Technical Note No 39

Sound transmission through building envelopes

This Technical Note is one of four on building envelope acoustics. The series comprises:

TN 37 Introduction to building envelope acoustics

TN 38 Acoustic performance of windows
TN 39 Sound transmission through building envelopes
TN40 Sound environment behind a building envelope

Introduction Sound transmission of an assembly of

components can be calculated provided the
This Technical Note deals with sound wall can be analysed as discrete areas, for
transmission through building envelopes each of which the Sound Reduction Index is
including different forms of predominantly known.
lightweight wall construction. It gives
guidance on how walls comprising a This applies to windows in walls and
number of separate elements can be collections of windows but note that sound
assessed. transmission through interface components
such a joining mullions between windows
Sound transmission from outside to inside is may not be known.
covered. Although many aspects are
common to sound transmission from inside
to outside the reader should also see BS Direct sound transmission
EN 12354-4:2000 if they are concerned with
containment of sound within a building. Sound transmission through a whole wall is
established by calculating an apparent
Performance of windows in heavy walls is sound reduction index (SRI) for the wall.
covered in TN 38 ‘Acoustic performance of This is used to determine the difference in
windows’. sound between the outside and inside.

The procedure is to calculate the sound

Principles power reduction for each element of the
wall. The total sound power reduction can
The performance of a wall or roof has to be then be calculated and converted to an
considered in terms of the internal spaces. apparent sound reduction index.
The aim is to provide a building envelope
that gives the required sound pressure When sound of intensity 1W/m2 falls on a
levels within a room or other internal space. wall, the sound power (in watts) transmitted
by an element is given by:
The noise level within a room will depend on
the amount of sound energy transmitted − Ri

through the wall and interreflection of sound wi = Si10 10

inside the room. The room effect is usually
determined by the amount of sound where
absorbing material in the room.
Si is the area of an element (m2)
Ri is the Sound Reduction Index of that
element (dB)

© CWCT 2003 January 2003

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Sound transmission through building envelopes TN 39

The total sound power transmitted over the Effect of wall shape
whole wall is then:
Where a wall is not plane, areas used for
− R' calculation purposes should be measured
w' = ∑ wi = S 10 10
on the inner surface.

where: For buildings of complex geometry and for

corner rooms the external sound levels may
S is the total wall area (m2) vary across the façade or roof. In this case
R’ is the apparent sound reduction a more thorough analysis is required.
index of the whole wall Generally the envelope can be divided into
areas of over which the external sound
The apparent sound reduction index is thus: levels are nearly homogenous. For each
area the apparent Sound Reduction Index
R' = −10 log 10 (w' /S) can be calculated. The effect of sound
transmission through the different areas
Holes due to construction tolerances or then be.
intentional ventilation paths can be treated
simply by assuming their sound reduction
index is 0dB. (In practice, they will exhibit a Testing
little sound reduction at low frequencies.)
Elements of facades can be tested in the
The acoustic performance of such things as same way as windows, TN 38 ‘Acoustic
transfer air devices is sometimes specified performance of windows’.
in terms of the Element Normalised Level
Difference, Dn.e. This is covered in BS EN Transmission suites used for testing can
12354-3:2000. typically test elements of area up to 10 m2.
However, a number of larger transmission
suites have been constructed capable of
Flanking transmission testing elements up to 4.9 m x 3.6 m.
These large test facilities allow the testing of
Flanking transmission is the transmission of assemblies of components including small
sound through the wall by flanking elements and flanking elements.
elements. These are elements that have
not been accounted for in the measurement The size of assembly tested and the
of Sound Reduction Indices. components included in it should take
account of the construction of the wall and
For sound travelling through an external the way in which the measured values are
façade, flanking would involve vibration of to be used to assess the overall
the façade being transmitted to internal performance of the building envelope.
walls and floors, which would then radiate
sound into rooms. In practice, this flanking Sound Reduction Indices should be
can often be ignored because the majority established for all the third-octave bands.
of sound generally passes through windows
and because there is little linkage between Field test methods of completed cladding
a curtain wall, or similar construction, and are given in BS EN ISO 140-5:1998.
the primary structure.

Where high levels of sound insulation are

required, it may be advisable to seek expert
advice on suitable constructions.

