Noise is something to be considered when we are talking about having a well-balanced life. When you choose your neighborhood, I’m sure you are more inclined to a more quiet street with fewer cars or city noises.
Too much sound can turn simple tasks like working, reading, and meditating into something difficult since you can not concentrate.
I’m talking about external noise, but you can also think about internal noise, loud music, guitar practice, kids yelling and, the list goes on.
Sometimes we just have our hand-tied with some situation and can do nothing about it, but have you ever thought about a soundproof door?
A noise-resistant door and even windows may help you to decrease noise pollution and give you more peace of mind to do your daily tasks.
Here are some of the advantages of soundproof doors:
Noise Decrease
- Make sure that your meeting is not heard by anyone outside the room.
- They reduce the sound of a room when quiet is required.
- Places like studios, schools, and offices will gain from these doors because of the reducing noise levels.
Privacy
Soundproof doors make your private communication limited to the right place. Places like healthcare facilities, executive offices, and human resource offices can not get the information that it’s being discussed on the room out, so they can enjoy the benefits of having a soundproof door.
Even in places where you use the “open floor” system, such as high-tech business when you implement an acoustic door built with clear glass you can maintain the “open concept” while still holding discussions private.
Different uses
- An acoustic door in a music studio will prevent the unwanted noise pollution that needs to be avoided in a record session.
- A glass soundproof door will improve the communication between the engineer and the producer as they demand to see each other while still reducing the noise in the room.
- A conference room is another relevant use for an acoustic door. In a business office, there are constant conversations that require complete confidentiality.
- In production areas, machines are running constantly and creating a lot of sound pollution. Soundproof doors are the most reliable method to hold the noise levels low in rooms near heavy machinery.
Different standards of noise reduction
There are two conventional acoustic categories for soundproof doors:
1) High-performance: The high-performance one has a sound attenuation rate of 44dB.
2) Low-performance: The low-performance type has a noise decrease rate of 34dB.
Other acoustic ratings can be created on-demand.
Soundproof doors can be customized
A soundproof door can be installed in places of different sizes and diverse coatings and materials. You can utilize glass for a more visible and open idea, wood or aluminum to match the office aesthetic.
If you choose to work with trustworthy installers like Commercial Door Worx, a soundproof door can offer you both, benefits and aesthetics. You don’t need to ruin your style to have quietness.
How to choose your Soundproof Door
When choosing your noise-resistant door, it’s necessary to know the basics of STC Ratings. I’m sure you don’t have a clue about what is STC ratings, and that’s why we are going to explain it, so you can choose the most appropriate acoustic door based on your needs.
An STC rating system is a logarithmic progression where a raise of 3 points duplicates the level of noise transmission attenuation.
When your goal is an improved acoustic door performance, you need to give priority to the STC Rating. Don’t choose your door based on the core materials. Different companies can use a diversity of exclusive cores to achieve the STC ratings.
STC Ratings Scale
- 25-29 – A regular conversation can be heard quite clearly and precisely. Doors and supplies in this low STC Range are not classified as Soundproof Doors. Be conscious that several commercial iron or aluminum doors are regularly rated in the 25-35 range.
- 30-34 – Loud conversations can listen while regular speech can be audible but hard to understand. Doors in this range are commonly specified as standard devices, needing no special consideration.
- 35-39 Loud conversation is still audible but not understandable. Doors in this range or higher should be classified as a special device. Can not be included in Special Sections for normal or custom structures.
- 40-41- This is the minimum STC range in acoustical plans where the sound restriction is crucial. A common conversation is imperceptible and, a loud speech can not be understood. This type of range is most used when you need to contain the conversation of rooms near each other. It may be prudent to hire an acoustic consultant to enlighten you about sound-sensitive designs at this range or above.
- 42-44 You can still listen to loud talk but is repressed to a faint murmur.
- 45-49 Even tumultuous loud conversation is totally blocked.
- 50-54 Loud noises such as running machinery, musical instruments, and high-volume radios are decreased to average background sounds. Multiple steel doors with this STC range have 1-3/4″ of diameter.
- 55-60+ Excellent soundproofing, with this SCT range, most sounds are imperceptible. This level of acoustical improvement is possible only with a 2¼” diameter or more. It is common to be the most costly choice.
Having some knowledge about SCT ratings can help you to choose the right door for your project, for example:
A 55+ STC-rated door can be ideal when working on an office placed just off of the noisy production line. But, if you use the same door to silence a law firm office room, you be overestimating the costs and the door purpose will be depreciated since you can easily overcome the noise with a cheaper 40 or 42 STC rating.
