Information Response - Acoustics

Of note, the southern wall currently has two doorways and two roller doors. Both roller doors and one
of the doorways will be infilled as part of this proposal. With the addition of the R2.5 insulation and
Gyprock Soundcheck along this wall, noise emissions will be significantly reduced. Refer to figures 4 and
5 below.
The below sections outline the specifications of R2.5 insulation and Gyprock Soundcheck.

R2.5 Insultation
As part of the internal building works R2.5 Insulation will be installed in the interior walls.
Included in the Information Response is a report from the insulation company with the noise
specifications for R2.5 insulation. In short R2.5 insulation greatly reduces noise transmission between
rooms and is a common noise reduction employed within residential and commercial premises.
“Sound power is measured in decibels (dB) on a logarithmic scale which means that a 3dB reduction is
actually a 50% decrease in sound power. A measure called Weighted Sound Reduction Index (Rw) has
been developed to measure the effectiveness of noise reduction in different types of construction. The
higher the Rw value, the more noise is absorbed and the quieter your home will be. An increase of one
Rw unit is approximately equal to a reduction of one decibel of noise level.” (CSR Bradford, 2018)
The company’s specification report provides a diagram on how sound moves between walls, and the
level of noise reduction that can be achieved with insulation (refer figure 1 below)

        Noise impacts assessment
        Whilst Noosa Shire Council does not have a Planning Scheme Policy for Noise, many other local
        Council’s do. Moreton Bay Regional Council is one such example. Moreton Bay’s Planning
        Scheme Policy – Noise specifies the general noise emission criteria for noise generating uses.
        Their Planning Policy extends from the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1994.
        As an example of the acoustic reduction capabilities of the R2.5m insultation the following table
        is provided. The General Residential zone was used as comparison against Noosa’s low-density
        residential zone.
          Both column Column 1 – Intrusive noise          Column 2 – Acoustic amenity criteria
          1 and 2 are     criteria
          applicable
          Criteria        LAeq,adj,T is not greater than Day, evening and night LAeq,adj,`1hr are not greater
          location        the Rating Background Level     than the values in column 2 for the relevant criteria
                          (RBL) for Day Evening and       location.
                          Night plus the value in
                          column 1 for the relevant
                          criteria location. These limits
                          are component levels “T” is
                          either a relevant
                          representative 15 minutes or
                          if the duration of the noise
                          occurs for less than 15
                          minutes the duration of the
                          noise source.
                                                          Day          Evening      Night        Sound
              At the
                                                                                                 reduction with
           boundary of
                                                                                                 R2.5 insulation
           the General                 3dB(A)
            residential
                                                           55dB(A)      45dB(A)      40dB(A)
               zone



Urban Planners Queensland
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