For projects in Cuba
Venue and restaurant acoustics in Cuba
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. Theatres, church buildings and cultural centres are masonry volumes with very long decay.
- 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 / The material
What this is, and what it changes in a Cuba room
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.
Theatres, church buildings and cultural centres are masonry volumes with very long decay.
Work reaching us from Cuba is mostly hotels and restoration projects, theatres and halls, offices, clinics, schools.
- Paperwork is part of the lead time Import formalities take real time here. We prepare the documentation package before shipping rather than after, and we quote the full window.
- Heritage buildings under restoration Tall rooms with hard plaster and timber floors, where the structure stays and everything has to be done internally and shallow.
- Salt air and humidity PET felt does not absorb moisture, rot or feed mould, which matters on a Caribbean coast where mineral products fail quickly.
- 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 Cuba.
Nightclub and venue soundproofing SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl
02 / The build-up
How the layers stack, from the structure inwards
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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 Cuba, split units and generator sets where available, with plant close to occupied rooms.
Wall, decoupled. Independent stud, membrane between the boards, cavity absorption, two boards. The membrane is one part of a system, never the whole answer.
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Layer 2
Wooden slat acoustic panels
Timber slats on an acoustic backing. In Cuba, theatres, church buildings and cultural centres are masonry volumes with very long decay.
Slats on a cavity. Backing plus an air gap behind moves absorption lower, which matters in music rooms.
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Layer 3
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In Cuba, classrooms are hard and naturally ventilated with high ceilings and open circulation.
Zoned. Carpet in the circulation and meeting zones, hard floor elsewhere, so the treatment sits where the noise is made.
We would rather argue about the build-up at design stage than on site. See how we support architects.
03 / What drives the brief
The Cuba conditions that change the answer
- Paperwork is part of the lead time
Import formalities take real time here. We prepare the documentation package before shipping rather than after, and we quote the full window.
- Heritage buildings under restoration
Tall rooms with hard plaster and timber floors, where the structure stays and everything has to be done internally and shallow.
- Salt air and humidity
PET felt does not absorb moisture, rot or feed mould, which matters on a Caribbean coast where mineral products fail quickly.
- Theatres and assembly halls
Large historic rooms where speech intelligibility fails long before anyone calls the room echoey.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Theatres, church buildings and cultural centres are masonry volumes with very long decay.
04 / Room by room
Where the money goes on a Cuba project
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Containment
Low frequency through structure to flats above and beside. Mass, decoupling and a sealed envelope. Import formalities take real time here. We prepare the documentation package before shipping rather than after, and we quote the full window.
- 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
- 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. Tall rooms with hard plaster and timber floors, where the structure stays and everything has to be done internally and shallow.
- Soundproofing materials, 1800 x 900 x 20 mm, 100 kg per cubic metre, NRC 0.85
- 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. PET felt does not absorb moisture, rot or feed mould, which matters on a Caribbean coast where mineral products fail quickly.
- Soundproofing materials, Mass, then decoupling, then cavity absorption, then sealing
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 14, 16 and 18 mm
- 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 Cuba climate decides the material list
Cuba is hot summers, mild winters and a distinct wet season, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
PET felt handles the wet months without absorbing moisture or feeding mould. Timber and wood wool want a ventilated cavity and a stable indoor RH.
The failure we design against here is wet-season humidity behind linings.
Where a consultant is already engaged on a Cuba project, we supply to their specification and send the test reports rather than describing them. More on working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Worth knowing
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
Soundproofing fails at the gaps, not the materials. One unsealed service penetration can undo a correctly built wall.
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Extract ducting that bypasses every wall you built
Plant noise treated as a room problem is the most reliable way to spend a budget and change nothing anyone can hear.
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Treating it as a generic Cuba job
Import formalities take real time here. We prepare the documentation package before shipping rather than after, and we quote the full window.
05 / Logistics
Supply into Cuba, start to site
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Mariel, then road to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Mariel |
| 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 Mariel, then road to site. Air freight for samples where it is practical.
Questions from Cuba projects
What makes venue and restaurant acoustics different in Cuba?
Theatres, church buildings and cultural centres are masonry volumes with very long decay. Import formalities take real time here. We prepare the documentation package before shipping rather than after, and we quote the full window.
Where should the budget go first on a Cuba 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 Cuba?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Cuba. 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 Cuba site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Mariel, then road 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?
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.