Acoustic assessment and interpretation of BB93 for a new

Primary School development.

Student:

Fahimeh Rezvani

Matriculation Number:

10019743

Module leader:

Chris Steel, University of Napier Edinburgh

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Design Criteria

2. SOUND INSULATION OF WALLS

2.1.
2.2.
2.3.
2.4.
2.5.
2.6.
2.7.

Airborne sound insulation between spaces

Airborne sound insulation between circulation areas and adjacent spaces
Airborne sound insulation to ancillary spaces
Airborne sound insulation to Plant Room
Kitchen to Dining
Open plan Library/ LRC space
Moveable partitions

3. REVERBERATION IN TEACHING, STUDY AND SOCIAL SPACES

3.1. Critical areas

4. ACOUSTIC TESTING

Plan

1. INTRODUCTION
This report assesses the acoustic requirements of internal airborne sound insulation and the
reverberation of the spaces in accordance with BB93 for a new Primary School development in
Scotland.
Design Criteria:
All schools and educational buildings, both new and refurbishment of existing, need to comply
with Part E4 of the Approved Document E -Resistance to the passage of sound - of the Building
Regulations.
Part E4 deals with acoustic conditions in schools and states that Building Bulletin 93 (BB93) Acoustic Design of Schools- should be used as primary guidance for achieving the required
acoustic standard in primary and secondary schools.
In essence, BB93 provides a regulatory framework for the acoustic design of schools and is a
comprehensive guide for the design of new school building which is covered in six main sections:
-

Section 1:
Section 2:
Section 3:

Section 4:
Section 5:
Section 6:

Specifications of acoustic performance

Noise control
Insulation from external noise (Sound insulation of building envelope
and between rooms)
The design of rooms for speech
The design of rooms for music
Acoustic design and equipment for pupils with special hearing
requirements

Compliance with BB93 can be achieved either

-

by meeting the standards set out in Section 1 of BB93, or

by following the process described in Section 1.2.1 of BB93 and providing alternative
standards (sometimes referred to as derogations) that are agreed with the Education
Provider and with Building Control.

BB93 refers to two measures to identify the acoustic performance of walls:

-

the weighted sound reduction index: Rw, and

the weighted standardised sound level difference: DnT(Tmf,max),w

The Rw rating is used to specify the performance for individual building elements and is based on
airborne sound insulation data measured in a laboratory.
DnT(Tmf,max),w rating describes the acoustic performance of a completed part of a building.
The method for calculating weighted values is defined in BS EN ISO 717-1:1997.

2. INTERNAL SOUND INSULATION

Design Criteria:
BB93 requirements for the airborne sound insulation between spaces are based on the
anticipated activity noise in the source room and the noise tolerance in the receiving room.
These values are stated in terms of an in-situ sound insulation performance, DnT(Tmf,max),w, i.e. the
performance that would be measured on-site. Performances ranging from 30-60dB DnT(Tmf,max),w
are specified in increments of 5dB. The performance standard for airborne sound insulation
between rooms should be assessed in both directions and only the highest DnT(Tmf,max),w values
should be used.
The requirements for the sound level difference DnT(Tmf,max),w between educational spaces are set
out in Section 1 of BB93, Table 1.1 and 1.2 and are included for reference in Appendix A.
2.1.

Airborne Sound Insulation between spaces

Based on BB93, table 1.1 and 1.2, sound insulation performances for the Primary School
development have been proposed and the results are presented on the marked-up floor plan in
Appendix C.
For this project, all internal walls are considered to be lightweight plasterboard constructions.
To achieve the proposed criteria in the marked up drawing, the sound reduction Rw of the
partition must be selected appropriately. To allow for flanking sound transmission and
workmanship on site, partition Rw should be at least 5 - 7dB higher than the required sound level
difference DnT(Tmf,max),w.. For example, 45dB DnT(Tmf,max),w sound level difference is required
between adjacent classrooms; therefore the partition construction should provide at least 50dB
Rw sound reduction.
Typical drywall constructions and their associated sound reductions are included in Appendix D.
In order to ensure that the partition construction performs to the acoustic requirement, good
quality workmanship is required and the following principles should be applied:
-

