Soundproofing an office room is becoming a common occurrence in the workplace for various reasons. The concept of a soundproof office booth allows for a sense of privacy or peaceful release when employees need a quiet space to reflect or finish work. Soundproof office rooms were styled around a phone booth office design to create a space that offers a completely different aspect to the average office space—research shows the effects of soundproofing was extremely beneficial for employees, soundproofing was shown to decrease errors in work by 10% and reduce stress by an astonishing 27% than a regular office space. More companies are beginning to invest in a soundproof office booth to increase work efficiency and lower stress levels as an incentive, and accommodate customers who don’t enjoy background noise while speaking to customer service.
How To Soundproof An Office Room
The popularity of soundproofing a room has become commonplace in numerous spaces, such as cafeterias, office spaces, classrooms, churches, libraries, auditoriums, dance studios, and even hotels. The need for a soundproof space is mostly to accommodate and attract customers to their business—some people would prefer not to hear excessive outside noise that may distract them. People tend to factor in businesses’’ intended purpose to determine if the area is a decent noise level; for example, a library would have far more complaints about noise-related distractions than a coffee shop. Large companies, like hotels, often get complaints from customers, the #1 complaint being unwanted noise—during their quiet times, ratings are nearly 32% higher. The solution for these complaints is a soundproof booth, which is designed to block out all outside noise that could potentially be a disturbance. Learning how to soundproof an office room is essential when keeping sounds from entering or leaving a space—understanding the differences between the two gives a clear idea about how to properly soundproof a room.
To fully understand the logistics behind soundproofing tactics and various products, it’s best to measure the space intended to be soundproofed. Begin by measuring the room’s dimensions to see what products and materials will work best for soundproofing, make sure carefully measure everything—areas that vary in size can change the method require to effectively soundproof. Once you’ve collected accurate measurements of the space, measure noise levels by using an SPL (Sound Pressure Level) to determine the decibels in the space, it’s important to understand these preemptive steps are critical to designing a soundproof room fitting for your office space.
Recording the amount of noise through the Sound Transmission Class is imperative in determining the amount of noise reduction required for sound to not escape or travel in the room. Knowing the ratings on the scale is important when factoring in what provides optimal soundproofing for spaces, larger STC ratings typically mean a strong noise reduction method is required. Be sure to measure the sound level in the adjoining room to determine its STC and finally calculate the reverberation time in the first room to find sound absorption.
1. Apply noise reduction materials after measuring the space and sound absorption of an office, then measure the STC of the office walls and ceilings. When choosing noise reduction materials make sure to factor in both the noise entering the office and leaving an office, because the two methods require a far different application for proper soundproofing.
Understanding the difference between noise reduction and noise absorption is an important thing to know when understanding how to soundproof an office room or a soundproof phone booth. For noise reduction, placing partitions within a room insulates room into small spaces—the air spacing between the partitions helps reduce noise by placing a physical barrier between it. Installing features, like carpets, upholstered furniture, and ceiling tiles can assist with reducing the sound in an office. However, noise absorption focuses on blocking out surrounding noises with additional window panes that help keep out noise with its density. Plugging in the windows with acoustical drapes and covering the ceilings and walls with acoustic panels and other adsorption products completely absorbs any outside noise that allows for sounds to stay within the confines of the room when learning how to soundproof an office room.