Influence of the workmanship on the airborne sound insulation properties of light weight building plasterboard steel frame wall systems

Abstract

Building elements which are built according to the light weight mode of construction, e.g. plasterboard steel frame wall systems show a large variation of air borne sound insulation properties although the elements appear as identical. According to several studies conducted in the recent years, certain aspects of workmanship have significant influence on the air borne sound insulation characteristics of light weight building elements. The method to fasten the planking (e.g., gypsum boards, gypsum fiber boards) as well as the number and position of the screws can lead to considerable variations regarding the sound insulation properties. Above 200 Hz, the sound reduction index R can differ more than 10 dB by the variation of the position of the screws. Applying prefabricated composite panels of adhesive connected plasterboards not only considerably reduces the depth of the dip of the critical frequency caused by the higher damping due to the interlayer but it can also significantly decrease the negative influence of the workmanship on the air borne sound insulation properties of these kinds of light weight walls in comparison to the standard planking of double layer plasterboard systems. The influence of secondary construction details and workmanship will be discussed in the paper.