Consider the Options

Flooring options today are virtually limitless, but one effective way to narrow down the choices is to specify based on acoustics. In terms of good acoustic performance, there are three basic choices:

1. A resilient floor composed of material that can inherently mitigate the vibration that creates sound, such as rubber or cork. Recycled rubber flooring is practical in many more applications than cork flooring, with similar inherent sound-reducing characteristics. Recycled rubber is an extremely sustainable product that also provides specific acoustic, ergonomic, and fall-protection benefits. Some uniquely sustainable performance surfacing is created from reclaimed waste, such as tires and post-industrial and post-consumer waste. The most advanced recycled rubber surfaces offer force reduction, energy return, durability, and an unlimited range of colors, patterns, and custom design possibilities.
2. A hard or smooth flooring surface, adding a performance backing or underlayment composed of a sound-mitigating material. Effective underlayments are typically rubber, cork, or foam. The key property of an underlayment is internal damping of vibration, a fundamental attribute of rubber, which is resilient and behaves much like a spring. Good, resilient underlayment must also be water resistant and strong enough to support finished flooring. Cork is often too expensive and requires skillful handling. Foam is often the least-expensive option but is not considered highly durable.
3. An engineered system combining a variety of surfaces with built-in performance underlayment. In recent years, new technology has been developed that allows a wide variety of surfaces to be fusion-bonded to a recycled rubber backing to create a single high-performance acoustic system.

Figure 11

Shown is an example of an engineered flooring system with a no-wax vinyl, wood-look surface fusion bonded to a recycled rubber performance layer to provide excellent acoustic and ergonomic performance.

Help From Experts

The design of flooring systems for acoustic performance might involve architects, interior designers, acoustic engineers, and structural engineers. In spaces like performance venues, production studios, or conference rooms with advanced presentation capabilities, a detailed analysis and balancing of sound absorption, reflection, and transmission will be required. But often it is a collaboration on a different scale, where the interior designer works directly with product technical experts.

Product manufacturers can often offer a range of technical expertise. Some companies also provide research and testing on their products and offer tailored solutions. Some companies can also help with other related product requirements, such as International Code Council Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) reports evaluating specific often-used assemblies and UL-listed fire rated designs. Some manufacturers maintain large databases of test reports on product ratings and installations.

Manufacturers should also be able to offer detailed information about how products can contribute to LEED points and other sustainability criteria.

CASE STUDY

Figure 12

Project: Pennsylvania Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC)
Location: Philadelphia

The Pennsylvania Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) is one of the premier medical centers on the East Coast. Every year, its trauma program alone treats more than 2,000 patients with life-threatening injuries. When it began designing a new trauma center, the Pavilion for Advanced Care, the architectural firm Ewing Cole was directed to specify flooring with four primary considerations. According to Project Designer Colleen Harrington, these include, 1) noise, which was a critical concern from the user, and really focused on footfall and corridor activity-generated noise; 2) joint relief for the staff and ergonomics; 3) a wood-look aesthetic for a warm, comforting space that was not institutional; and 4) indentation recovery from the weight of the beds.

The hospital selected 5,000 square yards of a system incorporating vinyl, wood-look surface fusion bonded to a 5-millimeter recycled rubber backing. “Force reduction tests have shown that the fall impact is reduced 16.9 percent in accordance with DIN 18032, when this product is installed,” says Mark Huxta, director of health-care sales for Ecore International. “Because of the rubber backing, the product offers an ergonomic solution, compared to other resilient floors.”

When selecting the building materials for PAC, the hospital chose high-contrast resources and pops of bright colors to help decrease patient and visitor anxiety. Color and material transitions were also utilized to distinguish between staff, patient, and family zones within the ICU patient rooms.

With regard to its acoustic benefits when using IIC tests (in accordance with ASTM E492 and E2179), the specific product allows the most basic assemblies to exceed IIC 50 building code requirements, reducing impact sound more than 20 decibels with no ceiling below.

Bottom Line

The floor should make a significant, positive contribution to effective acoustics in virtually every space. Designers now have all the tools they need to make decisions that will improve the health, comfort, and mental and physical performance of the people in those spaces for years to come.

Ecore transforms reclaimed materials into performance surfaces that make people’s lives better. What started with cork has evolved into a portfolio of surfaces solving complex problems in applications ranging from weight rooms to hospitals. Ecore serves the athletic, fitness, healthcare, hospitality, corporate, multi-family, education, and public space markets. www.ecoreintl.com