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Acoustic wooden slat wall and ceiling in a premium auditorium

Manufactured in India, supplied in San Francisco

Wooden slat acoustic panels in San Francisco

We manufacture wooden slat acoustic panels at our own plant at Palwal in Haryana, India, and supply them into San Francisco. Made at our own plant in India and shipped into Oakland, across the bay, so the road leg to site is short.

Substrate
MDF, FR MDF, HDF or HDHMR
Patterns
13-3, 14-2, 28-4 and 59-5
Panel sizes
2440 x 192 mm and 2440 x 128 mm
Thickness
14, 16 and 18 mm
Coverage
96 sq ft per unit
Lead time
Longer than felt
Minimum order
500 sq ft, about 46 sq m
  • EN 13501-1 Class B s1 d0 on FR substrate
  • Made at our own plant, Palwal, Haryana, India
  • One batch across the order, no blending between runs

We make this ourselves and ship it to you. No local branch, no borrowed certifications, no dealer margin. One batch across the whole order, and an honest answer when the product is wrong for the problem.

01 / What it is

The product, described honestly, for a San Francisco brief

Timber slats on an acoustic backing. The slats are the finish and the rhythm, the backing does the absorbing. Used where the room has to look considered rather than treated.

Work reaching us from San Francisco is mostly victorian conversions, tech offices, apartments, studios, restaurants, clinics.

American homes are timber frame with gypsum board on both faces, so a party wall or a basement ceiling has almost no mass. Adding a second leaf with a limp membrane between does more than any amount of surface treatment.

  • Slats on felt backing The standard. Absorption comes from the backing behind the gaps, so the slat gap ratio is an acoustic decision, not only a visual one.
  • Slats on a cavity Backing plus an air gap behind moves absorption lower, which matters in music rooms.
  • Feature wall only Slats where they are seen, plain felt elsewhere, to hold the budget where it shows.
  • What it will not do A tight slat pattern looks denser but absorbs less, because the open area is what lets sound reach the backing. If the visual you want and the RT target you need pull apart, we will tell you which one the pattern is serving.

Full specification

Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for wooden slat panels are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in San Francisco.

Wooden slat acoustic panels SoundaXe wooden panels

02 / The numbers

One specification sheet, the same in every market

Nothing below changes by location. The decisions that do change are grade, thickness and how the material is mounted, and those are covered further down.

  • MDFStandard. Dry interiors, general commercial
  • FR MDFFire rated. Public buildings and anywhere the specification calls for a class
  • HDHMRMoisture resistant. Humid climates and rooms that see damp
Wooden slat acoustic panels: published specification
SubstrateMDF, FR MDF, HDF or HDHMR
Patterns13-3, 14-2, 28-4 and 59-5
Panel sizes2440 x 192 mm and 2440 x 128 mm
Thickness14, 16 and 18 mm
Coverage96 sq ft per unit
Fire classEN 13501-1 Class B s1 d0 on FR substrate

On a San Francisco job with a consultant involved, our part is material that matches the submitted data. See working with acoustic consultants.

03 / In this market

What decides the build-up in San Francisco

  • Timber Victorians

    Light framed, over a century old, and divided into flats. Low frequency passes easily and footfall travels straight down.

  • Depth costs real money

    At local rates a wall growing into the room is a significant number. A dense thin membrane usually beats a thicker framed build-up on total cost.

  • Designed to move

    Seismic detailing requires junctions that stay flexible, so the acoustic layer must not stiffen across them.

  • Oakland is close

    A short road leg after the port keeps landed cost and timing predictable.

  • Assembly and performance rooms

    Churches, school gyms and multipurpose halls double as performance spaces, which means a room designed for neither speech nor music has to carry both.

If you are specifying for a San Francisco project, we can give you a section, a BOQ and the honest limits of each layer. See how we support architects.

04 / Climate and durability

What the San Francisco climate rules in and rules out

San Francisco is mild summers and cold, wet winters, and that narrows the sensible material list before acoustics is even discussed.

Cold external walls and long heating seasons make condensation behind a lining the thing to design out. PET felt is unaffected by damp air.

The risk we design against here is condensation and cold bridging behind new linings.

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.

05 / Getting it there

How material reaches a San Francisco site

Supply into San Francisco
Ships fromPalwal, Haryana, India
Arrives atOakland, then a short road run across the bay
Dispatch4 to 7 working days
FreightSea via Oakland
PackingBraced crates, slats supported along their length. Timber moves, so crates are kept flat and dry.
Lead timeLonger than felt. Confirmed against the pattern and substrate at quote stage.

Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. The sea leg from India is long, so plan the full door to door window into the programme. We give real dates, not optimistic ones.

Sea freight into Oakland, then a short road run to site. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.

The same 500 sq ft minimum applies on export.

Minimum order, wooden slat acoustic panels
Any specification500 sq ft, about 46 sq m

One unit covers 96 sq ft, so the minimum is a little over five units. Substrate, slat pattern, width and thickness can be mixed inside the same order.

06 / Before you buy

The things worth knowing before you place the order

  • The wrong product for the problem

    A tight slat pattern looks denser but absorbs less, because the open area is what lets sound reach the backing. If the visual you want and the RT target you need pull apart, we will tell you which one the pattern is serving.

  • Square footage quoted before the room is understood

    Anyone can price a wall. Working out how much material the room actually needs usually reduces the order, which is why not everyone does it.

  • Local approvals that nobody actually holds

    We hold no San Francisco certification and we will not borrow one. The test data we publish is ours, and we will send the reports rather than describe them.

FAQ

San Francisco: questions we are actually asked

Where are the wooden slat acoustic panels you supply to San Francisco actually made?

No, and we will not say otherwise. We manufacture at our own plant at Palwal in Haryana, India, and supply into San Francisco as the manufacturer rather than through a dealer. Made at our own plant in India and shipped into Oakland, across the bay, so the road leg to site is short. You buy at factory prices with one consistent batch across the order.

What decides the specification for a San Francisco project?

Light framed, over a century old, and divided into flats. Low frequency passes easily and footfall travels straight down. At local rates a wall growing into the room is a significant number. A dense thin membrane usually beats a thicker framed build-up on total cost. Those two things move the build-up far more than the panel figure does.

Does San Francisco weather shorten the life of this material?

San Francisco is mild summers and cold, wet winters. Cold external walls and long heating seasons make condensation behind a lining the thing to design out. PET felt is unaffected by damp air. The failure we design against here is condensation and cold bridging behind new linings.

What is the delivery time into San Francisco?

ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Oakland, then a short road run across the bay, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. The sea leg from India is long, so plan the full door to door window into the programme. We give real dates, not optimistic ones.

What will wooden slat acoustic panels not do?

A tight slat pattern looks denser but absorbs less, because the open area is what lets sound reach the backing. If the visual you want and the RT target you need pull apart, we will tell you which one the pattern is serving.

What quantity do we have to order, and in what packaging?

The same 500 sq ft minimum applies on export. Any specification, 500 sq ft, about 46 sq m. One unit covers 96 sq ft, so the minimum is a little over five units. Substrate, slat pattern, width and thickness can be mixed inside the same order. Braced crates, slats supported along their length. Timber moves, so crates are kept flat and dry.

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.