Injected Insulation

Mineral is regarded as one of the best materials when it comes to fire resistance.

Oct

2016

ROI on ‘invisible’ Home Improvements

What’s the ROI on ‘invisible’ Home Improvements Like Sound Insulation

When you fit an extension on your house or perhaps a loft conversion, the return on investment is easy to quantify, but what about invisible renovations such as sound proofing and insulation?

The answer to this depends a lot on your local environment, the amount of noise likely to affect your property and how old the property is.

Of course installing sound insulation isn’t going to add value in the same way as renovations you can see but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t install it. Often in older houses it can sometimes be essential to install soundproofing to make sure a house appeals to buyers or tenants in the first place.

Sometimes you can highlight the work that has been done as part of the sales documentation so that potential purchasers will see what kind of benefits they are getting from your soundproofing upgrades. You may even want to keep photographs of the work being done too.

If you intend to stay in your home, then having a quitter environment in which to spend time away from work can improve your health and sense of wellbeing – and who can put a price on that!

Oct

2016

Global Demand For Rainscreen Cladding Grows

International demand for rainscreen cladding is set to soar as research reveals that it could reach USD 14.05 billion by 2024.

The main purpose of installing rainscreen cladding is to create a clear cavity between itself and a building which serves to protect it from the environment while allowing a building to ‘breathe’. This creates a healthy and protected environment for the people occupying the building.

The growth in the market is due to a range of factors including increased demand for lightweight insulation materials globally and which in turn is driven by an expansion in residential and commercial construction activities in emerging markets.

As the world’s governments commit to tough new rules aimed at reducing consumption of fossil fuels, energy saving is once again high on the agenda. Rainscreen cladding helps prevent water infiltration as well as aid the transfer of heat within buildings.

The UK has one of the biggest markets for cladding systems in Europe with extensive usage in commercial office buildings as well as residential housing.

Our rainscreen cladding is durable for up to 60 years and is a low maintenance way to improve energy efficiency and insulation in your home or office.

Sep

2016

Can Bad Acoustics Put You Off Your Food?

According to restaurant surveys, the biggest complaint from restaurant customers after poor service is noise. There is good reason for restaurant owners to take this seriously as the effect of noise on customers also works at a deeper level when it comes to the links between our senses according to a study.

Anyone who has been to a busy restaurant will understand that noise levels can get out of hand. Depending on what kind of occasion it is, noise may even help with the atmosphere, but when it comes to actually enjoying food, less noise means more enjoyment.

A recent study by Manchester University showed that bad acoustics can affect the way our food tastes. Saltiness and sweetness were detected more strongly when it was quiet than when background noise was introduced. The experiment had participants eating the same foods and it turns out people actually enjoyed the taste of their food more when they had a bit as opposed to a lot of background noise.

This may explain why a quiet restaurant is often the choice for romantic meals. Besides being able to hear what your partner is saying, the extra enjoyment they get from their food is likely to make the occasion more memorable.

Aug

2016

When The Sound Of Music Can Be Bad For You

Listening to music is one of life’s great pleasures. Unfortunately exposing your ears to loud music of any kind in the home or at work can have a detrimental affect on hearing according to doctors.

While loud noise over a short period can be uncomfortable for your ears, being exposed to loud noise over long periods of several hours can have a cumulative impact on ears that can actually end up damaging your hearing.

The problem for many people who end up with damaged ears is they don’t realise how much noise they are being exposed to in the home or at work until it is too late. For example, it’s natural to want to turn up the volume of music if you want to drown out other noise. This then increases the amount of damage to sensitive nerve fibres that transmit signals to the brain.

The use of headphones can be particularly problematic if they are used for several hours a day while working in the office. Any noise above 110 decibels is unsafe for the human ear.

One potential solution is to better insulate your home or office against external news so that you can listen to and enjoy your music at a level that won’t cause any lasting damage.

