For projects in Paris
Office acoustics and soundproofing in Paris
Three separate problems get called one problem: speech carrying across an open floor, meeting rooms that leak, and hard rooms that ring. Each has a different answer and mixing them up is how budgets get wasted. Mechanical extract ventilation is near universal, and the extract path carries sound between flats as reliably as the wall.
- Open plan
- Distraction distance, not reverberation time. Ceiling absorption plus screens at the desk.
- Meeting rooms
- Privacy between rooms. That is partition and door work, not panels.
- Cabins and calls
- Short RT so a call sounds clean. A small amount of well placed absorber.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / The material
What this is, and what it changes in a Paris room
Three separate problems get called one problem: speech carrying across an open floor, meeting rooms that leak, and hard rooms that ring. Each has a different answer and mixing them up is how budgets get wasted.
Mechanical extract ventilation is near universal, and the extract path carries sound between flats as reliably as the wall.
Work reaching us from Paris is mostly haussmann apartments, offices, studios, restaurants, hotels, clinics.
- Parquet over timber joists Footfall and chair scrape travel straight down. A resilient layer under the finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
- Thin partitions in divided apartments Walls built to split one flat into two were never designed to hold speech. Mass and an independent lining are the honest answer.
- Courtyards that amplify A Paris courtyard reflects plant noise and voices between every window on the block. Treat the source or the surface, not the middle.
- Open plan Distraction distance, not reverberation time. Ceiling absorption plus screens at the desk.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for office acoustics are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Paris.
Office and conference room acoustics Acoustic office screens
02 / The build-up
The stack, in the order it is installed
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Layer 1
PET felt acoustic panels
A rigid non-woven panel pressed from 100% polyester fibre, a large part of it recycled. In Paris, mechanical extract ventilation is near universal, and the extract path carries sound between flats as reliably as the wall.
On a 25 to 50 mm air gap. The same panel on battens. The air gap moves absorption down in frequency at no extra material cost, and is the cheapest improvement available.
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Layer 2
Acoustic carpet and rugs
A tile carpet with a dense polyester face on a felt backing. In Paris, churches, salles des fetes and civic auditoriums are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay.
Loose lay on tackifier. Tiles lifted individually for access under a raised floor, which is why tile beats broadloom in an office.
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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 Paris, school buildings are hard surfaced with high ceilings, and canteens are consistently the loudest rooms.
Ceiling first. In most rooms the ceiling is the largest untreated surface and the cheapest square metre of result.
We would rather argue about the build-up at design stage than on site. See how we support architects.
03 / What drives the brief
The Paris conditions that change the answer
- Parquet over timber joists
Footfall and chair scrape travel straight down. A resilient layer under the finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
- Thin partitions in divided apartments
Walls built to split one flat into two were never designed to hold speech. Mass and an independent lining are the honest answer.
- Courtyards that amplify
A Paris courtyard reflects plant noise and voices between every window on the block. Treat the source or the surface, not the middle.
- Small rooms
Depth is expensive when a room is 12 square metres. Slim, dense layers beat thick absorbers you cannot afford to lose space to.
- Plant and HVAC
Mechanical extract ventilation is near universal, and the extract path carries sound between flats as reliably as the wall.
04 / Room by room
Room by room, on a typical Paris job
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Open plan
Distraction distance, not reverberation time. Ceiling absorption plus screens at the desk. Footfall and chair scrape travel straight down. A resilient layer under the finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, 100% PET non-woven, the panel family
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, 4 mm
- Acoustic panels, Cut pattern in PET felt, adds visual rhythm without changing the absorber
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Meeting rooms
Privacy between rooms. That is partition and door work, not panels. Walls built to split one flat into two were never designed to hold speech. Mass and an independent lining are the honest answer.
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, 9 to 24 mm
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, High density polyester
- Acoustic panels, ASTM C423
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Cabins and calls
Short RT so a call sounds clean. A small amount of well placed absorber. A Paris courtyard reflects plant noise and voices between every window on the block. Treat the source or the surface, not the middle.
- Ceiling baffles and clouds, Made to the drawing, standard and custom
- Acoustic carpet and rugs, Felt
- Acoustic panels, 9 to 24 mm, 1220 x 2440 mm standard, up to 2440 x 4270 mm, 1200 to 3600 GSM
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 / Climate and durability
Durability in Paris, before acoustics is discussed
Paris 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 Paris 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
The six errors that cost the most
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Lining every wall while leaving the ceiling bare
A treated wall under a bare hard ceiling gives you a fraction of the reduction you paid for, and the room still sounds wrong.
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Treating a privacy problem with absorption
Privacy is a transmission problem. Absorption makes the room sound nicer and does not stop anyone hearing through the wall.
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Glass cabins specified without a door and head detail
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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Treating it as a generic Paris job
Footfall and chair scrape travel straight down. A resilient layer under the finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
05 / Logistics
How material reaches a Paris site
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Le Havre, Antwerp or Rotterdam |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea via Le Havre |
| 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 the order, not after.
Sea freight into Le Havre, Antwerp or Rotterdam, then road to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Paris projects
What makes office acoustics and soundproofing different in Paris?
Mechanical extract ventilation is near universal, and the extract path carries sound between flats as reliably as the wall. Footfall and chair scrape travel straight down. A resilient layer under the finish does more than anything applied to the ceiling below.
Where should the budget go first on a Paris project?
Open plan. Distraction distance, not reverberation time. Ceiling absorption plus screens at the desk. Meeting rooms. Privacy between rooms. That is partition and door work, not panels.
Do you have an office or installation team in Paris?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Paris. 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 Paris site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Le Havre, Antwerp or Rotterdam, 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 the order, not after.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
Lining every wall while leaving the ceiling bare. Treating a privacy problem with absorption.
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
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.