For projects in London
Cinema and multiplex soundproofing in London
Screens stacked beside and above each other, each running full range at high level. Bleed between auditoria is the failure everyone hears, and it is decided by the shell, not the finishes. Church buildings, village and parish halls, and school halls carry speech, music and sport in one long-decay volume.
- Screen to screen
- Independent construction between auditoria, with services broken at the line.
- In room response
- Heavy absorption on side and rear walls so the mix is heard as intended.
- Plant and projection
- Equipment noise into the auditorium, treated at source.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / The product
What this material is and where it earns its place in London
Screens stacked beside and above each other, each running full range at high level. Bleed between auditoria is the failure everyone hears, and it is decided by the shell, not the finishes.
Church buildings, village and parish halls, and school halls carry speech, music and sport in one long-decay volume.
Work reaching us from London is mostly flat conversions, offices, studios, bars and restaurants, schools, clinics.
- Rail and Underground rumble Structure borne, so surface panels do nothing. It needs mass and decoupling in the floor, wall or ceiling first.
- Single brick party walls A joist floor between two flats was never built for two households. Membrane plus an independent lining, then absorption.
- Night economy neighbours Soho, Shoreditch, Camden and Clapham venues sit under flats. Bass containment and table-level comfort are two different jobs.
- Screen to screen Independent construction between auditoria, with services broken at the line.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for cinema soundproofing are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in London.
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 London, older stock has radiators and open windows, newer stock has mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, so duct-borne noise is a newer problem than the buildings suggest.
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 London, church buildings, village and parish halls, and school halls carry speech, music and sport in one long-decay volume.
Mixed finish. Plain felt where it is out of eye line, printed or grooved where it is seen.
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Layer 3
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In London, school buildings mix Victorian halls with post war system build and new academies, so hard floors, high ceilings and long corridors are the constant.
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
The London conditions that change the answer
- Rail and Underground rumble
Structure borne, so surface panels do nothing. It needs mass and decoupling in the floor, wall or ceiling first.
- Single brick party walls
A joist floor between two flats was never built for two households. Membrane plus an independent lining, then absorption.
- Night economy neighbours
Soho, Shoreditch, Camden and Clapham venues sit under flats. Bass containment and table-level comfort are two different jobs.
- Damp winters
PET felt does not absorb moisture, shed fibre or feed mould, which matters in older stock with cold wall build-ups.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Church buildings, village and parish halls, and school halls carry speech, music and sport in one long-decay volume.
04 / Room by room
What each space in a London project needs
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Screen to screen
Independent construction between auditoria, with services broken at the line. Structure borne, so surface panels do nothing. It needs mass and decoupling in the floor, wall or ceiling first.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, 2100 kg per cubic metre
- Soundproofing materials, 1800 x 900 x 20 mm, 100 kg per cubic metre, NRC 0.85
- PET felt acoustic panels, 4 to 24 mm
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In room response
Heavy absorption on side and rear walls so the mix is heard as intended. A joist floor between two flats was never built for two households. Membrane plus an independent lining, then absorption.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 30, 5.25 kg per sq m
- Soundproofing materials, Mass, then decoupling, then cavity absorption, then sealing
- PET felt acoustic panels, 1220 x 2440 mm standard, 4 x 8 ft
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Plant and projection
Equipment noise into the auditorium, treated at source. Soho, Shoreditch, Camden and Clapham venues sit under flats. Bass containment and table-level comfort are two different jobs.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 34, 8.4 kg per sq m
- Soundproofing materials, ASTM E90 for the barrier, ASTM C423 for the absorber
- PET felt acoustic panels, 2440 x 4270 mm, 2.44 x 4.27 m, 8 x 14 ft
Designers get colour, pattern and CNC options with the absorption figure attached to each. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Durability
What the London climate rules in and rules out
London 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.
Consultants get the raw data, not a sales sheet. That is the whole of our side of the job, and it is set out under working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Before you buy
Six mistakes that turn into a second fit-out
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A shared service void running across the wall line
The ceiling is almost always the largest untreated surface, so leaving it out means paying for panels that cannot reach the target.
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Treating the auditorium to fix bleed from the next screen
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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Doors and lobbies specified late and undersized
A gap undoes the partition it sits in. Sealing is the cheapest line on the quote and the first one to get cut.
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Treating it as a generic London job
Structure borne, so surface panels do nothing. It needs mass and decoupling in the floor, wall or ceiling first.
05 / Supply
Getting it to London, with real dates
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Felixstowe, London Gateway or Southampton |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea and air |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
Sea freight to Felixstowe, London Gateway or Southampton. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities. Clearance through your agent or ours.
Questions from London projects
What makes cinema and multiplex soundproofing different in London?
Church buildings, village and parish halls, and school halls carry speech, music and sport in one long-decay volume. Structure borne, so surface panels do nothing. It needs mass and decoupling in the floor, wall or ceiling first.
Where should the budget go first on a London project?
Screen to screen. Independent construction between auditoria, with services broken at the line. In room response. Heavy absorption on side and rear walls so the mix is heard as intended.
Do you have an office or installation team in London?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into London. 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 London site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Felixstowe, London Gateway or Southampton, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
A shared service void running across the wall line. Treating the auditorium to fix bleed from the next screen.
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.