Acoustic Underlay for Flats and Apartments — Maidstone

Why floor and ceiling construction matters

The same underlay can perform quite differently depending on what it sits above. A solid concrete slab with a suspended ceiling below behaves differently to a timber joist floor with plasterboard fixed directly to the joists, because the structure itself either helps or works against reducing impact energy.

In older conversions with timber floors between flats, the ceiling below often has little or no acoustic treatment of its own, which places more of the burden on the underlay and floorcovering above to keep noise transfer manageable.

Installation details that affect performance

An acoustic underlay only performs as tested if it is installed correctly: laid flat with no gaps, not compressed by heavy point loads, and not bridged by skirting boards fixed straight through it into the slab, which creates a sound path around the underlay entirely.

• Full coverage with no gaps or overlaps beyond the manufacturer's guidance
• Perimeter isolation strips used where recommended to stop sound bridging at the walls
• Skirtings and fixings kept clear of directly bridging the underlay into the structure
• Correct underlay orientation and joins taped as specified by the manufacturer