Aug

2016

Noisy Neighbours

Getting The Local Authorities Involved:
Keep a Record of Disturbances

Before involving your local authority, it makes sense to gather a body of evidence which you present to them as proof of the types of disturbances you are experiencing.

Note down the time of a disturbance, its length, and its nature.

If there is a reason for you neighbours making noise at that time, for example a dog barking because it is locked outside at night, then note this down too.

Once you have a decent body of evidence to show the extent of the nuisance your noisy neighbours are causing, you can contact your local authority or council.

Contact your Council

Within most councils, the environmental health department or city living department will have a dedicated contact for antisocial noise related issues. Some councils have a dedicated staff of Environmental Health Officers, who are able to issue warnings and on-the-spot fines to noisy neighbours who do not cease making noise. Failure to pay such fines can result in prosecution and a further £1,000 fine.

What The Law Says

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, councils are obliged to take reasonable steps to investigate complaints of nuisance noise (and other types of nuisance such as littering or emissions) made by residents. The same law states that where the local authority believes that a nuisance is present, it must serve an ‘abatement notice’ on the individual responsible. The abatement notice can forbid the nuisance altogether, or restrict it to certain times of day.

If the person creating the nuisance cannot be found, the notice is served on the owner or occupier of the property from which the nuisance is coming. Failure to obey the abatement notice is a criminal offence and can result in a fine of £5,000.

In considering whether a nuisance is taking place, the council will consider (1) the nature and location of the noise, (2) the time and duration of the noise and (3) whether the activity creating the noise has any value.

‘Nuisance’
In England and Wales, ‘nuisance’ is defined legally as an unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of one’s property. In deciding this, consideration of the standards of the average person, and the character of the neighbourhood in question (such as whether other residents who are affected have also complained) will be taken.

Confusingly, the definition of nuisance in Scotland is not the same as England and Wales. The definition in Scotland requires that the behaviour is both unreasonable and causes discomfort. Reasonableness is judged with regard to an imaginary ‘reasonable person’ – would they be affected by the level of noise being created?

There is no level of volume which must be met for a noisy neighbour’s behaviour to be considered a nuisance. The standard is subjective and the assessment made by the local authority will be subject to the individual assessor. This is another reason why keeping a diary of noisy behaviour by neighbours is important – it can lend weight to your case.

Solutions for Noisy Neighbours

Having noisy neighbours can be very unpleasant, but if you are informed you can do something about it. We recommend the following points of advice:

If you feel safe enough to do so, try to make personal contact. Many times you will find that your neighbours had no idea they were causing a nuisance.
If you prefer to keep a distance, use an anonymous letter or note. Be amiable, and try to let your neighbour see things from your perspective – if they are reasonable people they are likely to appreciate that everyone needs sleep!
Collect evidence. If your efforts at informing your neighbours that they are causing a nuisance are unsuccessful, you will benefit from having a diary of their noisy behaviour when you contact the authorities.
Be safe. When in doubt, do not engage your noisy neighbours – if you fear that they might escalate the situation into something beyond just noise making, or you feel frightened, bullied or intimidated, then contact the police rather than putting yourself into a potentially unsafe situation.

Jun

2016

How To Reduce Noise From Upstairs Flats

Living in flats often means putting up with noise from neighbours above if you happen to live on lower floors. There are times however when noise such as footsteps, and the sound of TVs can become unbearable. At this point you may be wondering what can I do about it?

First of all, if you flat or apartment is part of a block, then the first thing to do if your property is leasehold is to check that there is any provision for quiet enjoyment. If it is mentioned in the terms of the lease that flat owners fit carpet and underlay, then this will usually be enough to win any case which goes to court.

Before things get that far, it will need the involvement of either the freeholder or management company in any legal action which may not always be as easy as it sounds.

If there is no provision for noise from people walking above you or having their TV too loud then you can go to the local authority, however this can be particularly slow and time consuming.

If there appears to be no prospect of fighting your case without big legal bills, then acoustic insulation slabs fitted inside your ceiling cavities could be the answer. This option will require professional installation but at least it will reduce those annoying sounds to a minimum.

