Poor sound performance is something most of us have experienced in our homes, and it has the potential to exacerbate noise problems with neighbours or the people we live with.
The good news is you don’t have to put up with it. Provided you think things through properly at the design stages of your scheme, and get the implementation right, it’s surprisingly straightforward to build in good acoustics. There are a number of enhanced design solutions available to treat new build schemes; and you might be surprised at the range of options to improve an existing property undergoing a renovation.
I believe the starting point for any acoustic design should be to ask a simple question: how am I planning to use my home? If you intend to use any zones for activities that might generate noise, such as a home cinema, music practice area or kids’ play room, then you’ll probably need to look at making some upgrades. The same may be true of areas that might be sensitive to noise break-in, such as a home office or master bedroom.