All partitions should extend from slab to slab and be constructed off the base structural
floor slab
Raised floors or screed must be built between partitions.
Air tightness of the construction; acoustic sealant must be used on all joints; boards must
also be sealed at the deflection head.
Back to back electrical sockets must be avoided. They should be staggered by at least
500mm, and incorporate flexible putty pads.
The inner leaf of corridors or flank walls must not be continuous between rooms. When
open voids are used, the boards to be of the same number and mass as the party wall,
along with the cavity insulation.
Careful detailing of service penetrations of walls and partitions to ensure sound
insulation requirements of internal walls and partitions are not compromised

An acoustic consultant will normally be needed to check the design details and on-site
construction, and to carry out acoustic tests to confirm that the building achieves the required
acoustic performance.
Example details to achieve good sound performances are illustrated in Appendix E.

2.2.

Airborne sound insulation between circulation areas and adjacent spaces

The majority of classrooms face onto a Corridor. The performance of corridor walls, doors and
glazing is specified in BB93 and are shown for reference in Table 1.3 in Appendix A.
The overall performance of walls between teaching spaces and corridors/ circulation spaces
(including any glazing) only requires a minimum laboratory sound insulation performance of 40dB
Rw for walls (including glazing) and 30dB Rw for the doorsets.
Any doors which incorporate glazing or have glazed side panels must still comply with the
specified rating. The door/frame supplier must have test data to show compliance with 30dB Rw.
40dB Rw glazing will typically be one of the following constructions:
-

19mm thick single pane glazing

16mm thick single pane glazing with acoustic laminate
10/ 12/ 6.4 double glazing
6/ 12 / 11 acoustic laminate double glazing

30dB Rw doorsets will typically be of the following construction:

-

2.3.

44mm thick solid laminated core

double cylinder locks with no direct air path through and acoustic seals to head, jamb and
threshold
vision panel (250-300mm wide by 1400mm high) with single pane 6.4mm laminated
glazing.
Airborne sound insulation to ancillary spaces

There is no requirement under BB93 to specify the airborne sound insulation to ancillary spaces.
However, there may be requirements for more privacy in certain rooms like the Head Office and
Interview/ Parent Room. Generally, where privacy is required, it is recommended to install 45dB
Rw walls and 35dB Rw doorsets in those separating partitions surrounding sensitive spaces.
35dB Rw doorsets will typically be of the following construction:
-

2.4.

54mm solid timber door with acoustic seals to head, jamb and threshold. 7mm thick
glazing panel
Airborne sound insulation to Plant Room

The proposed separating wall between the plant room and school administration area should
have a minimum weighted sound reduction index of 60dB DnT(Tmf,max),w. Building a lightweight wall
construction with such a high DnT(Tmf,max),w index is possible but may not be the most feasible
solution for the separating wall to the plant room. In this case it is recommended to build the wall
as a masonry construction with a minimum laboratory sound insulation performances of 65dB Rw.
65dB Rw masonry wall structure will typically be of the following construction:
-

140mm dense block (280kg/m2) with plaster on both sides

2 layers of 12.5mm wall board on a 55mm independent stud
Cavity of 75mm with 50mm of insulation

Typical flanking detail to the Outer Skin would the following:

However, the plant room wall has been assessed purely on a nominal basis so far.
Requirements will need to be confirmed on the basis of the machine noise levels to be advised.
2.5.

Airborne sound insulation between Kitchen and Dining

BB93 gives a sound insulation of requirement from kitchen to dining of a minimum weighted
sound reduction index of 45dB DnT(Tmf,max),w that will not be achieved with a serving hatch between
the rooms. The installation of a roller shutter is not to be expected to give any significant enough
sound insulation.
It is common practice to derogate from the BB93 sound insulation standard to allow a serving
hatch from kitchen to servery or dining spaces and should be agreed with the Education Provider.

2.6.

