R Rating Sound Transmission Of Floor Coverings

Sound transmission class stc is an integer rating of how well a building partition attenuates airborne sound in the usa it is widely used to rate interior partitions ceilings and floors doors windows and exterior wall configurations see astm international classification e413 and e90.

R rating sound transmission of floor coverings. Sound absorption of floor coverings may be measured on two of those scales. The floor covering industry considers the sound insulation very important in living areas such as multi family or single family dwellings. Sound transmission is rated using three different standards each defining a different way in which sound is transmitted. The third covers room to room transmission more appropriate for walls.

Floor coverings with a high iic rating help to reduce impact sound transmissions to lower levels thus reducing or eliminating those bothersome noises. This is called impact sound transmission. The lowest iic rated floors ceiling assemblies come in at around 25 and the highest rated systems can come in at 85 and up. Impact sound complaints are common on floor ceiling assemblies that meet the bare minimum requirement of 50 decibels iic.

The higher the number the better the sound isolation. When evaluating flooring underlayment sound deadening and acoustical ratings are one of the things homeowners or hoa considers it all begins with how sound is generated and the medium it transfers through. Stc is widely used to rate interior partitions ceilings floors doors and windows. The higher the stc rating the better sound isolation the wall assembly is to achieve.