For projects in Dublin
Recording studio acoustics and soundproofing in Dublin
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 converted rooms and garages in terraced stock, where the party wall sets the limit.
- 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 / The material
What this is, and what it changes in a Dublin room
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 converted rooms and garages in terraced stock, where the party wall sets the limit.
Work reaching us from Dublin is mostly build-to-rent apartments, Georgian conversions, docklands offices, pubs and venues, clinics.
- Georgian conversions High ceilings, lath and plaster, timber floors and protected fabric. Everything has to be done internally and shallow, and often reversibly.
- The port is in the city Containers land at Dublin Port and are on site the same day. That is the practical reason a factory in India can compete here on landed cost and on timing.
- Build-to-rent party walls Thousands of units built to the same separating detail. When that detail underperforms, it underperforms in every flat, so it is worth getting right on the drawing.
- 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 Dublin.
02 / The build-up
What goes where, from the structure in
-
Layer 1
Acoustic foam and BassBloc
Open cell foam shapes for high frequency control, and BassBloc, a high density absorber built for the low mid range where ordinary foam does nothing. In Dublin, heat pumps and mechanical ventilation in newer stock, with outdoor units close to boundaries.
First reflection points. Mirror trick placement on side walls and ceiling, which is a handful of panels rather than a lined room.
-
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 Dublin, church buildings, parish halls and school halls carry speech and music in the same hard volume.
Resilient bar. Where a full independent leaf will not fit. Effective, and very easy to short circuit with one wrong screw.
-
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 Dublin, school buildings run hard floors and lay-in ceilings with long corridors, and sports halls are the worst rooms in the building.
Wall array. Panels placed at first reflection points rather than spread evenly. Fewer panels, better result.
For a Dublin 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 we see driving Dublin briefs
- Georgian conversions
High ceilings, lath and plaster, timber floors and protected fabric. Everything has to be done internally and shallow, and often reversibly.
- The port is in the city
Containers land at Dublin Port and are on site the same day. That is the practical reason a factory in India can compete here on landed cost and on timing.
- Build-to-rent party walls
Thousands of units built to the same separating detail. When that detail underperforms, it underperforms in every flat, so it is worth getting right on the drawing.
- Late trading under homes
Pubs and venues now sit beneath apartments that were not there ten years ago. The low end and the footfall are what generate the complaints.
- The housing stock
Terraced and semi-detached housing with block party walls and timber upper floors. Apartment stock is concrete with hard finishes throughout.
- The studio and content scene
Project studios go into converted rooms and garages in terraced stock, where the party wall sets the limit.
04 / Room by room
Room by room, on a typical Dublin job
-
Isolation
A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. High ceilings, lath and plaster, timber floors and protected fabric. Everything has to be done internally and shallow, and often reversibly.
- 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
- Acoustic panels, 1800 x 900 mm, image printed into the felt rather than onto a facing
- Soundproof curtains, 5.5 kg per sq m
-
Low frequency
Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam. Containers land at Dublin Port and are on site the same day. That is the practical reason a factory in India can compete here on landed cost and on timing.
- Soundproofing materials, 1800 x 900 x 20 mm, 100 kg per cubic metre, NRC 0.85
- Acoustic panels, Cut pattern in PET felt, adds visual rhythm without changing the absorber
- Soundproof curtains, Up to 30 dB
-
Early reflections
Controlled at the mix position, and only there. Thousands of units built to the same separating detail. When that detail underperforms, it underperforms in every flat, so it is worth getting right on the drawing.
- Soundproofing materials, Mass, then decoupling, then cavity absorption, then sealing
- Acoustic panels, ASTM C423
- Soundproof curtains, 30
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
What the Dublin climate rules in and rules out
Dublin 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.
If a consultant has set the target, we will quote against their figures rather than ours, and stay out of the scope they own. More on working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Worth knowing
Six mistakes that turn into a second fit-out
-
Buying foam to solve an isolation problem
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
-
Treating the room before the shell is isolated
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
-
Killing the room completely and calling it controlled
We would rather calculate the area and sell you less of it than line every surface and call it thorough.
-
Treating it as a generic Dublin job
High ceilings, lath and plaster, timber floors and protected fabric. Everything has to be done internally and shallow, and often reversibly.
05 / Supply
Getting it to Dublin, with real dates
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Dublin Port, minutes from most city sites |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea into Dublin Port |
| 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 Dublin Port, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Dublin projects
What makes recording studio acoustics and soundproofing different in Dublin?
Project studios go into converted rooms and garages in terraced stock, where the party wall sets the limit. Containers land at Dublin Port and are on site the same day. That is the practical reason a factory in India can compete here on landed cost and on timing.
Where should the budget go first on a Dublin 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 Dublin?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Dublin. 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 Dublin site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Dublin Port, minutes from most city sites, 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?
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
One drawing gets you a proper answer. Build-up, quantities, a delivered date, and an honest note on anything we think is the wrong approach.