Acoustic separation issues

Residential Property – UK

This matter involved the conversion of an existing 2-storey building into flats.

Soon after moving into the ground floor flat, the homeowner complained about poor acoustic separation offered by the timber-joist floor separating his flat from the flat above.  The homeowner commenced criminal proceedings against the developer for breach of the Building Regulations.

WJM&P were engaged as the architectural expert by the homeowner to report on the adequacy of the design and construction of the separating floor and to outline a remedial scheme.  We concluded that the floor lacked mass and the finishes were not sufficiently independent of the structure of the floor.

Our expert report on the technical issues was exchanged with the developer, and the case was settled by the magistrates’ court.