For projects in Colombia
School and classroom acoustics in Colombia
Hard floors, bare walls and long corridors that amplify everything. Children with developing language, and anyone with a hearing difficulty, lose more from a live classroom than adults do, which is why intelligibility is the target rather than quiet. Classrooms are concrete and tile with high ceilings, and covered play areas amplify break time noise.
- Classroom RT
- A number, set against room volume, achieved mostly at the ceiling.
- Corridor spill
- Long hard circulation feeds every room off it. Treating the corridor helps every classroom at once.
- Halls and gyms
- Dual use rooms carrying speech, music and sport, where durability decides the product.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / The material
What you are buying, and what it fixes in Colombia
Hard floors, bare walls and long corridors that amplify everything. Children with developing language, and anyone with a hearing difficulty, lose more from a live classroom than adults do, which is why intelligibility is the target rather than quiet.
Classrooms are concrete and tile with high ceilings, and covered play areas amplify break time noise.
Work reaching us from Colombia is mostly offices, apartments, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, schools, studios.
- Concrete and brick construction Walls carry mass. The recurring problem is hard, live interiors and services noise rather than speech through a wall.
- The inland leg is significant The commercial centres are well inland and high up. We quote the port leg and the road leg separately so the programme runs on real dates.
- Growing hospitality sector Hotel and restaurant fit-out is a steady share of enquiries, and those rooms are judged when they are completely full.
- Classroom RT A number, set against room volume, achieved mostly at the ceiling.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for school acoustics are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Colombia.
02 / The build-up
The build-up, layer by layer
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Layer 1
PET felt acoustic panels
A rigid non-woven panel pressed from 100% polyester fibre, a large part of it recycled. In Colombia, split units with condensers on facades and in light wells, running through a mild year round climate.
Over a porous backing. Panel over mineral or PET backing where the room needs genuine low mid control.
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Layer 2
Wood wool acoustic panels
Wood fibre bound into a rigid board with an open texture. In Colombia, church buildings, event halls and auditoria are hard volumes carrying amplified music at high level.
With a porous backing. Board over mineral backing where the room needs more than the board alone gives.
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Layer 3
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 Colombia, classrooms are concrete and tile with high ceilings, and covered play areas amplify break time noise.
Wall array. Panels placed at first reflection points rather than spread evenly. Fewer panels, better result.
Architects working in Colombia usually need the build-up before the product. We will draw the section and mark what does the work. See how we support architects.
03 / In this market
What we see driving Colombia briefs
- Concrete and brick construction
Walls carry mass. The recurring problem is hard, live interiors and services noise rather than speech through a wall.
- The inland leg is significant
The commercial centres are well inland and high up. We quote the port leg and the road leg separately so the programme runs on real dates.
- Growing hospitality sector
Hotel and restaurant fit-out is a steady share of enquiries, and those rooms are judged when they are completely full.
- Two coasts to choose from
Cartagena on the Caribbean or Buenaventura on the Pacific, routed to whichever shortens the run to your site.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Church buildings, event halls and auditoria are hard volumes carrying amplified music at high level.
- School and campus buildings
Classrooms are concrete and tile with high ceilings, and covered play areas amplify break time noise.
04 / Room by room
Space by space, for Colombia briefs
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Classroom RT
A number, set against room volume, achieved mostly at the ceiling. Walls carry mass. The recurring problem is hard, live interiors and services noise rather than speech through a wall.
- PET felt acoustic panels, 100% PET non-woven, no added binder
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 20 mm
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, Made to the drawing, standard and custom
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Corridor spill
Long hard circulation feeds every room off it. Treating the corridor helps every classroom at once. The commercial centres are well inland and high up. We quote the port leg and the road leg separately so the programme runs on real dates.
- PET felt acoustic panels, 9, 12, 18 and 24 mm standard, tolerance plus or minus 5 percent
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 400 kg per cubic metre
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, Both faces work, which is why suspended area outperforms the same area laid flat
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Halls and gyms
Dual use rooms carrying speech, music and sport, where durability decides the product. Hotel and restaurant fit-out is a steady share of enquiries, and those rooms are judged when they are completely full.
- PET felt acoustic panels, 4 to 24 mm
- Wood wool acoustic panels, 0.30
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, ASTM C423
For a Colombia interior where the finish leads, we will say plainly what each option costs you acoustically. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Durability
What the Colombia climate rules in and rules out
Colombia is warm and humid through most of the year, with a long wet season, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
Humidity is the deciding factor. PET felt does not absorb moisture, shed fibre or feed mould, which is why it outlasts fabric-wrapped mineral wool in this climate. Wood wool and timber need a ventilated cavity behind them.
The failure we design against here is mould, sagging fabric finishes and swelling in timber.
Where a consultant is already engaged on a Colombia 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
What we watch go wrong on jobs like this
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Panels at child height where they get damaged
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Treating one classroom and leaving the corridor
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Choosing a product that cannot take a football
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 Colombia job
Walls carry mass. The recurring problem is hard, live interiors and services noise rather than speech through a wall.
05 / Logistics
How material reaches a Colombia site
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Cartagena or Buenaventura, then road inland |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Cartagena |
| 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 into Cartagena or Buenaventura, then road inland. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Colombia projects
What makes school and classroom acoustics different in Colombia?
Classrooms are concrete and tile with high ceilings, and covered play areas amplify break time noise. The commercial centres are well inland and high up. We quote the port leg and the road leg separately so the programme runs on real dates.
Where should the budget go first on a Colombia project?
Classroom RT. A number, set against room volume, achieved mostly at the ceiling. Corridor spill. Long hard circulation feeds every room off it. Treating the corridor helps every classroom at once.
Do you have an office or installation team in Colombia?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Colombia. 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 Colombia site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Cartagena or Buenaventura, then road inland, 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?
Panels at child height where they get damaged. Treating one classroom and leaving the corridor.
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
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.