For projects in Mecca
Venue and restaurant acoustics in Mecca
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. Mosques, conference halls and hotel ballrooms are tall hard volumes where intelligibility over a long reverberation tail is the whole brief.
- 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 material
What this material is and where it earns its place in Mecca
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.
Mosques, conference halls and hotel ballrooms are tall hard volumes where intelligibility over a long reverberation tail is the whole brief.
Work reaching us from Mecca is mostly hotel guest rooms and corridors, lobbies, assembly and function halls, offices, clinics.
- Rooms occupied around the clock In peak season somebody is always asleep and somebody is always in the corridor. Guest room isolation carries the whole guest experience, and door and corridor details cause more complaints than walls do.
- Refurbishment windows do not move Work happens between seasons, on dates fixed long in advance. We give real dispatch and transit dates so the programme is not waiting on a container that will not land in time.
- Repeat detail at scale A thousand rooms means the same build-up a thousand times. Consistent thickness and density across the whole order matters more than the headline figure on any one sheet.
- 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 Mecca.
Nightclub and venue soundproofing SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl
02 / The build-up
How the layers stack, from the structure inwards
-
Layer 1
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 Mecca, cooling runs year round at high load, so chillers, AHUs and large duct runs are constant sources. Plant room lining and duct attenuation carry most of the result.
Mixed finish. Plain felt where it is out of eye line, printed or grooved where it is seen.
-
Layer 2
Wooden slat acoustic panels
Timber slats on an acoustic backing. In Mecca, mosques, conference halls and hotel ballrooms are tall hard volumes where intelligibility over a long reverberation tail is the whole brief.
Slats on a cavity. Backing plus an air gap behind moves absorption lower, which matters in music rooms.
-
Layer 3
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In Mecca, new school and university buildings are large, hard and highly glazed. Lecture theatres and sports halls are the spaces that fail first, and ceiling absorption is the practical fix.
Loose lay on tackifier. Tiles lifted individually for access under a raised floor, which is why tile beats broadloom in an office.
If you are specifying for a Mecca project, we can give you a section, a BOQ and the honest limits of each layer. See how we support architects.
03 / In this market
What we see driving Mecca briefs
- Rooms occupied around the clock
In peak season somebody is always asleep and somebody is always in the corridor. Guest room isolation carries the whole guest experience, and door and corridor details cause more complaints than walls do.
- Refurbishment windows do not move
Work happens between seasons, on dates fixed long in advance. We give real dispatch and transit dates so the programme is not waiting on a container that will not land in time.
- Repeat detail at scale
A thousand rooms means the same build-up a thousand times. Consistent thickness and density across the whole order matters more than the headline figure on any one sheet.
- Halls built for crowds
Large assembly and function spaces in hard concrete carry long reverberation. Speech stops being intelligible long before the room sounds obviously wrong.
- Assembly and performance rooms
Mosques, conference halls and hotel ballrooms are tall hard volumes where intelligibility over a long reverberation tail is the whole brief.
04 / Room by room
What each space in a Mecca project needs
-
Containment
Low frequency through structure to flats above and beside. Mass, decoupling and a sealed envelope. In peak season somebody is always asleep and somebody is always in the corridor. Guest room isolation carries the whole guest experience, and door and corridor details cause more complaints than walls do.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, 2100 kg per cubic metre
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 13-3, 14-2, 28-4 and 59-5
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, High density polyester
-
Table level comfort
Absorption at the ceiling so guests stop raising their voices at each other. Work happens between seasons, on dates fixed long in advance. We give real dispatch and transit dates so the programme is not waiting on a container that will not land in time.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 30, 5.25 kg per sq m
- Wooden slat acoustic panels, 2440 x 192 mm and 2440 x 128 mm
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, Felt
-
Entrance and service
Doors, lobbies and extract paths, which is where most of the leakage actually is. A thousand rooms means the same build-up a thousand times. Consistent thickness and density across the whole order matters more than the headline figure on any one sheet.
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 34, 8.4 kg per sq m
- 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 / Conditions
What the Mecca climate rules in and rules out
Mecca is hot and dry for most of the year, with dust and high daytime surface temperatures, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
Dust is the enemy of open-cell products. PET felt does not shed, does not hold dust in the way fabric-wrapped glass wool does, and wipes down. Timber needs a stable indoor RH or it moves.
The failure we design against here is dust ingress and thermal movement in long runs.
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 / Straight talk
Six mistakes that turn into a second fit-out
-
Panels on the wall as a neighbour noise solution
It sounds like a small detail until the room is finished and the complaint arrives.
-
A lobby with both doors able to open at once
A gap undoes the partition it sits in. Sealing is the cheapest line on the quote and the first one to get cut.
-
Extract ducting that bypasses every wall you built
Enclose the machine, break the vibration path, then deal with what is left. Doing it in the other order costs more and achieves less.
-
Treating it as a generic Mecca job
In peak season somebody is always asleep and somebody is always in the corridor. Guest room isolation carries the whole guest experience, and door and corridor details cause more complaints than walls do.
05 / Supply
Getting it to Mecca, with real dates
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Jeddah, then a short road run to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Jeddah |
| 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 Jeddah, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Mecca projects
What makes venue and restaurant acoustics different in Mecca?
Mosques, conference halls and hotel ballrooms are tall hard volumes where intelligibility over a long reverberation tail is the whole brief. In peak season somebody is always asleep and somebody is always in the corridor. Guest room isolation carries the whole guest experience, and door and corridor details cause more complaints than walls do.
Where should the budget go first on a Mecca 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 Mecca?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Mecca. 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 Mecca site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Jeddah, 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.