Noise complaints usually start with a door. Generators, compressors, and plant rooms can be insulated almost everywhere, but steel doors, which are typical with gaps, can be problematic. If housing is located nearby, it can become a problem with the council, and sometimes a planning condition is applied on the site.
How acoustic performance is measured
The sound blocking capability of acoustic doors is measured in lab tests and quoted as an Rw figure. Higher figures mean more sound is blocked. It is convenient to be able to compare products this way, but the Rw figure is a lab figure and perfect fit and complete seals are assumed for the measurement.
Why the installed door rarely matches the brochure
Sound can get through gaps way easier than it can get through steel. A small gap under a door, a worn out seal or a frame that isn’t properly sealed to the wall can easily undo most of what a door is trying to do.
Acoustic doorsets are generally made up of a fully sealed frame and a drop seal at the bottom. The seals are designed to meet the doorset evenly, therefore the doorset needs to be fitted accurately. The seals will also wear with time and use. Therefore the doorset needs to be inspected at every service, as well as when the neighbours complain.
Still a security door
Plant rooms and generator enclosures are susceptible to theft and are typically found at the back or on the roof of a building. These areas don’t require acoustic seals. However, an acoustic door set still contains a steel door to protect expensive equipment. Therefore, the locking mechanism, hinges and fixings are equally as important as the seals.
Acoustic louvres can also be integrated into doors and walls. Standard louvres will allow sound out as easily as they will allow air in. If the doorset needs to be certified for fire and acoustic performance, the doorset will need to be tested as a single system and therefore can be more costly.
Plant room louvres
Equipment in plant rooms is costly and is often easily removed. The entrances to plant rooms are often at the rear of the building or on the roof and are often made of ventilated louvred steel.
The design of louvres means that how they are made is very important. Look for louvres that can’t be levered out from the outside, as fixings will be on the inside. Chevron-style louvres mean that no one can see in and also no tool can be passed through. The door should still be a proper steel doorset with a good lock, not a louvred panel on a light frame.
Risers and service cupboards
Risers provide services to people in the entire building. Security on the doors is only half the issue. The other half is how many people have keys. A door made of any material on a common key system that has been copied a dozen times is hardly secure. A restricted key system or an access control system on the riser doors is usually more cost effective than a heavy door.
Bin stores
The risk is more arson than theft. Wheelie bins pushed up against a building and set on fire are a well known cause of commercial fires. A lockable steel door on the bin store stops the bins from being moved and stops people fly tipping into your bins and people sleeping in the store.
Bin store doors take a hammering from bins being dragged through them. Therefore frame fixings and hinges for these doors need to be far heavier than you would expect for a door that’s “just the bins”.
Back to the full guide: Steel Doorsets
Related: Fire Rated and Emergency Exit Doorsets | Security Steel Doorsets and LPS 1175