Noise and Vibration Testing for Strata Buildings

Noise is the biggest problem in strata buildings, especially in old units. Whether it’s the sound of partying neighbours, chairs being moved, opening and closing of doors, or footsteps, noise is affecting the quality of life of occupants.

AAAC or the Australian Acoustical Consultants call for more stringency, particularly for the trend that strata and apartment owners do on hard floor installation such as timber, tiles, or polished concrete.

For over a decade, Australian Building Codes Board has been ignoring pleas for these issues. Richard Haydon, AAAC treasurer, said that NCC needs to change it as noise can be unendurable to most occupants.

Haydon added that many owners corporations engage in costly litigation to deal with disagreements and complaints because of unbearable noise levels. Thankfully, the Australian Building Codes Board started to reevaluate the impact criterion of acoustical measures to improve people’s quality of life.

Effective Building & Consultancy values the safety and comfort of people. Hence, we believe that strata and apartment occupants should enjoy a peaceful living of their space. This step has prompted us to include conduct noise and vibration testing in our building inspection services.

Why is Sound Insulation Testing Important in Strata Buildings?

Strata buildings should undergo sound insulation testing prior to completing a test body with approved affiliations and qualifications. The tests are at the building inspectors’ discretion. A test failure will result in the improvement of sound insulation and retesting the construction type.

Your strata scheme may have its acoustic specifications. Before taking action, it’s a good idea to check up on these specifications. If your apartment is newer, it should have an AAAC star rating for acoustic performance. However, expect that older buildings may not meet the same standards.

If you think you need to, hire Effective Building & Consultancy building inspector with experience in noise and vibration testing to assess the acoustics of your walls and floors. 

If it’s a common wall issue, you can take the findings to the owners’ corporation and collaborate to rectify the situation. If the problem lies within the limit, you need a flooring replacement to mitigate the noise problems. 

What Noise and Vibration Testing Methods Do Effective Building & Consultancy Offer?

Effective Building & Consultancy offers comprehensive noise and vibration testing as a part of our building inspection services. We guarantee to help you provide a high-quality approach and advise the best recommendations for your acoustic requirements.

Airborne Floor Sound Insulation Test

This type of noise and vibration testing method is carried out with a dodecahedron speaker. This uses a white noise generator to create the sound source in the room under testing.

A sound level meter is used to take noise measurements within the source and the receiver room adjacent to it. The background noise level is measured. The higher the background noise, the higher the source noise will need to be set. The noise level results in the receiver room needs to be 10dB higher than the noise background at all measured frequencies.

Impact Sound Testing

When doing impact sound tests, the tapping machine is placed in the upper strata unit, and the noise level is measured in the lower strata unit in the room under the tapping machine.

Should the sound tests fail, we will advise you on how to proceed since you need to work out the reason for the sound test failure. 

Effective Building & Consultancy can provide noise and vibration testing and diagnostic service for failed sound tests, including assessments of where the unwanted noise is traveling. We will also advise you on the best method to reduce the problem.

Please call 02 9613 3353 or visit our Help Centre for further details of our building consultancy services.