07703 299219 
tony@wavelengthacoustics.co.uk 
07703 299219 / tony@wavelengthacoustics.co.uk 

Posts from September 2018

The problems 
 
Noise has become a major problem in many offices today. Meetings, making telephone calls and general concentration are all affected. As a consequence, people's happiness and productivity both suffer. I have had problems myself in meetings, making phone calls and when talking to operators in call centres. 
 
Many offices have bare wooden floors and glass walls which reflect sound straight back in to the room space. People have to raise their voices to be heard and this creates even more noise... and so it goes on until the noise level becomes a real problem. 
 
Many people only associate these problems with large open plan offices but smaller enclosed offices and meeting rooms all suffer from this problem. Small rooms are often used for high level meetings but the acoustics in these rooms can be very harsh and so the noise levels can be uncomfortably high even with just a few people in the room. Conference calls and presentations that use pre-recorded audio can become a real problem. 
 
Offices in factories also have problems with noise being transmitted through doorways from the factory floor. 
 
The solutions 
 
Acoustic curtains can be used in many situations to reduce sound levels and to isolate certain areas from high ambient noise levels. Sound waves reflecting around a room will pass through a curtain several times and each time this happens some of the energy will be absorbed. This will reduce sound levels in the room and make the acoustics sound much less harsh. 
 
Mutiple layers of fabric are often used to increase the efficacy of the curtains. Interlinings such as cotton wadding can also be used in industrial locations. However, curtains with several layers do not always look appropriate in the office environment so we usually specify only one or two layers and increase the fullness up to 100%. This means using 2m of fabric for every 1m of finished curtain. This will ensure that the curtain hangs well rather than look like a duvet. For more information, please follow the link to the ACOUSTIC page. 
 
To help with sound being transmitted through a doorway or window, a barrier layer of plastic can be incorporated. For more information please follow the link to the SOUNDPROOF page. 
 
The fabrics 
 
Wool serge is very efficient at absorbing sound energy and is the most commonly used fabric in acoustic curtains. It is extremely hard wearing and will retain its flame retardancy rating even if it gets wet. It is available in several colours plus black. 
 
Velvet velour is also popular because of the luxurious finish and the wide range of colours available. It is slightly less efficient than wool serge at absorbing sound and is often used as the face fabric with wool serge as the lining. 
 
Wadding and bump are cotton fillers that add absorbency. 
 
When a barrier layer is added to reduce transmission through a doorway or window, we use a special plastic used for making cinema screens. 
 
I hope that you will find this article useful. For further information please contact- 
 
Tony Bailey 
Wavelength Acoustics. 
07703 299219 
tony@wavelengthacoustics.co.uk 
 
 
Copyright Wavelength Acoustics (Curtains and Drapes) Limited 2018 

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  • September 2018
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