Sound insulation

Normally, comfort and well-being in the home are associated with being comfortable, with a pleasant temperature and protected from the inclemency of the weather, both in summer and winter. But comfort and quality of life at home has another very important component: acoustic insulation.

Noises from the street, from neighbours… Those that creep into the home can make life at home particularly difficult, especially when night falls or when silence is needed for studying or teleworking. And, although many people are often used to dealing with these nuisances, they should not be satisfied, as there is a solution.

80% of homes in Spain suffer from sound insulation deficiencies according to Pisos.com

Unfortunately, in Spain it is culturally accepted to put up with outside noise in the home due to the high percentage of homes with poor acoustic insulation. In other words, they are not properly protected against these undesirable noises that easily creep in (cars, shouting, music, neighbours’ conversations, their footsteps or the classic dragging of furniture…).

However, it is not necessary to resign ourselves to living with these annoying tenants. And to avoid disturbing our comfort and our rest, the solution is much easier than going to live in the mountains. It is called acoustic insulation. And at Molins we want to tell you what it is.

Thermal comfort and well-being in the home

Sound insulation systems protect our homes from noise. They soundproof them with one solution or another depending on the type of noise they suffer. For example, if it comes from outside, from the street, it is best to install double-glazed windows with an air chamber. If it comes from the next-door neighbour, it would be advisable to build a partition wall with insulating material inside the house to insulate it from the neighbouring one.

However, the trend that is being imposed and which we advocate in Molins has to do with the thickness of the building materials. If these are thicker and more resistant, they will better insulate the house from noise, making it unnecessary to carry out a subsequent rehabilitation due to noise problems.

Therefore, materials can be key to achieving acoustic and thermal comfort in the home. A 360º to wrap the home in a very effective way so that comfort is complete and silence is a reality. And not only at home, because these solutions are equally valid for hotels -seven out of ten in Spain have noise problems-, restaurants or shopping centres. Places with a lot of hustle and bustle and constant movement of people that can disturb customers and nearby buildings.

What are the critical points?

However, before opting for the most suitable solution, a number of critical points that are often problematic in terms of noise should be taken into account. These are the typical points and installations in the house that are usually noisy in almost all houses.

We are talking, for example, about pipes and plumbing, which are responsible for around 10% of the noise in a home, or the boiler room and the lift, which account for 7% of the noise. And, of course, footsteps, running, slamming doors or shouting in the doorway, which account for 5% of the total.

All this must be taken into account before construction, because, for example, downpipes in buildings are better insulated during construction. It is therefore important to consider acoustic comfort in the construction project, which is a further guideline when acting to make homes and buildings comfortable from all points of view.

This should not only be paid attention to by those involved in the construction sector, but should also be included in building regulations and standards. They must be updated as a matter of urgency to make it compulsory to include materials and solutions that guarantee proper sound insulation in buildings.

At Molins we have the PROPAM® AISTERM Silence system, which insulates the home thermally and acoustically from outside noise to guarantee maximum comfort in the home.

If we want to achieve a housing stock that is comfortable and healthy at all levels, noise must be kept out of homes. So that feeling at home is the rule and not just the exception.