For projects in Nepal
Recording studio acoustics and soundproofing in Nepal
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 growing music and content sector working out of rooms in residential buildings with neighbours on every side.
- 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
The material, and what it actually does on a Nepal job
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 growing music and content sector working out of rooms in residential buildings with neighbours on every side.
Work reaching us from Nepal is mostly hotels and guest houses, offices, hospitals, schools, assembly halls, houses.
- Reached entirely by road No port, no container, no sea leg. That keeps lead times short and makes small or repeat orders practical in a way they are not for most export markets.
- Rebuilt and reinforced structures A great deal of stock has been rebuilt or retrofitted for seismic performance. Movement joints must stay free and an acoustic layer must not stiffen across them.
- Hospitality in dense valleys Hotels and guest houses packed into tight streets where street noise reaches rooms through openings rather than walls.
- 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 Nepal.
02 / The build-up
The stack, in the order it is installed
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Layer 1
Acoustic foam and BassBloc
Open cell foam shapes for high frequency control, and BassBloc, a high density absorber built for the low mid range where ordinary foam does nothing. In Nepal, split units and generator sets, with generators close to occupied rooms during outages.
Behind a fabric frame. Where the room has to look finished, absorber inside a frame rather than foam on show.
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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 Nepal, temples, function halls and conference rooms are hard volumes carrying amplified speech and music.
Mixed finish. Plain felt where it is out of eye line, printed or grooved where it is seen.
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Layer 3
Soundproof curtains
A layered curtain with a mass loaded vinyl core, used where an opening has to stay an opening. In Nepal, classrooms are concrete and tile with large class sizes and street noise through open windows.
Full height with return. Curtain taken floor to soffit with a side return and an overlap, because the gap is what leaks, not the fabric.
For a Nepal practice, the useful thing is a detail you can put in a drawing set, not a brochure. See how we support architects.
03 / On the ground
The Nepal conditions that change the answer
- Reached entirely by road
No port, no container, no sea leg. That keeps lead times short and makes small or repeat orders practical in a way they are not for most export markets.
- Rebuilt and reinforced structures
A great deal of stock has been rebuilt or retrofitted for seismic performance. Movement joints must stay free and an acoustic layer must not stiffen across them.
- Hospitality in dense valleys
Hotels and guest houses packed into tight streets where street noise reaches rooms through openings rather than walls.
- Packing for mountain roads
The final leg is often on rough road. We brace and wrap for that rather than for a smooth port transfer.
- The housing stock
Reinforced concrete frames with brick infill and hard floors, in buildings that sit very close together on narrow lanes.
- The studio and content scene
A growing music and content sector working out of rooms in residential buildings with neighbours on every side.
04 / Room by room
Space by space, for Nepal briefs
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Isolation
A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. No port, no container, no sea leg. That keeps lead times short and makes small or repeat orders practical in a way they are not for most export markets.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 1800 x 900 mm
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 30, 5.25 kg per sq m
- Soundproof curtains, 5.5 kg per sq m
-
Low frequency
Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam. A great deal of stock has been rebuilt or retrofitted for seismic performance. Movement joints must stay free and an acoustic layer must not stiffen across them.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 20 mm
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, STC 34, 8.4 kg per sq m
- Soundproof curtains, Up to 30 dB
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Early reflections
Controlled at the mix position, and only there. Hotels and guest houses packed into tight streets where street noise reaches rooms through openings rather than walls.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 100 kg per cubic metre
- SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl, 12.6 kg per sq m, STC on request
- Soundproof curtains, 30
Designers get colour, pattern and CNC options with the absorption figure attached to each. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Durability
Why the climate in Nepal changes the material, not the target
Nepal is hot summers, mild winters and a distinct wet season, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
PET felt handles the wet months without absorbing moisture or feeding mould. Timber and wood wool want a ventilated cavity and a stable indoor RH.
The failure we design against here is wet-season humidity behind linings.
Where a consultant is already engaged on a Nepal 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
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
More absorption is not better absorption. Past the target the room goes flat and people raise their voices to compensate.
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Treating it as a generic Nepal job
No port, no container, no sea leg. That keeps lead times short and makes small or repeat orders practical in a way they are not for most export markets.
05 / Supply
Getting it to Nepal, with real dates
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Overland through the India border, then road to site |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Road via the India border |
| 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.
Overland by road through the India border, then on to site. No sea leg and no port handling.
Questions from Nepal projects
What makes recording studio acoustics and soundproofing different in Nepal?
A growing music and content sector working out of rooms in residential buildings with neighbours on every side. No port, no container, no sea leg. That keeps lead times short and makes small or repeat orders practical in a way they are not for most export markets.
Where should the budget go first on a Nepal 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 Nepal?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Nepal. 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 Nepal site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Overland through the India border, then road 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?
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
Drawings in, BOQ and a delivered date out
We quote from drawings, not from a square foot rate. Send a plan and the section through the critical wall or ceiling and you will get something you can actually build from.