Hea 05 Acoustic performance

ANC membership/registration scheme compliance route - KBCN0246

The Association of Noise Consultants (ANC) registration scheme is only applicable to buildings covered in Approved Document E. It therefore covers Dwellings-Houses, flats and rooms for residential purposes and schools, and so would only apply to assessments that contain these room types. For these assessments, if the suitably qualified accoustician is a member of the ANC, they must also provide evidence to demonstrate that they are a full member of the ANC registration scheme. For all other building/room types, assessors can still demonstrate compliance by the other routes listed in the manual.

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Applying internal partition sound insulation criteria to internal doors - KBCN0665

Where sound insulation criteria apply to internal partitions the calculations do need to include any doors which are part of the wall in question. While sound insulation performance of a typical door will be lower than for a typical wall, with careful design, specification and detailing, this can be overcome. 

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Applying the requirements to shell only + shell and core assessments - KBCN00075

A Suitably Qualified Acoustician (SQA) must carry out a quantifiable assessment of the specification of the built form, construction and any external factors that are likely to affect the indoor ambient noise levels. From this assessment, the SQA must confirm that the developer’s scope of works will enable a future tenant utilising a typical fit-out and specification to meet the levels required to demonstrate compliance with the BREEAM criteria. Where the specific room functions and areas within the building are yet to be defined, the acoustician’s assessment should demonstrate that the criteria for the most sensitive room type likely to be present in the building is capable of being achieved. Where the typical fit out would include a range of requirements (e.g. offices with a mix of open plan, cellular offices, meeting rooms and breakout areas; or retail with sales floor, stock/storage, office and staff rest areas), the acoustician should make an assessment based on a speculative layout and outline specification to determine whether the requirements of the relevant best practice standard are achievable and include examples of the most sensitive room types. Where the majority of a building’s floor plan will require high performance acoustic environments (e.g. classroom/seminar buildings), then the BREEAM requirements must be achieved for the entire shell where specific layouts are not determined by the built form. Post-construction testing is not required subject to confirmation from the project team that the built form, construction and any external factors have not changed from those used in the SQA's assessment.

14-Feb-2024 - Scheme applicability updated. Clarified applicability to shell only assessments. Title updated.
09-Aug-2019 - Updated applicability to UK NC 2018
08-Dec-2017 - Clarification added regarding post-construction evidence.

   

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Compliant test body – alternative compliance route using a Suitably Qualified Acoustician - KBCN1412

Where acoustic testing and measurement has not been performed by an organisation or individual that meets the definition of a compliant test body, compliance with this requirement can still be demonstrated where a Suitably Qualified Acoustician has reviewed the relevant test report(s). The test report must: a) Be countersigned or authorised by a Suitably Qualified Acoustician b) Include a clear statement that the acoustic testing and measurements have been carried out in accordance with the BREEAM or HQM testing requirements AND c) Include evidence that the verifier meets the definition for a Suitably Qualified Acoustician within the relevant BREEAM or HQM technical manual

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Erratum – up to v1.0 – issue overview icons - KBCN1070

Some icons in the recently published UKNC2018 technical manual indicate incorrect numbers of credits available by assessment type. The table below summarises the error and correction needed.

12-Oct-2022 - Title amended for clarity.
10-Aug-2018 - Technical manual updated. Only relevant to v1.0 of the manual.

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No relevant areas for room acoustics - KBCN1291

Where a building does not have areas relevant to the 'room acoustics' criteria, the credit available for room acoustics can be awarded by default where the building complies with the indoor ambient noise levels and the sound insulation criteria.

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Remedial works – timing of acoustic re-testing - KBCN1164

The intent of CN "Remedial works" is that, where these are required, re-testing is carried out prior to handover and occupation. However, it is permissible to carry out the re-testing post-occupation. This is provided any specific guidance for particular building types related test conditions have been met (for instance, it may be that some building specific guidance requires furniture or carpets to not be present during the testing). Compliance cannot be achieved based on a letter from the SQA confirming that the contractor has followed their advice to achieve the required performance.

07.11.18 KBCN amended to allow for re-testing to be carried-out post-handover.

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Robust Details – Testing requirements - KBCN1251

For self-contained dwellings, which form part of a Multi-residential assessment, compliance can be demonstrated where the use of constructions for all relevant building elements have been registered with and assessed and approved by Robust Details Limited (RDL) and found to achieve the performance standards required for the number of credits sought. Robust Details (RDs) are construction solutions that provide an alternative to pre-completion sound insulation testing as a method of complying with Requirements E1 of Approved Document E (2003 Edition) of the Building Regulations (England and Wales), DOE Technical Booklet G - Sound 2012 (Northern Ireland) and Technical Handbook Section 5 - Noise, 2013 (Scotland). The relevant plots on a development must be registered with RDL and built in accordance with the RD specification. To give a reasonable level of assurance that these details will achieve the required minimum standards, RDL carry out random inspections during construction and random sound insulation tests after construction. A Robust Detail is deemed to be approved for BREEAM (Multi-residential building) credits only when it achieves a specified performance level as assessed by RDL. Robust Details can only be used in relation to assessment for new build dwellings and cannot be used to assess the performance of construction details in rooms for residential purposes or material change of use.

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Room acoustics – residential institutions in Scotland - KBCN1512

For projects in Scotland, Approved Document E3 of the Building Regulations shall be used as the benchmark for the assessment of room acoustics. This Approved Document covers reverberation in the common areas of buildings containing flats or rooms for residential purposes. This addresses the absence of relevant requirements in the Scottish building regulations for this building type and ensures consistency between assessments.

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Suitably Qualified Acoustician – Associate membership of the Institute of Acoustics - KBCN00064

Associate membership of the Institute of Acoustics (IOA) can be considered to demonstrate that the individual is a member of an appropriate professional body. This supersedes previous guidance on this matter, which has been updated following confirmation from the IOA that ‘Associate members’ are bound by the same Members’ Code of Conduct as ‘Full members’.    

06/06/2022 - BRE stance on this has been revised - Title also updated for clarity
13/01/2020 Wording clarified and confirmed applicability to Issue Pol 05

06/01/2020 Clarification that this applies to BREEAM UK NC2018

 

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