May

2016

Reasons Not To Ignore Soundproofing In Your Hotel

One of the big priorities for guests staying in hotels is peace and quiet but how many large hotels pay attention to all aspects of their comfort?

Comfy mattresses, supportive pillows and corridor acoustics are one thing but when it comes to true peace and quiet, it is important to make sure outside noise is kept to a bare minimum or removed altogether.

The main areas of a room where noise can be reduced are the walls ceilings and floors. While most hotels pay some attention to soundproofing walls, many don’t consider their floors. If it’s a period hotel the problem of sound coming through creaky floorboards can be even worse.

Staying in this type of hotel can soon result in the charm of that old building wearing off when you are forced to endure the sound of noisy guests arriving late in the night.

Hardwood flooring can be much more attractive and easier to clean than carpet but unfortunately it isn’t great for soundproofing. Carpet with good quality underlay can be an important part of overall soundproofing in hotel rooms because they reduce noise from foot steps and things being moved around.

Customers are only to happy to complain about noisy hotel experiences online today. So make sure you do all you can to at least give them a quiet room.

Mar

2016

How To Reduce Noise In Your Apartment

Homes are often made with thin walls these days so noise can be a problem if your home is attached to someone else’s. This noise can be even worse, if you have people living above and below as well as to the left and right as is the case in most apartments.

If you are suffering from noisy apartment neighbours, then don’t despair, there are lots of things you can do to reduce noise to a tolerable level. One of the first and least costly ways to reduce noise is to apply acoustic dampening paint on shared walls.

This may not get rid of your noise problem but it’s a start. The next thing to do is to carpet the stairs if you have them. This will not only help with sound insulation in your apartment but also reduce the level of noise people will be experiencing from below.

The less noise you make the less noise the people below are likely to make and at the very least you can feel more confident about knocking on their door and asking them to keep the noise down.

If you still find noise levels intolerable then you can always opt to soundproof your walls or add acoustic panelling. If you want to find out more about those, just give us a call.

Mar

2016

How To Avoid Buying A Noisy Home

One of the best ways to reduce the cost of insulating against noise is not to buy a noisy home in the first place. This might sound obvious but many of the signs of a noisy house or flat can be missed, particularly if you are distracted by how nice it looks.

If it’s an apartment you are looking for, try and go for the top floor in a development because living at the top means you don’t have any noisy neighbours above you. The problem is the top floor is usually a penthouse and this will probably be double the price of those apartments on lower floors.

If it’s a house you are looking for, avoid living next to schools, universities and colleges. Not only will you have noisy children on the playground to contend with in the case of the former, but also the twice daily rush of parents in 4x4s desperately trying to park as close to the school gates as possible. You should also avoid buying a house on a flight path, next to a bus depot or a busy railway line.

It might also be a good idea to visit the area of the home you intend to buy at different times of the day and on weekends. The noise levels could be very different depending on when you see the most activity in a given area.

Dec

2015

Uncertainty Over Green Policy

The Uncertainty Over Green Policy Impacts On Insulation And Energy Efficiency

The government’s decision to suspend the issuing of finance packages under the green deal scheme is taking a toll on the energy efficiency industry.

Some of what appears in manifesto is often forgotten about or swept under the carpet when a party enters government and this is evident when it comes to improving the energy efficiency of homes in the UK.

This appears to be the case even if the government insists it is committed to delivering on its pledge to improve the energy efficiency of a million households that are classed as fuel poor in the UK.

The uncertainty over when new policies will be put in place has led to a slowdown in the industry while everyone waits to see if any new financing packages will be introduced to give fresh impetus to the sector.

It has to be remembered that improving energy efficiency in homes is an important part of reducing unnecessary energy consumption which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Providing finance for home insulation then suspending it actually does more harm than good in the long term as it simply leads to work being cancelled or delayed.

According to figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Green Deal and ECO schemes saw a fall of 15% between July and August of this year.

Metropolitan Insulation Blog