For projects in Calgary
Cinema and multiplex soundproofing in Calgary
Screens stacked beside and above each other, each running full range at high level. Bleed between auditoria is the failure everyone hears, and it is decided by the shell, not the finishes. Community centres, school gymnasiums and church halls carry speech, music and sport in the same hard volume.
- Screen to screen
- Independent construction between auditoria, with services broken at the line.
- In room response
- Heavy absorption on side and rear walls so the mix is heard as intended.
- Plant and projection
- Equipment noise into the auditorium, treated at source.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / What it is
The product, described honestly, for a Calgary brief
Screens stacked beside and above each other, each running full range at high level. Bleed between auditoria is the failure everyone hears, and it is decided by the shell, not the finishes.
Community centres, school gymnasiums and church halls carry speech, music and sport in the same hard volume.
Work reaching us from Calgary is mostly corporate offices and operations centres, condo towers, schools, clinics, home theatres.
- A long way inland Vancouver then rail across the mountains. It is a real leg with real time attached, and we build it into the date rather than quoting a port arrival.
- Operations centres run all day Rooms where people monitor, take calls and talk over each other for twelve hours need intelligibility and privacy together, not just less echo.
- Sealed against deep cold Buildings close up for months and mechanical systems work hard. Sound stops leaking out and starts building up, so absorption has to be balanced rather than maximised.
- Screen to screen Independent construction between auditoria, with services broken at the line.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for cinema soundproofing are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Calgary.
02 / The build-up
The build-up, layer by layer
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Layer 1
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 Calgary, forced air heating runs most of the year, so duct-borne noise and return air paths carry sound between rooms as reliably as the walls do.
Ceiling first. In most rooms the ceiling is the largest untreated surface and the cheapest square metre of result.
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Layer 2
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In Calgary, community centres, school gymnasiums and church halls carry speech, music and sport in the same hard volume.
Over a resilient underlay. Where impact noise to the floor below is the actual complaint, the underlay does that work, not the carpet.
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Layer 3
PET felt acoustic panels
A rigid non-woven panel pressed from 100% polyester fibre, a large part of it recycled. In Calgary, school buildings run hard floors and lay-in tile with long heating seasons and sealed envelopes, so rooms stay live and mechanical noise is always present.
On a 25 to 50 mm air gap. The same panel on battens. The air gap moves absorption down in frequency at no extra material cost, and is the cheapest improvement available.
For a Calgary practice, the useful thing is a detail you can put in a drawing set, not a brochure. See how we support architects.
03 / In this market
What the buildings in Calgary do to the specification
- A long way inland
Vancouver then rail across the mountains. It is a real leg with real time attached, and we build it into the date rather than quoting a port arrival.
- Operations centres run all day
Rooms where people monitor, take calls and talk over each other for twelve hours need intelligibility and privacy together, not just less echo.
- Sealed against deep cold
Buildings close up for months and mechanical systems work hard. Sound stops leaking out and starts building up, so absorption has to be balanced rather than maximised.
- Light frame residential
Condo and house construction is gypsum on studs, which passes low frequency far more easily than concrete. Added mass and decoupling do the work.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Community centres, school gymnasiums and church halls carry speech, music and sport in the same hard volume.
04 / Room by room
Where the money goes on a Calgary project
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Screen to screen
Independent construction between auditoria, with services broken at the line. Vancouver then rail across the mountains. It is a real leg with real time attached, and we build it into the date rather than quoting a port arrival.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, 2100 kg per cubic metre
- Soundproofing materials, 1800 x 900 x 20 mm, 100 kg per cubic metre, NRC 0.85
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, High density polyester
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In room response
Heavy absorption on side and rear walls so the mix is heard as intended. Rooms where people monitor, take calls and talk over each other for twelve hours need intelligibility and privacy together, not just less echo.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 30, 5.25 kg per sq m
- Soundproofing materials, Mass, then decoupling, then cavity absorption, then sealing
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, Felt
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Plant and projection
Equipment noise into the auditorium, treated at source. Buildings close up for months and mechanical systems work hard. Sound stops leaking out and starts building up, so absorption has to be balanced rather than maximised.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 34, 8.4 kg per sq m
- Soundproofing materials, ASTM E90 for the barrier, ASTM C423 for the absorber
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, 64 sq ft per pack
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 / Durability
The Calgary climate decides the material list
Calgary 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.
Where a consultant is already engaged on a Calgary project, we supply to their specification and send the test reports rather than describing them. More on working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Before you buy
The six errors that cost the most
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A shared service void running across the wall line
Square metre for square metre the ceiling is the cheapest result in the room. Skipping it and buying wall panels instead is the most common way to overspend.
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Treating the auditorium to fix bleed from the next screen
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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Doors and lobbies specified late and undersized
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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Treating it as a generic Calgary job
Vancouver then rail across the mountains. It is a real leg with real time attached, and we build it into the date rather than quoting a port arrival.
05 / Supply
How material reaches a Calgary site
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Vancouver, then rail and road to Calgary |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Vancouver, then rail |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Add the sea leg to Vancouver and the rail leg inland, and plan the full window. We quote both parts separately.
Sea freight into Vancouver, then rail and road to Calgary. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Calgary projects
What makes cinema and multiplex soundproofing different in Calgary?
Community centres, school gymnasiums and church halls carry speech, music and sport in the same hard volume. Vancouver then rail across the mountains. It is a real leg with real time attached, and we build it into the date rather than quoting a port arrival.
Where should the budget go first on a Calgary project?
Screen to screen. Independent construction between auditoria, with services broken at the line. In room response. Heavy absorption on side and rear walls so the mix is heard as intended.
Do you have an office or installation team in Calgary?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Calgary. 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 Calgary site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Vancouver, then rail and road to Calgary, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Add the sea leg to Vancouver and the rail leg inland, and plan the full window. We quote both parts separately.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
A shared service void running across the wall line. Treating the auditorium to fix bleed from the next screen.
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
Send what you have. We will give you a layer by layer build-up, a bill of quantities and a date material lands, and we will flag anything in the brief that will not achieve what you want.