Unexpected challenges of luxury residential building acoustics

Abstract

Building acoustics involving sound enhancements, noise abatement, and vibration control for luxury residential properties can present more than just technical, performance, and mitigation issues. The normal noise control issues dealing with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems are common in commercial and multi-family residential projects. However, ultra-expensive, highly customized, single-family residences are a very different situation, both from the expectation of quality and the much larger and more varied types of noise producing systems. Such custom homes of entertainment and movie stars, corporate moguls, and sports personalities include features and systems that would never occur in the typical single-family home. Large in-home theaters with fully outfitted sound systems, indoor swimming pools, large entertainment centers, dance and reception halls, etc., present very challenging acoustical and noise control challenges. Many such estates also have commercial or industrial type mechanical systems, multi-fueled emergency power generators, and very large water storage and pumping systems that generate significant noise control issues both within the owner’s property and for adjacent neighboring properties. This paper summarizes a few such challenging projects and reviews the often unusual situations that occur during concept and project design, specification and bidding phases, construction, redesign, change-orders, and essential inspections.