For projects in Barcelona
Venue and restaurant acoustics in Barcelona
Two different jobs that get quoted as one: keeping bass inside the building for the neighbours, and making the room comfortable enough that guests can talk. Solving one does nothing for the other. Churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
- Containment
- Low frequency through structure to flats above and beside. Mass, decoupling and a sealed envelope.
- Table level comfort
- Absorption at the ceiling so guests stop raising their voices at each other.
- Entrance and service
- Doors, lobbies and extract paths, which is where most of the leakage actually is.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / What it is
The material, and what it actually does on a Barcelona job
Two different jobs that get quoted as one: keeping bass inside the building for the neighbours, and making the room comfortable enough that guests can talk. Solving one does nothing for the other.
Churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
Work reaching us from Barcelona is mostly eixample apartments, hotels and short lets, restaurants, offices, clinics, studios.
- Eixample blocks share everything Flats stacked around an interior courtyard with tiled floors and hard plaster. Sound moves between homes through the structure and across the patio.
- Tourism conversions Apartments turned into short lets put beds either side of walls that were never separating walls. Doors and corridors cause most complaints.
- Late streets Venues and terraces operate late underneath homes, so containment decides how long they trade.
- Containment Low frequency through structure to flats above and beside. Mass, decoupling and a sealed envelope.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for venue soundproofing are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Barcelona.
Nightclub and venue soundproofing SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl
02 / The build-up
The build-up, layer by layer
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Layer 1
SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl
A limp, high density sheet that adds mass to a partition, floor or duct without adding depth. In Barcelona, split and multi-split systems dominate, with condensers in patios and light wells that act as reverberant shafts.
Duct and plant wrap. Membrane wrapped over the duct with a decoupling layer beneath, sealed at every lap.
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Layer 2
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 Barcelona, churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
Resilient bar. Where a full independent leaf will not fit. Effective, and very easy to short circuit with one wrong screw.
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Layer 3
Wooden slat acoustic panels
Timber slats on an acoustic backing. In Barcelona, school buildings are concrete and tile with high ceilings and hard floors, and dining halls are the loudest rooms in the building.
Feature wall only. Slats where they are seen, plain felt elsewhere, to hold the budget where it shows.
We would rather argue about the build-up at design stage than on site. See how we support architects.
03 / In this market
What the buildings in Barcelona do to the specification
- Eixample blocks share everything
Flats stacked around an interior courtyard with tiled floors and hard plaster. Sound moves between homes through the structure and across the patio.
- Tourism conversions
Apartments turned into short lets put beds either side of walls that were never separating walls. Doors and corridors cause most complaints.
- Late streets
Venues and terraces operate late underneath homes, so containment decides how long they trade.
- The port is at the city
Direct sea into Barcelona keeps the road leg short and the landed cost predictable.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
04 / Room by room
Room by room, on a typical Barcelona job
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Containment
Low frequency through structure to flats above and beside. Mass, decoupling and a sealed envelope. Flats stacked around an interior courtyard with tiled floors and hard plaster. Sound moves between homes through the structure and across the patio.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, 2100 kg per cubic metre
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 13-3, 14-2, 28-4 and 59-5
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, High density polyester
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Table level comfort
Absorption at the ceiling so guests stop raising their voices at each other. Apartments turned into short lets put beds either side of walls that were never separating walls. Doors and corridors cause most complaints.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 30, 5.25 kg per sq m
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 2440 x 192 mm and 2440 x 128 mm
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, Felt
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Entrance and service
Doors, lobbies and extract paths, which is where most of the leakage actually is. Venues and terraces operate late underneath homes, so containment decides how long they trade.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 34, 8.4 kg per sq m
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 14, 16 and 18 mm
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, 64 sq ft per pack
If the visual is fixed and the room still has to perform, that is a solvable problem and a conversation worth having early. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Climate
The Barcelona climate decides the material list
Barcelona is hot dry summers and mild wet winters, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
The swing between a dry summer and a wet winter moves timber. PET felt is dimensionally stable across that swing; slat panels want a stable substrate and a ventilated fixing.
The failure we design against here is seasonal movement in timber and winter damp in unheated stock.
On a Barcelona job with a consultant involved, our part is material that matches the submitted data. See working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Straight talk
What we watch go wrong on jobs like this
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Panels on the wall as a neighbour noise solution
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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A lobby with both doors able to open at once
A 6 mm undercut under a door leaves a hole the size of a brick. The wall around it is then decorative.
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Extract ducting that bypasses every wall you built
Enclose the machine, break the vibration path, then deal with what is left. Doing it in the other order costs more and achieves less.
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Treating it as a generic Barcelona job
Flats stacked around an interior courtyard with tiled floors and hard plaster. Sound moves between homes through the structure and across the patio.
05 / Logistics
What the route into Barcelona actually looks like
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Barcelona, then a short road run to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea into Barcelona |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
Sea freight direct into Barcelona, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Barcelona projects
What makes venue and restaurant acoustics different in Barcelona?
Churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times. Flats stacked around an interior courtyard with tiled floors and hard plaster. Sound moves between homes through the structure and across the patio.
Where should the budget go first on a Barcelona project?
Containment. Low frequency through structure to flats above and beside. Mass, decoupling and a sealed envelope. Table level comfort. Absorption at the ceiling so guests stop raising their voices at each other.
Do you have an office or installation team in Barcelona?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Barcelona. 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 Barcelona site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Barcelona, then a short road run to site, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
Panels on the wall as a neighbour noise solution. A lobby with both doors able to open at once.
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
Tell us the room, we will tell you the 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.