For projects in Lisbon
Venue and restaurant acoustics in Lisbon
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. Church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone 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 / Start here
What you are buying, and what it fixes in Lisbon
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.
Church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay.
Work reaching us from Lisbon is mostly hotel and short let conversions, apartments, restaurants, offices, clinics, studios.
- Conversions put beds either side of old walls A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
- Timber floors, every floor Footfall from above is the single most common complaint we hear from this city. It is a floor problem, and treating the ceiling below rarely fixes it.
- Hills and narrow streets Access decides the delivery. Tell us the street and the stairwell and we break pallets down to what will actually get to the room.
- 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 Lisbon.
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 Lisbon, split units with condensers in courtyards and light wells, plus seasonal heating in cold damp winters.
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
Wooden slat acoustic panels
Timber slats on an acoustic backing. In Lisbon, church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay.
Slats on felt backing. The standard. Absorption comes from the backing behind the gaps, so the slat gap ratio is an acoustic decision, not only a visual one.
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Layer 3
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In Lisbon, school buildings are hard surfaced with high ceilings, and canteens are the loudest rooms.
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 / Local conditions
What decides the build-up in Lisbon
- Conversions put beds either side of old walls
A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
- Timber floors, every floor
Footfall from above is the single most common complaint we hear from this city. It is a floor problem, and treating the ceiling below rarely fixes it.
- Hills and narrow streets
Access decides the delivery. Tell us the street and the stairwell and we break pallets down to what will actually get to the room.
- Late districts under homes
Venues in the old districts operate directly beneath apartments. Low frequency containment is what keeps the operation trading.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay.
04 / Room by room
Room by room, on a typical Lisbon job
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Containment
Low frequency through structure to flats above and beside. Mass, decoupling and a sealed envelope. A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
- 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. Footfall from above is the single most common complaint we hear from this city. It is a floor problem, and treating the ceiling below rarely fixes it.
- 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. Access decides the delivery. Tell us the street and the stairwell and we break pallets down to what will actually get to the room.
- 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
If the visual is fixed and the room still has to perform, that is a solvable problem and a conversation worth having early. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Climate and durability
Durability in Lisbon, before acoustics is discussed
Lisbon is hot dry summers and mild wet winters, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
The swing between a dry summer and a wet winter moves timber. PET felt is dimensionally stable across that swing; slat panels want a stable substrate and a ventilated fixing.
The failure we design against here is seasonal movement in timber and winter damp in unheated 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
Where this kind of project usually fails
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Panels on the wall as a neighbour noise solution
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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A lobby with both doors able to open at once
A 6 mm undercut under a door leaves a hole the size of a brick. The wall around it is then decorative.
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Extract ducting that bypasses every wall you built
Noise with a source is fixed at the source. Treating the receiving room is the expensive way to get a small result.
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Treating it as a generic Lisbon job
A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
05 / Route to site
Getting it to Lisbon, with real dates
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Lisbon or Sines, then a short road run to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Lisbon or Sines |
| 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 Lisbon or Sines, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Lisbon projects
What makes venue and restaurant acoustics different in Lisbon?
Church buildings, civic auditoria and function rooms are stone volumes with very long decay. A house divided into guest rooms turns internal partitions into separating walls overnight. Doors and corridors generate more complaints than the walls themselves.
Where should the budget go first on a Lisbon 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 Lisbon?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Lisbon. 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 Lisbon site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Lisbon or Sines, then a short road run to site, 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?
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
Send a plan and a section, get a real 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.