On paper, our building system meets all standards in terms of sound and fire resistance. But stubborn as we are, we also wanted to test that in practice. Thanks to our collaboration with geWOONhout, we have been able to do this. Together we have made a number of modules available for a test setup.
Prejudice regarding timber construction
There are a number of prejudices that stand in the way of large-scale timber construction, and a great example of this is that the acoustics in wooden houses are not at the same level as concrete houses. To really disprove that prejudice definitively, we decided to do these tests.
Absorption of sound frequencies
An example of what we have tested is the addition of gravel or granulate as a mass between the floor joists, where we can ensure great absorption of sound frequencies in the floor. This is a big improvement for biobased construction, in contrast to, for example, CLT construction or concrete construction where you have to add carbon intensive materials to achieve the same result; a soundproof floor.
Airborne sound insulation & contact sound insulation
We have carried out two tests: we measured the airborne sound insulation and the contact sound insulation. The first is about sounds made by for example voices, radio and TV. And contact noise is about instances when you directly impact the floor by, for example, sliding a chair or by walking over it.
In this test, we first tested whether we met the acoustic requirements associated with modern homes. But that's not all; because with an unlimited budget for building the houses it's not that difficult to achieve optimal results. To do this in a way that also keeps the home affordable in an industrial process; that's the real challenge.
Curious about our first findings? Watch the video below!
This research was made possible by REACT EU.