Enhancing Acoustic Performance with Acudor Acoustical Plaster Recessed Panels

Last Updated on January 24, 2024 by SampleBoard

Managing a building, commercial complex, or office space comes with various responsibilities focused on maintenance and ensuring everyone's focus and comfort. One of the features that you should enhance is the soundproofing of the walls to help employees accomplish tasks and increase productivity – but how? If you are looking at retrofitting or building walls to reduce noise, you should install acoustical plaster walls.    

Read on below to learn more about acoustical plaster walls and why you should install them.    

What are acoustical plaster walls, and why do you need one?    

Acoustical plaster is a type of finish that has soundproofing qualities. You can apply them to the wall or ceiling in any residential or commercial building to help reduce noise levels coming outside or from the next room or floor. It ebbs and captures sound reverberation by heating this energy, preventing external noise waves from bouncing off and producing echoes, giving the space a superb listening experience within, improving clarity, and promoting focus without compromising the interior with its seamless finish.    

Here are places where its ideal to install acoustical plaster-finished walls:    

  • Theaters and cinemas    
  • Recording studios    
  • Office spaces    
  • Hospitals and other healthcare facilities that require silence    
  • Libraries    
  • Concert venues and opera houses    
  • Residential homes    
  • Conference rooms    
  • Court houses  

Soundproofing plaster walls include a dense sound-absorbing backing layer from mineral wool, glass or natural fiber, and foam. Its features depend on its backing material, thickness, porosity, and installation surface. For example, mineral wool can make the plastered wall fire-rated; the thicker the layer, the more space to absorb sound.    

Tips on installing acoustical plasterboards  

Acoustical plasterboards are products that get the job done regarding soundproofing. These plasterboards are effective when installed on an establishment's walls or ceilings, but which part? Here are some tips on installing the acoustical plasterboards:  

  • If the installation area is a small room, there is no need for many acoustical plasterboards; one is enough for a tiny space.  
  • Installing in the wall behind speakers is an excellent way to immediately prevent the sound produced from traveling outside the same room.  
  • Apply the acoustical plasterboards on reflective surfaces or in the corners of a room.   
  • Place it evenly on the room's wall for a cost-effective installation process.  
  • For aesthetic effect, clump multiple plasterboards close together in a single wall.  

How does soundproofing work?    

Soundproofing is a specific term where a produced sound will not go past or inside the room due to materials that can block the sound, but there is more to that. Soundproofing pertains to blocking the sound from coming in and out of a single area, with the additional effect of lessening echoes produced by establishments with high ceilings. There are two types of soundproofing; sound blocking and sound absorption, and acoustical plasterboards belong to sound absorption.    

Soundproofing Capabilities of Plaster Walls    

Plaster walls are one of the construction materials that have soundproofing capabilities. This type consisted of several layers making it thicker and denser, giving it more mass which all help the acoustical plaster door to mitigate the noise as it travels from one area to another, protecting other rooms or areas from unwanted noise.    

Plaster walls can provide a good amount of soundproofing, but there are situations where more than these walls is needed. Here's a list of other ways to mitigate sound:    

  • Soundproof the door frames: Apply soundproofing methods like rubber, weatherstripping, or door gaskets to plug up the gaps around the door where unwanted noise might pass through.    
  • Soundproof the windows: There are products like insulation tapes or acoustic sealants to apply in windows that protect against unwanted noise.    
  • Install double-pane windows: These types block the sound much better than single-pane ones.    
  • Add thick curtains: thick curtains can help dampen noise.    

Are there any benefits of installing noise-reducing plasterboards?    

Noise pollution can lead to poor productivity and distraction in the office, causing discomfort for everyone. Installing acoustic plaster can help prevent this and can provide other valuable benefits such as:    

Benefit #1: Dramatic improvement in interior acoustics    

The primary function of acoustical plasterboards is to absorb sound so that the sound quality or interior acoustics stays the same or even improves. Installing these plasterboard improves the internal acoustic as the sound produced will remain within the room and spread out, dismantling the sound quality it possesses.    

