ᐅ Sound Issue: Is Noise Transmitting Through the Masonry or the Exterior Render?
Created on: 31 Jan 2017 15:15
N
Nafetsm
Hello,
We built in a small suburb of Ulm, close to a secondary road with about 6,000 vehicles per day. The road is roughly 20–30 meters (20–30 yards) away, and there are still vacant lots on both sides of our property.
The construction uses Poroton bricks for the masonry.
During the sale, we were assured that noise would only be an issue through the windows, which is why we installed special roller shutter boxes and partly soundproof windows.
Currently, there is still scaffolding around the house, which is connected to the house and the ground. The exterior plaster has not yet been applied and will follow later. What unsettles us is that we can constantly hear the road noise, and depending on the wind and weather conditions, it becomes even more noticeable. This occurs on every floor and practically in all rooms, even those with soundproof windows (class 3). It feels as if a window is permanently tilted open. When we put our ear against the wall, we can clearly hear the noise coming through the wall. The sound is much quieter near the windows. It is clear that the noise is coming through the masonry. In areas where concrete columns have been inserted, no noise passes through. Around the house, there is naturally no vegetation yet, as it is newly built.
What has been your experience? Is this a common weak point of these bricks? Could the scaffolding, which is connected to the ground and the house wall, be transmitting the noise so clearly? And can we hope that when the exterior plaster is completed, the masonry joints will be sealed well enough to significantly reduce the road noise?
I am very interested in your experiences and opinions.
Best regards,
Patrick
We built in a small suburb of Ulm, close to a secondary road with about 6,000 vehicles per day. The road is roughly 20–30 meters (20–30 yards) away, and there are still vacant lots on both sides of our property.
The construction uses Poroton bricks for the masonry.
During the sale, we were assured that noise would only be an issue through the windows, which is why we installed special roller shutter boxes and partly soundproof windows.
Currently, there is still scaffolding around the house, which is connected to the house and the ground. The exterior plaster has not yet been applied and will follow later. What unsettles us is that we can constantly hear the road noise, and depending on the wind and weather conditions, it becomes even more noticeable. This occurs on every floor and practically in all rooms, even those with soundproof windows (class 3). It feels as if a window is permanently tilted open. When we put our ear against the wall, we can clearly hear the noise coming through the wall. The sound is much quieter near the windows. It is clear that the noise is coming through the masonry. In areas where concrete columns have been inserted, no noise passes through. Around the house, there is naturally no vegetation yet, as it is newly built.
What has been your experience? Is this a common weak point of these bricks? Could the scaffolding, which is connected to the ground and the house wall, be transmitting the noise so clearly? And can we hope that when the exterior plaster is completed, the masonry joints will be sealed well enough to significantly reduce the road noise?
I am very interested in your experiences and opinions.
Best regards,
Patrick
Nafetsm schrieb:
I was only referring to the small joints between the stones here. About 2-5mm (0.08-0.2 inches) in size. The vertical joints.[...] which is better: leaving them completely open and hoping the plaster will solve the problemOh, then I’m glad to revise my inquisitorial judgment and acquit your planner.
So, if it’s about 2 mm (0.08 inches), that corresponds to the standard size for the vertical joints. With large-format blocks, it’s common that the interlocking at the block ends replaces the need for mortar, and the vertical joints are regularly left dry. Only where corners are “fudged” (to compensate for irregular planned wall lengths) and joints in the usual range of about 1 cm (0.4 inches) or more occur, would it be appropriate to mortar the vertical joints even with large-format blocks.
For properly manufactured walls with large-format blocks—also regarding the dimensions—the professional practice is to have mortared horizontal joints and dry vertical joints, without this leading to the stone materials being criticized for sound insulation performance.
Within the planned design scope, these dry joints or air gaps are correct and should not be filled with mortar. Foam belongs definitely nowhere here—even though there are people who spray several tubes of foam and silicone on even the most perfectly crafted houses. Building walls is not precision mechanics! Accordingly, inaccuracies in the single millimeter range are perfectly acceptable, not defects, and not a cause for concern.
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Nafetsm schrieb:
Hello,
we built in a small suburb of Ulm, close to a minor road (about 6000 vehicles per day). The road is approximately 20-30m (65-100 feet) away, with a gap in the buildings on both sides of our property.
We used Poroton bricks for the masonry.
During the sale process, we were assured that noise would only be an issue through the windows, which is why we opted for special roller shutter boxes and, in some cases, soundproof windows.
Currently, we still have scaffolding attached to the house and the ground. The exterior plaster has not yet been applied and will be done later. What concerns us is that we can constantly hear the road noise, and depending on wind and weather conditions, it becomes even more noticeable on every floor and in basically all rooms, including those with soundproof windows (Class 3). It feels as if a window is permanently tilted open. When we put our ear to the wall, we can clearly hear the noise coming through the masonry. The noise is much quieter around the windows. It is clear that the sound is transmitted through the masonry. In areas where concrete columns were installed, there is no noise transmission. There is, of course, no landscaping around the house yet as it is newly built.
What are your experiences? Is this a general weakness of these types of bricks? Could it be possible that the scaffolding, which is connected to both the ground and the house walls, transmits sound so clearly? And can we hope that once the exterior plaster is finished, the masonry joints will be sealed enough to reduce the road noise?
I am very interested in your experiences and opinions.
Best regards,
PatrickWhat is the status now? Have you been able to solve the problem?
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