For projects in London
Recording studio acoustics and soundproofing in London
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 deep music and broadcast culture, with rooms built into terraces, basements and converted industrial buildings 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 / Start here
What you are buying, and what it fixes in London
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 deep music and broadcast culture, with rooms built into terraces, basements and converted industrial buildings where the party wall sets the limit.
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.
- 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 London.
02 / The build-up
What goes where, from the structure in
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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.
Duct and plant wrap. Membrane wrapped over the duct with a decoupling layer beneath, sealed at every lap.
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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 London, church buildings, village and parish halls, and school halls carry speech, music and sport in one long-decay volume.
Resilient bar. Where a full independent leaf will not fit. Effective, and very easy to short circuit with one wrong screw.
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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 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.
Mixed finish. Plain felt where it is out of eye line, printed or grooved where it is seen.
We would rather argue about the build-up at design stage than on site. See how we support architects.
03 / On the ground
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.
- The housing stock
Victorian and Edwardian terraces split into flats share a single brick party wall and a timber joist floor that was never built for two households. Newer stock is concrete with harder finishes.
- The studio and content scene
A deep music and broadcast culture, with rooms built into terraces, basements and converted industrial buildings where the party wall sets the limit.
04 / Room by room
What each space in a London project needs
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Isolation
A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. Structure borne, so surface panels do nothing. It needs mass and decoupling in the floor, wall or ceiling first.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 1800 x 900 mm
- Soundproofing materials, 1800 x 900 x 20 mm, 100 kg per cubic metre, NRC 0.85
- Soundproof curtains, 5.5 kg per sq m
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Low frequency
Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam. A joist floor between two flats was never built for two households. Membrane plus an independent lining, then absorption.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 20 mm
- Soundproofing materials, Mass, then decoupling, then cavity absorption, then sealing
- Soundproof curtains, Up to 30 dB
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Early reflections
Controlled at the mix position, and only there. Soho, Shoreditch, Camden and Clapham venues sit under flats. Bass containment and table-level comfort are two different jobs.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 100 kg per cubic metre
- Soundproofing materials, ASTM E90 for the barrier, ASTM C423 for the absorber
- 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 / Climate and durability
The London climate decides the material list
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 / Worth knowing
Where this kind of project usually fails
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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
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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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 London job
Structure borne, so surface panels do nothing. It needs mass and decoupling in the floor, wall or ceiling first.
05 / Logistics
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 recording studio acoustics and soundproofing different in London?
A deep music and broadcast culture, with rooms built into terraces, basements and converted industrial buildings where the party wall sets the limit. 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?
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 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?
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
Tell us the room, we will tell you the 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.