Improving occupant comfort in buildings

“SCI organises the testing and subsequent dissemination of a wide range of acoustic details that will satisfy the requirements for sound insulation in buildings”

With the increasing importance of the social aspects of sustainable development, greater emphasis is being placed on the occupant comfort and the acoustic performance of buildings.

Part E of the Building Regulations requires that residential buildings which are not built using Robust Details (RDs) should undergo acoustic pre-completion testing to prove their compliance with Part E. We have therefore undertaken work to increase the range of RDs that are available for buildings with steel frames.

The advantage of gaining more RDs for steel construction is that they enable designers to use the details and eliminate the need for pre-completion testing but they also serve as a source of confidence to show developers that steel construction can meet the requirements of the regulations.

SCI have also undertaken similar work on light steel construction with the aim of developing standardised structures and details with known sound insulation properties to facilitate assessment by designers.

The vibration characteristics of floors are equally important for occupant comfort and we are a key partner in a European project that aims to develop testing and design guidelines for vibration design of lightweight steel joist floors.