Establishments with high ceilings are susceptible to producing echoes of the same establishment. An echo is another example of an unwanted noise that can annoy most of the occupants of the residence building. Installing acoustical plasterboards can absorb soundwaves near the established area, eliminating the production of echoes. Besides acoustical plasterboards, here's a list of items you can install to prevent echoes from happening:   

  • Carpets and Rugs   
  • Draperies and Tapestries   
  • Extra Thick Window Curtains   

Benefit #2: Highly versatile and customizable    

Aside from its various backing layer material, noise-reducing plasterboards come in other colors and textures to fit your walls and ceilings. You can hold it anywhere in the office or home, and it is suitable for double-curved, domed, and vault surfaces, allowing you to have more flexibility without the need for additional construction and new installation.    

Benefit# 3: Provides Better Privacy    

In a building or residential setup that caters to multiple rooms and occupants, the acoustical plasterboards help minimize or mitigate the sound in any room, promoting privacy and peace. The privacy given goes both ways, as your privacy will not get disturbed by the unwanted noise produced by the occupants in their respective rooms or areas. Giving effect to the phrase "respecting each other's privacy."   

Benefit #4: Boosting Productivity    

Soundproofing the establishment is very helpful if most of the occupants in the same establishment are either studying, working, or resting. Unwanted noise in your area disrupts your concentration and attention, affecting productivity and might jeopardize your deadlines. A little peace is what these occupants need, and the acoustical plasterboard will get the job done.   

Benefit #5: The Benefit of Aesthetics    

In addition to the noise-reducing capabilities of acoustical plasterboard, it comes with various aesthetics due to the design of these doors. You might do it in style if you're thinking of noise-proofing your building or residence with this plasterboard.     

Benefit #6: Prevention of the adverse effects of noise pollution    

Noise pollution is a severe threat to people as it provides adverse effects on both humans and animals that can go from hearing problems to total deafening of the ears. You can't physically touch noise pollution, but it can cause many types of harm to you physically and mentally. Here's a list of the adverse effects of noise pollution:    

  • Physical Effects: Although noise pollution is not a tangible thing, repeated exposure to it can physically affect you by causing migraine headaches and hearing impairments that lead to hearing loss, disturbed loudness perception, tinnitus, and distorted hearing.   
  • Psychological Effects: The human brain makes any sound you hear a sign of danger or threat, which means repeated exposure to loud noises can trigger problems such as anxiety or stress. Daily exposure to unwanted loud noises can make you furious and, with a short fuse, affecting your mental health.    
  • Sleeping Habits: Loud noise can disturb sleep even with heavy sleepers with the right amount of exposure. Lack of sleep provides adverse effects such as weakened immunity, high blood pressure, massive weight gain, poor balance, risk of heart disease, and lack of sex drive.   
  • Memory and Concentration: Loud noises can affect your concentration, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, leading to low performance in work or school-related activities.     

Noise pollution comes from what you call "noise pollutants"; they are responsible for the unwanted noise that suddenly disturbs you, creating a disturbance in a building or residence full of people. Noise pollutants come in two groups, human-made and animal-made. Here's a list of the two groups as a source of noise pollution:    

Human-made:     

  • Land, Air, and Water Traffic: These areas provide loud noises, especially on busy days. Excessive use of automobile sirens and horns and the aircraft noise when it flies above near you.    
  • Active Construction Sites: When you see a construction site near, you must prepare for the worst. These sites deal with heavy materials that emit loud sounds. Power tools such as chainsaws, rotary hammers, and loud chipping guns emit loud noise that can reach places far from the site. It does not stop there, as construction vehicles such as excavators, truck mixers, and digging machines exist.    
  • Events and Parties: The loud music played from gigantic speakers or the ramblings of an excited MC on occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings in bars, clubs, and public places.     

Animal-made:      

  • Yowling and meowing of cats   
  • Barking of dogs     
  • The croaking of frogs and toads, especially on rainy nights    
  • Howling of wolves and dogs     
  • Flying or Chirping by a flock of birds     
  • Noise from insects such as crickets and cicadas    

To maximize a soundproofing wall finish, pairing it with a recessed panel with acoustical properties, such as the Acudor Acoustical Plaster Recessed Panel, is highly recommended.    

Final Thoughts    

Acoustical plaster recessed panels have the same functionalities as an acoustic finish, with additional features such as providing convenient access to components behind acoustic walls. In addition, its 5/8" recessed door offers a virtually invisible finish after installation, as the center panel is slightly depressed to match its surrounding surface.    

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