For projects in Auckland
Recording studio acoustics and soundproofing in Auckland
Two jobs that must not be confused: keeping the building out, and making the room honest inside. The first is mass and decoupling and has to be built first. The second is absorption and diffusion and can be tuned later. Project studios go into garages and sleepouts in timber framed housing that leaks at every junction.
- Isolation
- A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought.
- Low frequency
- Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam.
- Early reflections
- Controlled at the mix position, and only there.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / What it is
The material, and what it actually does on a Auckland job
Two jobs that must not be confused: keeping the building out, and making the room honest inside. The first is mass and decoupling and has to be built first. The second is absorption and diffusion and can be tuned later.
Project studios go into garages and sleepouts in timber framed housing that leaks at every junction.
Work reaching us from Auckland is mostly apartments and townhouses, offices, hospitality, schools, clinics, studios.
- Apartments built light and fast Townhouse and apartment stock built quickly in timber frame. The separating construction is where noise complaints concentrate.
- Weathertightness shapes the build-up Wall assemblies here are designed around drainage and drying. An acoustic layer has to work with that, not trap moisture in it.
- Volcanic ground, seismic detailing Flexible junctions are required, so a rigid acoustic bridge across a movement joint is not acceptable.
- Isolation A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for studio soundproofing are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Auckland.
02 / The build-up
The build-up, layer by layer
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Layer 1
Soundproofing materials
The blocking side of the range taken together: mass loaded vinyl, resilient layers, cavity absorption and the build-ups they belong in. In Auckland, heat pumps and ducted systems, with outdoor units close to boundaries in dense suburbs.
Independent leaf. A second wall that does not touch the first. Nothing else comes close for the money.
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Layer 2
Acoustic panels
The full absorber range rather than one product: plain PET felt, printed felt, grooved panels and fabric finishes, chosen by how the room is used and how it has to look. In Auckland, school halls, marae and community centres carry speech and performance in the same hard room.
Mixed finish. Plain felt where it is out of eye line, printed or grooved where it is seen.
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Layer 3
Soundproof curtains
A layered curtain with a mass loaded vinyl core, used where an opening has to stay an opening. In Auckland, classroom acoustics are taken seriously and open plan learning spaces are common, which makes speech intelligibility the design target.
Double layer at a doorway. Two curtains with an air gap where a single layer will not reach the target.
If you are specifying for a Auckland project, we can give you a section, a BOQ and the honest limits of each layer. See how we support architects.
03 / In this market
What the buildings in Auckland do to the specification
- Apartments built light and fast
Townhouse and apartment stock built quickly in timber frame. The separating construction is where noise complaints concentrate.
- Weathertightness shapes the build-up
Wall assemblies here are designed around drainage and drying. An acoustic layer has to work with that, not trap moisture in it.
- Volcanic ground, seismic detailing
Flexible junctions are required, so a rigid acoustic bridge across a movement joint is not acceptable.
- The port is in the city
Direct sea into Auckland keeps the road leg short, though the sea leg itself is long and we quote it fully.
- The housing stock
Timber frame with plasterboard linings, so walls have very little mass. Apartment and townhouse party walls need a second leaf rather than surface treatment.
- The studio and content scene
Project studios go into garages and sleepouts in timber framed housing that leaks at every junction.
04 / Room by room
Where the money goes on a Auckland project
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Isolation
A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. Townhouse and apartment stock built quickly in timber frame. The separating construction is where noise complaints concentrate.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 1800 x 900 mm
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 30, 5.25 kg per sq m
- Soundproofing materials, Mass, then decoupling, then cavity absorption, then sealing
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Low frequency
Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam. Wall assemblies here are designed around drainage and drying. An acoustic layer has to work with that, not trap moisture in it.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 20 mm
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 34, 8.4 kg per sq m
- Soundproofing materials, ASTM E90 for the barrier, ASTM C423 for the absorber
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Early reflections
Controlled at the mix position, and only there. Flexible junctions are required, so a rigid acoustic bridge across a movement joint is not acceptable.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 100 kg per cubic metre
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, 12.6 kg per sq m, STC on request
- Soundproofing materials, 2100 kg per cubic metre. 2.5 mm STC 30 at 5.25 kg per sq m, 4 mm STC 34 at 8.4, 6 mm at 12.6
Interior designers tend to arrive with the look already decided. We will tell you which finish gets there without losing the acoustics. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Climate and durability
The Auckland climate decides the material list
Auckland is cool and damp, with long heating seasons and cold external walls, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
Cold wall build-ups and long heating seasons mean interstitial condensation is a real risk behind any lining. PET felt is unaffected by damp air and will not feed mould where a fabric-faced mineral product would.
The failure we design against here is condensation behind linings in older, poorly insulated stock.
On a Auckland job with a consultant involved, our part is material that matches the submitted data. See working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Before you buy
What we watch go wrong on jobs like this
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Buying foam to solve an isolation problem
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Treating the room before the shell is isolated
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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Killing the room completely and calling it controlled
A room can be over-treated. Past the target it stops sounding controlled and starts sounding dead, and you paid for that.
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Treating it as a generic Auckland job
Townhouse and apartment stock built quickly in timber frame. The separating construction is where noise complaints concentrate.
05 / Route to site
What the route into Auckland actually looks like
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Auckland, then a short road run to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea into Auckland |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. The sea leg from India is long, so plan the full door to door window into the programme. We give real dates, not optimistic ones.
Sea freight direct into Auckland, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Auckland projects
What makes recording studio acoustics and soundproofing different in Auckland?
Project studios go into garages and sleepouts in timber framed housing that leaks at every junction. Townhouse and apartment stock built quickly in timber frame. The separating construction is where noise complaints concentrate.
Where should the budget go first on a Auckland project?
Isolation. A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. Low frequency. Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam.
Do you have an office or installation team in Auckland?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Auckland. We give you drawings, build-ups, a BOQ and material that arrives complete, and we will tell you plainly when a job needs a local contractor we cannot be.
How does material get to a Auckland site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Auckland, then a short road run to site, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. The sea leg from India is long, so plan the full door to door window into the programme. We give real dates, not optimistic ones.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
Buying foam to solve an isolation problem. Treating the room before the shell is isolated.
What do you need from us to quote?
A plan, a section through the critical partition or ceiling, and what the room is for. From that we can give a build-up and a BOQ rather than a price per square foot.
Next step
Send a plan and a section, get a real build-up
We quote from drawings, not from a square foot rate. Send a plan and the section through the critical wall or ceiling and you will get something you can actually build from.