The revision to Building Regulations Approved Document E (2003) – Resistance to the Passage of Sound came into effect at the beginning of July 2003. The amendments reflect the greater importance now placed upon reduction in sound transmission between dwellings for residential applications. There are no concerns regarding the use of steel deck composite floors as separating floors between dwellings and, in fact, they can achieve excellent acoustic performance over and above other forms of slab construction. Whilst the ability to reduce sound transmission
still relies to some extent on structural mass, greater importance
is placed upon the overall system performance based upon the interaction
of the floor construction with a suspended plasterboard ceiling
and resilient floor finish. |
For further guidance please refer to the following publications:-
Acoustic performance of residential composite
deck floors
New Steel Construction, Page34
July/August 2003
Acoustic performance of Slimdek
The Steel Construction Institute, SCI P321
2003
Acoustic performance of composite floors
The Steel Construction Institute, SCI P322
2003
Reference should also be made to Robust Standard Details (RSD), developed for the House Builders Federation, which may be used in lieu of in-situ acoustic testing for new build houses and flats. RSD E-FS-1 for steel separating floors notes the following for basic composite slab construction:-
- Minimum concrete density of 2200kg/m3
- Minimum 80mm of concrete over the shallowest part of the deck profile
- Minimum 130mm of concrete over the deepest part of the deck profile
For new build houses and flats, RSD E-FS-1 therefore dictates the use of normal weight concrete with the following minimum slab depths:-
Holorib
Ribdeck AL
Ribdeck E60
Ribdeck 80
Ribdeck 210
SD225
130mm
140mm
150mm
170mm
290mm
305mm
