For projects in Ethiopia
Recording studio acoustics and soundproofing in Ethiopia
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. A growing broadcast and music sector working in rooms inside commercial buildings.
- 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 / Start here
What this is, and what it changes in a Ethiopia 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.
A growing broadcast and music sector working in rooms inside commercial buildings.
Work reaching us from Ethiopia is mostly industrial parks, offices, hotels, places of assembly, schools, hospitals.
- Landlocked, so the road leg counts Djibouti then several hundred kilometres by road. We quote the sea leg and the road leg separately so the date is honest.
- Packing has to survive the run A long road leg on mixed surfaces is hard on a pallet. We brace and wrap for that rather than for a short port transfer.
- Industrial parks at scale New manufacturing built quickly, where enclosure and partition detail can still be designed in rather than retrofitted.
- 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 Ethiopia.
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 Ethiopia, split units and generator sets, with mechanical plant close to occupied areas.
Floor, floating. Membrane under a resilient layer and a floating deck, so impact energy is broken before it reaches the slab.
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Layer 2
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 Ethiopia, church buildings and conference halls are tall hard volumes with long reverberation.
Mixed finish. Plain felt where it is out of eye line, printed or grooved where it is seen.
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Layer 3
Soundproof curtains
A layered curtain with a mass loaded vinyl core, used where an opening has to stay an opening. In Ethiopia, classrooms are concrete and hard surfaced with large class sizes and long corridors.
Track with a seal. Ceiling track plus a floor seal or drape, so the perimeter is closed when it is drawn.
For a Ethiopia 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 Ethiopia briefs
- Landlocked, so the road leg counts
Djibouti then several hundred kilometres by road. We quote the sea leg and the road leg separately so the date is honest.
- Packing has to survive the run
A long road leg on mixed surfaces is hard on a pallet. We brace and wrap for that rather than for a short port transfer.
- Industrial parks at scale
New manufacturing built quickly, where enclosure and partition detail can still be designed in rather than retrofitted.
- Large assembly spaces
Halls and civic spaces built in concrete where speech fails long before the room is called echoey.
- The housing stock
Concrete frame construction with block infill and hard floors, in new apartment blocks with shared slabs.
- The studio and content scene
A growing broadcast and music sector working in rooms inside commercial buildings.
04 / Room by room
Room by room, on a typical Ethiopia job
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Isolation
A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. Djibouti then several hundred kilometres by road. We quote the sea leg and the road leg separately so the date is honest.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 1800 x 900 mm
- 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
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Low frequency
Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam. A long road leg on mixed surfaces is hard on a pallet. We brace and wrap for that rather than for a short port transfer.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 20 mm
- Soundproofing materials, Mass, then decoupling, then cavity absorption, then sealing
- Acoustic panels, ASTM C423
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Early reflections
Controlled at the mix position, and only there. New manufacturing built quickly, where enclosure and partition detail can still be designed in rather than retrofitted.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 100 kg per cubic metre
- Soundproofing materials, ASTM E90 for the barrier, ASTM C423 for the absorber
- Acoustic panels, 9 to 24 mm, 1220 x 2440 mm standard, up to 2440 x 4270 mm, 1200 to 3600 GSM
For a Ethiopia interior where the finish leads, we will say plainly what each option costs you acoustically. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Climate
Durability in Ethiopia, before acoustics is discussed
Ethiopia 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 Ethiopia project, we supply to their specification and send the test reports rather than describing them. More on working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Read this first
The six errors that cost the most
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Buying foam to solve an isolation problem
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Treating the room before the shell is isolated
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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Killing the room completely and calling it controlled
A room can be over-treated. Past the target it stops sounding controlled and starts sounding dead, and you paid for that.
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Treating it as a generic Ethiopia job
Djibouti then several hundred kilometres by road. We quote the sea leg and the road leg separately so the date is honest.
05 / Logistics
Getting it to Ethiopia, with real dates
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Djibouti, then road inland to Addis Ababa |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Djibouti, then road |
| 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 into Djibouti, then road inland to Addis Ababa and beyond. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Ethiopia projects
What makes recording studio acoustics and soundproofing different in Ethiopia?
A growing broadcast and music sector working in rooms inside commercial buildings. Djibouti then several hundred kilometres by road. We quote the sea leg and the road leg separately so the date is honest.
Where should the budget go first on a Ethiopia 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 Ethiopia?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Ethiopia. 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 Ethiopia site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Djibouti, then road inland to Addis Ababa, 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
Drawings in, BOQ and a delivered date out
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.