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Sound transmission through building envelopes TN 39

Sound Reduction by different Noise surveys used to establish the

constructions external noise level should be taken at
appropriate times of day and over
The sound reduction of a single partition is appropriate durations. Any survey should
usually determined by its mass per unit measure octave or third-octave frequency
area, by what is known as the Mass Law. band levels.
When the mass per unit area is doubled, the
Sound Reduction Index increases by about Even on a quiet site it may be advisable to
5dB. carry out a brief survey to establish whether
there are noisy periods.
For cavity constructions, the Sound
Reduction Index is NOT the sum of the In the case of aircraft noise and other noisy
indices of the individual layers. There is no environments, it is advised that an acoustic
simple formula that can be used to calculate consultant is employed.
the sound reduction index of a cavity
construction. It will depend on:
Responsibility for acoustic performance
• The masses of the individual leaves should be established early on in a project.
• The cavity size Acoustic performance of walls is normally
• The construction materials specified as a performance requirement for
• The degree of connection between the whole wall. It is for the specialist sub-
the two leaves contractor to decide how this should be
• Whether there is acoustic absorption achieved and the Sound Reduction
in the cavity performance of the different components:
glass, panels and so on.

Wherever possible in practice, measured The specialist sub-contractor responsible for

Sound Reduction Indices should be used the wall has no control over other aspects of
for cavity constructions. Sound Reduction the internal spaces in the building and
Indices may be given as weighted values factors such as reverberation time of a
RW or RTRA or as a spectrum based on room. For this reason a wall specification
octave or third octave bands. must require overall Sound Reduction
Indices for each third-octave or octave and
Some typical sound reduction indices are not a particular sound environment behind
given in Table 1 for the purposes of the wall.
illustration.
When setting the acoustic specification, it is
Specification important not to do so in isolation from the
architectural design. It is important for the
When specifying wall performance it should building’s architectural detailing to reflect
be remembered that a difference in noise the acoustic specification that has been set,
level of 3dB is only just discernible. if the later is onerous, as there may be
design implications outside the specialist
The aim is to provide sound insulation that subcontractor’s remit.
will give the required internal noise levels.
To do this precisely it is necessary to know
the external noise levels and an acoustic Workmanship
consultant may be employed to measure
noise levels. This is more normally the case Sound reduction indices measured in the
where the building is located on a noisy site laboratory will normally be greater than
or where a particularly quiet internal those achieved in the construction of a
environment is required. building. This occurs principally as a result
of workmanship. There may also be

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Sound transmission through building envelopes TN 39

legitimate differences between the site BS EN 12354-4:2000

details and those used in the laboratory. It Building acoustics. Estimation of acoustic
may be wise to subtract 2-3dB from performance in buildings from the performance
laboratory measured sound reduction of elements. Transmission of indoor sound to
the outside
indices to get the field performance.
BS EN 20140-10:1992, ISO 140-10:1991
It is important that no openings are left in Acoustics. Measurement of sound insulation in
the building envelope. This common source buildings and of building elements. Laboratory
of leakage will be less prevalent now that measurement of airborne sound insulation of
buildings are required to be more airtight small building elements
and are subject to air leakage tests.

Bibliography
Standards Building Bulletin 93, ‘Acoustic design of schools,
DfES, 2003.
BS 7643-3:1993, ISO 6242-3:1992
Building construction. Expression of users'
requirements. Acoustical requirements

BS 8233:1999
Sound insulation and noise reduction for
buildings. Code of practice

BS EN ISO 140-1:1998
Acoustics. Measurement of sound insulation in
buildings and of building elements.
Requirements for laboratory test facilities with
suppressed flanking transmission

BS EN ISO 140-3:1995, BS 2750-3:1995

Acoustics. Measurement of sound insulation in
buildings and of building elements. Laboratory
measurement of airborne sound insulation of
building elements
BS EN ISO 140-5:1998
Acoustics. Measurement of sound insulation in
buildings and of building elements. Field
measurements of airborne sound insulation of
facade elements and facades

BS EN ISO 717-1:1997
Acoustics. Rating of sound insulation in
buildings and of building elements. Airborne
sound insulation

BS EN 12354-3:2000
Building acoustics. Estimation of acoustic
performance in buildings from the performance
© CWCT 2003
of elements. Airborne sound insultation against
outdoor sound
University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath,
BA2 7AY
Tel: 01225 386541; Fax: 01225 386556
Email: cwct@bath.ac.uk;
Website: www.cwct.co.uk

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Sound transmission through building envelopes TN 39

Construction type Sound reduction index (dB)

RW 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz

Single profiled metal 27 18 19 25 28 29 31

skin (t=0.9mm)

Composite metal with 25 18 18 23 26 26 38

rigid insulation

Double metal skin with 36 16 27 34 47 45 55

fibrous insulation

Cavity brickwork 52 34 34 40 56 73 76

Table 1. Sound reduction indices for different types of construction

(These values are only indicative and measured values should be used for design
purposes)

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