For projects in London
Venue and restaurant acoustics in London
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, village and parish halls, and school halls carry speech, music and sport in one long-decay volume.
- 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 / The product
What this is, and what it changes in a London room
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, 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.
- 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 London.
Nightclub and venue soundproofing SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl
02 / The build-up
The stack, in the order it is installed
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Layer 1
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, 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.
Floating floor. Resilient layer and deck, to break impact energy before it reaches the structure.
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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.
For a London 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 the buildings in London do to the specification
- 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
Space by space, for London briefs
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Containment
Low frequency through structure to flats above and beside. Mass, decoupling and a sealed envelope. Structure borne, so surface panels do nothing. It needs mass and decoupling in the floor, wall or ceiling first.
- Acoustic panels, 9 to 24 mm, 1220 x 2440 mm standard, up to 2440 x 4270 mm, 1200 to 3600 GSM
- 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. A joist floor between two flats was never built for two households. Membrane plus an independent lining, then absorption.
- Acoustic panels, 1800 x 900 mm, image printed into the felt rather than onto a facing
- 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. Soho, Shoreditch, Camden and Clapham venues sit under flats. Bass containment and table-level comfort are two different jobs.
- Acoustic panels, Cut pattern in PET felt, adds visual rhythm without changing the absorber
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 14, 16 and 18 mm
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, 64 sq ft per pack
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
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.
Where a consultant is already engaged on a London project, we supply to their specification and send the test reports rather than describing them. More on working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Before you buy
Six mistakes that turn into a second fit-out
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Panels on the wall as a neighbour noise solution
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
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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
Plant noise treated as a room problem is the most reliable way to spend a budget and change nothing anyone can hear.
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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 / Getting it there
How material reaches a London site
| 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 venue and restaurant acoustics 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?
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 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?
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
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.