admin

Dec

2013

Soundproofing Your Business

All the noises that come within the normal office environment can combine to make quite a racket. Keeping your workers and clients happy by keeping the noise pollution to a minimum can be a challenge. But there are some things that you can do to help sound proof your business.

There are many sound proofing techniques that can be used these days to keep noise both in and out. With the noise made by computers, walking on floors, traffic noise etc, latest soundproofing techniques can help enrormously.

You can also upgrade your current soundproofing solution if it is no longer up to the job. Metropolitan Insulation can help you to decide what option is the best for your specific business. Whether you are a commercial office building, a music studio or a doctors surgery, we have a solution that will fit your situation and budget.

Dec

2013

Soundproof Music Centre and Coffee Shop in London

A new soundproof coffee shop and music room has opened in the London borough of Camden this week. Tower 47 is a New York style cafe on Chalk Farm Road, London.

The back of the shop will sell musical instruments, whilst the front of the shop serves coffee, but it will also host music gigs overlooking thr cafe, on the mezzanine level.

They are also in the process of building seven soundproof rooms which will be used for lessons and rehearsals.

Nov

2013

Raising funds for charity with help from Sprayed Insulation!

A surveyor from Edinburgh is to spend two month on the remote island of Rockall to raise money for Help the Heroes. He will spend his time in an eight foot water tank, sprayed with foam insulation to protect himself from the cold.

Only four people in total have ever slept on Rockall, but Nick Hancock, 30, says he is confidant that he can do it;

“The RockPod survival shelter I have constructed is almost complete. It was recently insulated with sprayed insulation, and I am now finishing it internally.”

Nov

2013

£1.7m Noise Barrier in London

A group of residents in East London who have been campaigning for a concrete noise barrier at a cost of £1.7 million may see a political u-turn by councillors.

The council will have the final say on the matter on Tuesday. They are recommending that £300,000 be spent on enhancing the existing barrier on Veterans Memorial Parkway in London. But residents are fighting for a more robust solution of a concrete noise barrier to help to soundproof their neighbourhood from the noise pollution caused by London traffic.

Residents claim that the proposed work will not solve the problem. Local residents say;

“You can’t sit out in your back deck and have a decent conversation. The noise levels are ridiculous.” claims London resident Gerry Sunstrum, 69.

Oct

2013

World’s First Quiet House

The Ideal Home Show in London has been proudly showing visitors what is being billed as the ‘world’s first quiet house’. Featuring the quietest appliances available such as silent fans, shower pumps, hair dryers, soft close toilet seats and lots more innovative noise pollution decreasing ideas.

The house was created by a not-for-profit company Quiet Mark, to highlight the awareness of noise pollution in the UK. The project is a spin-off of the Noise Abatement Society, launched by Poppy Elliott.

“The Quiet House is like building the ultimate peace pad,” Elliott says. “When we come home, it’s supposed to be our sanctuary, our place to recharge. What’s happened is, we’ve gone on this amazing technological revolution where everything around us is technology but often the compromise in the design is that the sound hasn’t been considered, so you’ve got this massive orchestra at home.”

Major world cities have seen a significant increase in noise companies over the last five years. The soundproofing industry is therefore in a constant state of growth to keep up with demand for sound-reducing appliances and houses. An Ipsos poll in 2007 stated that the third most important factor when purchasing household appliances was noise reduction. It is therefore becoming a priority for property developers to consider acoustic design in new builds, as well as considering the aesthetics.

Oct

2013

Dark side of Silence?? Don’t be daft!

A recent new article on the BBC News website disused a so called ‘Dark Side of Silence. The article goes on to explain about the history of noise through the ages, and various archaic forms of soundproofing. Taking ancient Rome and it’s hustle and bustle of everyday life, where people would simply escape to the relative calm of the hills to get away from it.

Nowadays, thankfully there are more solutions to drown out the noise of city living. In Victorian London, many street musicians and the iron wheels of carriages were most to blame for the constant din of London life. Many authors of the time such as Charles Dickens have written of their madness at such.

The article says that one writer in particular Thomas Carlyle, was ‘nearly driven out of his mind, spent a fortune building a state-of-the-art “soundproof study” in his Chelsea attic’. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out to be a great success.

These days it is possible to live in London and enjoy the peace at the same time. Modern soundproofing techniques can achieve pretty much anything. Just ask us! to prove it!

To read the full BBC News article please click here.

Sep

2013

Noisy Neighbours?

Take some FREE advice from Metropolitan Insulation.

All of us at some point in our lives suffer from the unfortunate issue of noisy neighbours. If you are one of these unlucky households, you will know just how debilitating sleepless nights can be. Whether it is the consistent clip clap of footsteps from the flat above, or the dull thud of the bass from the neighbours teenage son, Metropolitan can give you advice and solutions that will make your home a more pleasant place to be, and make your life less stressful.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be publishing some snippets of soundproofing advice for your walls, ceilings, and even to reduce noise from your washing machine!

“We had looked high and low for a low disturbance method of noise insulation due to neighbours children. Capital were not only fast and efficient from survey to installation, but exceptionally quiet!” (Mr and Mrs Fothergill, Richmond on Thames)

Check back here for soundproofing advice from metropolitan insulation.

Mar

2013

Soundproofing Problems for Argyll and Bute Hotel

A Hotelier has been stopped from soundproofing his hotel by red tape. He has been refused planning permission to install double glazed windows so that his guests can get a restful nights sleep.

Local business owners have all supported the soundproofing application, but officials from Argyll and Bute council have refused on the grounds of the architectural and historic interest in the Category C Listed Building.

Read more about this story here http://www.buteman.co.uk/community/local-businesses/red-tape-blocking-window-replacement-says-bute-hotelier-1-2823841

Oct

2012

Report shows profit increases…

…have not translated this news into higher build numbers

Despite profit increases, a report shows that many large builders have not translated this news into higher build numbers.

Industry figures have called for action on house building after an analysis of results from eight of the UK’s biggest house builders showed that big profit increases have not been matched by higher build rates.

An analysis by Building of the most recent full-year results from the eight major publicly listed housebuilders, shows that while pre-tax profits rose by 161% in 2011 to £556m on the previous year, the number of homes built increased by just 3% to 45,018. Operating profits also rose 47% over the same period.

The analysis comes amid deepening concern over the rate of house building in the UK, with the latest government figures for the period from January to March showing the number of housing starts fell 11% to 24,140 on the previous quarter – a drop of 15% on the same period in 2011.

Sep

2012

The cost of construction disputes is rising

Construction disputes in the UK are costing more and taking more time to resolve, a communication by EC Harris has found.

The average price of a disagreement in England jumped 35% in 2011 to £6.5m up from £4.8m the year before.

The Worldwide Construction Disputes report also found the time brought to resolve UK disputes had increased, from 6.75 months in 2010 to 8.7 months in 2011.

Metropolitan Insulation Blog

Take some FREE advice from Metropolitan Insulation.

…have not translated this news into higher build numbers

Category

Archives

Tag Cloud