core
5. Backing
6. Groundworx™ Underlayment, added separately*
5mm LVT
1. ExoGuard+ ® Finish Layer
2. Clear Wear Layer
3. High-Resolution Image
4. Commercial Core
5. Backing
1. ExoGuard+ ® Finish Layer
2. Clear Wear Layer
3. High-Resolution Image
4. Commercial Core
5. Backing
6. Groundworx™ Underlayment, added separately*
5mm LVT with Groundworx™ Acoustic Backed 5mm LVT
1. ExoGuard+ ® Finish Layer
2. Clear Wear Layer
3. High-Resolution Image
4. Commercial Core
5. Acoustic Backing
2.5mm EcoWorx Resilient
1. ExoGuard+ ® Finish Layer
2. Direct Digital Print
3. EcoWorx™ Resilient Core
4. Back Bevel
5.7mm EcoWorx Resilient
1. ExoGuard™ Finish Layer
2. Direct Digital Print
3. EcoWorx™ Resilient Core
4. Intgrated Locking System
5. Attached Acoustic Backing
A high STC product can
help reduce the amount of sound transmitted to the room below.
Airborne Sound:
hearing your neighbor’s party playlist at 1:00am.
Sound Transmission Class (STC) is a measurement of the amount of In Room Sound energy the product prevents from transmitting from one room to another. A loud noise is played in one room, and a device measures how much of that sound energy is transmitted into the next room, above or below.
The largest contributors to STC are the flooring and ceiling construction materials. For example, adding a sheetrock ceiling to a 6” concrete construction can add up to 9 points. Choosing a 2 x 10 Multifamily 3/4” Gyp flooring assembly over a 6” concrete slab will result in a 7 point difference.
In Room sound: voices echoing from across the room and down the hall.
The Sound Absorption Average (SAA) measures the amount of sound energy absorbed by a product such as flooring, ceiling tiles, fabric or furniture. When designing a commercial or living environment, this test allows you to measure how two different spaces with the same amount of sound energy will differ from one another. How quickly the sound dissipates and how it reflects will change occupants’ perceptions of their space.
Flooring can assist in absorbing sound. The flooring solutions chosen for a space can impact the overall acoustics in the built environment.
Sound Absorbing Palette
PRODUCT KEY
Collaboration Tile (5T497) in Influence Change (97979)
18 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 15
Collaboration Tile (5T497) in Influence Others (97555)
18 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 15
Collaboration Tile (5T497) in Influence Outcomes (97411)
18 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 15
ColorLink 20 mil LVT (4609V) in Evoke (00240)
5 mm LVT | SAA: 5
ColorLink 20 mil LVT (4609V) in Versatile (00595)
5 mm LVT | SAA: 5
ColorLink 20 mil LVT (4609V) in Harmonious (00104)
5 mm LVT | SAA: 5
Color Shift Hexagon Tile (5T161) in Aerial (59327)
26 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 20
Color Shift Hexagon Tile (5T161) in Brilliant (59991)
26 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 20
Contact Hexagon Tile (5T160) in Aerial Progress (59580)
26 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 15
Visualize Tile (5T666) in Natural (62585)
16 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 15
Andy Tile (5T632) in Screen Print (32100)
24 oz ClassicBac Broadloom with Pad | SAA: 20
Branching Out LVT (4256V) in Pinecone Oak (56720)
5 mm Acoustic LVT | SAA: 5
Color Shift Hexagon Tile (5T161) in Sublime (59325)
26 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 20
Alignment Tile (5T668) in Stone (62530)
16 oz EcoWorx® Tile | SAA: 15
An SAA of 1 means that 100% of the sound energy is absorbed, while an SAA of 0 means that none of the sound is absorbed. A soft surface flooring has a 300% increase in sound absorption when compared to a hard surface flooring.
Including an underlayment or cushion under any product greatly increases the IIC.
Groundworx™
Groundworx™ is an Impact Sound Reduction Underlayment that was engineered to reduce sound transmission between floors within multi-level structures.
Hush III
Hush III is recognized as some of the most effective sound control, environmentally friendly acoustical flooring underlayment designed to reduce sound transmission between floors within multi-level structures.
Cushion
Cushion can drastically improve multifamily environments by improving acoustics including IIC and SAA scores. Shaw Contract offers cushion solutions for every project and price point.
A Complete Line of Accessories
Totalworx™ is a complete line of flooring accessories designed to help make installation and care easy. Our underlayment and cushion products are great for added acoustical benefits in your properties.
TERRAIN II 5MM (4110V) IN THATCH (00173) + PIERRE TILE (5T631) IN LEGACY 31323
The impact of sound can be reduced by adding a rug. A rug paired with resilient floor offers a softer surface to absorb unwanted sound.
As you layer in carpet with our hard surface, acoustics improve and sound absorption rises. An area rug can create a 40% increase in sound absorption over polished concrete alone. Scan the QR code to explore our running line rug program.
Hear the Difference
Shaw has the largest testing database of anyone in the floor covering industries with over 1,500 unique acoustic tests. Our team has tested over 50 unique floor assemblies.
Sound Advisor™, a patented tool from Shaw Contract, is designed to help you hear the acoustic difference between a variety of hard and soft surfaces, with or without underlayments. Simply select the floor and ceiling construction for your project, apply the flooring choice and Sound Advisor™ will allow you to experience the sound of an IIC score.
The patented Sound Advisor tool from Shaw Contract gives you the power to select the right flooring combination for your project’s needs. Scan to hear the difference.
DIFFUSE TILE (5T479) IN COOL GOLD (78524)
The rumble of the coffee grinder measures at 70–80 decibels.
A noisy vacuum can be heard at 55 decibels. A hairdryer at 1 meter can be measured at 70 decibels.
People Together, Planet Forever is our promise. Neutral is not enough is our call to action.
We are one planet. We cannot afford to be neutral. We must make changes and take action together. We are design optimists.