Open plan Library/ LRC space

The Library is proposed as an open plan space without a separating wall to the corridor/
circulation area. To meet BB93 requirements the sound insulation of the partition between the
corridors and library should be 40dB.
As an open plan arrangement the actual sound reduction between the spaces will be
considerably less.
Good practical measures to consider, for improving the acoustic conditions within the library
would be to:
2.7.

arrange the book shelving and/or sound absorbing screens to provide shielding from the
circulation space
carpet the library area;
provide quiet spaces furthest away from the circulation area;
have a lower absorptive ceiling in the library.
Moveable partitions

Operable (folding) walls are proposed between

-

Classrooms and Activity Area

Gym/ Assembly Hall and Dining
Two pre-school language classrooms

The on-site sound insulation performance of moveable walls is often significantly lower than that
of fixed walls with similar laboratory performances. In order to achieve the specified insitu
performances, it is recommended to specify the moveable partitions between classroom and
activity area and between the pre-school language classrooms with a laboratory sound insulation
performances of 55dB Rw.
For the movable partition between the Gym/Assembly Hall and Dining, BB93 gives a sound
insulation requirement of a minimum weighted sound reduction index of 55dB DnT(Tmf,max),w.
Even highly rated sound insulating movable walls may not be able to provide such a high index.
In this instance, advice from an acoustician may be sought and derogations need to be agreed
with Building Control and the Education Provider. Also school staff may also be consulted to
ensure timetabling can accommodate any restrictions resulting from the derogating.

3. REVERBERATION IN TEACHING, STUDY AND SOCIAL SPACES

Design Criteria:
BB93 specifies upper limits for reverberation times (Tmf(max) ) for all educational spaces and are
set out Section 1, table 1.5. For reference, table 1.5 is included in Appendix A..
Based on table 1.5 reverberation times for this development have been proposed and the results
are presented on the marked-up floor plan in Appendix B.
Reverberation time can be reduced by adding sound absorption into a room. Typical finishes for
achieving this could be the following:
-

Carpet floor (also useful for resistance to impact sound transmission e.g. footfalls)
Suspended acoustic ceiling tiles (compressed mineral fibre or perforated metal) with a
sound absorbent backing.
Fabric-finished acoustic wall panels at high level across the side and rear walls
Suspended acoustic baffles formed from acoustically absorbent materials

Typical distributions of absorbent finishes are presented in BB93 and are included for reference in
appendix B.
There is a requirement within BB93 that reverberation in corridors and circulation areas be
controlled by providing sufficient sound absorption in the room surfaces. There are two methods
defined to demonstrate compliance. The amount of additional absorption should be calculated
according to Approved Document E 2003, Section 7. This describes two calculation methods, A
and B. One of these methods should be used to determine the amount of absorption required in
corridors, entrance halls and stairwells in schools.
-

Method A: For entrance halls, corridors or hallways cover an area equal to or greater
than the floor area, with a Class C absorber or better.

Method B: provide a minimum of 0.20 m2 total absorption area per cubic meter of the
volume for entrance halls and 0.25m2 total absorption area per cubic meter of the volume
for corridors or hallways.

3.1. Critical Areas:

Critical areas in terms of reverberation performances are the following;
-

Gym/ Assembly Hall

Library/ LRC

Gym/ Assembly Hall

The BB93 requirements for reverberation for multi-functional Halls is <0.8 - 1.2s Tmf
Halls used for a variety of uses require differing reverberation times. To provide flexibility the use
of drapes can be considered, in addition to acoustic ceiling and wall treatments. However, for
Gymnasiums, a sound absorbing ceiling is usually not sufficient enough to control the
reverberation in the room. Sound absorbing finishes located on the walls would be liable to
impact damage and can conflict with the Sport England recommendations for a plain wall finish.
Derogations may need to be agreed with Building Control and the Education provider.

Library/ LRC
The large open plan LRC without a separating wall to the corridor/ circulation can be problematic
in terms of speech transmission. In this case it should be established whether the school intend is
to use this space for open plan teaching. If the school intends to use this space for simultaneous
lessons with many classes, then advice from an Acoustician on the detailed design will be
necessary to finalise the extent and layout of sound absorbing finishes and screens in order to
comply with the requirements of BB93.
A number of good practical measures to improve speech transmission for the Library are listed in
section 2.6 of this report.

3. ACOUSTIC TESTING
Section 1.3 of BB93 describes acoustic tests that can be used to demonstrate compliance with
the performance standards in Section1.1.
Generally it is recommended that the client requires acoustic testing to be carried out as part of
the building contract. Testing of the completed construction is the best practical means of
ensuring that acoustic requirements are achieved.
BB93 states that rooms should be unfurnished during testing.
With regards to the acoustic testing for the new primary school development, the testing should
be done between rooms that have movable partitions within the separating wall.
Especially the movable partition between classrooms and activity area may need testing of the
completed construction to ensure that the required sound insulation performances are met.