For projects in Kolkata
Recording studio acoustics and soundproofing in Kolkata
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. Studios go into basements, terrace rooms and back rooms with neighbours on every side and a generator somewhere in the lane. Isolating from the building has to come before treating the room.
- 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 product
What this material is and where it earns its place in Kolkata
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.
Studios go into basements, terrace rooms and back rooms with neighbours on every side and a generator somewhere in the lane. Isolating from the building has to come before treating the room.
Work reaching us from Kolkata is mostly old buildings and conversions, offices, clubs and restaurants, schools, clinics, auditoriums.
- Timber floors between floors Footfall travels straight down through the joists. A resilient layer under the new finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
- Tall rooms, hard plaster High ceilings and lime plaster hold sound for a long time. A room can look magnificent and still defeat anyone trying to speak in it.
- The structure is staying Conversions here keep the original fabric, so the work has to be internal, shallow and ideally reversible.
- 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 Kolkata.
02 / The build-up
What goes where, from the structure in
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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 Kolkata, split units, VRF outdoor banks and diesel generator sets sit close to occupied areas, often on the same terrace as a bedroom. Generator enclosure and condenser screening are the recurring jobs.
Behind a fabric frame. Where the room has to look finished, absorber inside a frame rather than foam on show.
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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 Kolkata, auditoria, community halls and pandal spaces carry amplified speech and music at high level.
Ceiling first. In most rooms the ceiling is the largest untreated surface and the cheapest square metre of result.
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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 Kolkata, long established schools and colleges in masonry with high ceilings and very large class sizes.
Track with a seal. Ceiling track plus a floor seal or drape, so the perimeter is closed when it is drawn.
Architects working in Kolkata 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 / Local conditions
What decides the build-up in Kolkata
- Timber floors between floors
Footfall travels straight down through the joists. A resilient layer under the new finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
- Tall rooms, hard plaster
High ceilings and lime plaster hold sound for a long time. A room can look magnificent and still defeat anyone trying to speak in it.
- The structure is staying
Conversions here keep the original fabric, so the work has to be internal, shallow and ideally reversible.
- Humid most of the year
PET felt does not hold moisture or feed mould, which matters where mineral products sag within a couple of seasons.
- The housing stock
Older masonry buildings and newer RC frame apartments with hard floors, in very dense neighbourhoods with heavy monsoon damp.
- The studio and content scene
Studios go into basements, terrace rooms and back rooms with neighbours on every side and a generator somewhere in the lane. Isolating from the building has to come before treating the room.
04 / Room by room
Room by room, on a typical Kolkata job
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Isolation
A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. Footfall travels straight down through the joists. A resilient layer under the new finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 1800 x 900 mm
- Acoustic panels, 1800 x 900 mm, image printed into the felt rather than onto a facing
- Soundproof curtains, 5.5 kg per sq m
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Low frequency
Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam. High ceilings and lime plaster hold sound for a long time. A room can look magnificent and still defeat anyone trying to speak in it.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 20 mm
- Acoustic panels, Cut pattern in PET felt, adds visual rhythm without changing the absorber
- Soundproof curtains, Up to 30 dB
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Early reflections
Controlled at the mix position, and only there. Conversions here keep the original fabric, so the work has to be internal, shallow and ideally reversible.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 100 kg per cubic metre
- Acoustic panels, ASTM C423
- Soundproof curtains, 30
For a Kolkata interior where the finish leads, we will say plainly what each option costs you acoustically. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Conditions
Durability in Kolkata, before acoustics is discussed
Kolkata 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.
On a Kolkata job with a consultant involved, our part is material that matches the submitted data. See working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Before you buy
Six mistakes that turn into a second fit-out
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Buying foam to solve an isolation problem
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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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
We would rather calculate the area and sell you less of it than line every surface and call it thorough.
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Treating it as a generic Kolkata job
Footfall travels straight down through the joists. A resilient layer under the new finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
05 / Supply
Getting it to Kolkata, with real dates
| Made at | Our own plant, Palwal, Haryana |
|---|---|
| Reaches site in | three days |
| Dispatch | 2 to 4 working days |
| To site | three days |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 2 to 4 working days from our plant at Palwal. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
By road from Palwal, roughly fourteen hundred kilometres, normally three days on a dedicated truck.
Questions from Kolkata projects
What makes recording studio acoustics and soundproofing different in Kolkata?
Studios go into basements, terrace rooms and back rooms with neighbours on every side and a generator somewhere in the lane. Isolating from the building has to come before treating the room. High ceilings and lime plaster hold sound for a long time. A room can look magnificent and still defeat anyone trying to speak in it.
Where should the budget go first on a Kolkata 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 Kolkata?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Kolkata. 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 Kolkata site?
made at: Our own plant, Palwal, Haryana, reaches site in: three days, dispatch: 2 to 4 working days. Standard items dispatch in 2 to 4 working days from our plant at Palwal. 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
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.