Asuinkerrostalojen äänieristävyyden kehittyminen Suomessa vuosina 1955-2008

Authors

• Jesse Lietzén
• Mikko Kylliäinen

Abstract

The development of sound insulation of apartment buildings in Finland during 1955-2008

In Finland, airborne and impact sound insulation of dwellings has been studied since the early 1950s. On the basis of published research papers and field measurement reports it is possible to evaluate how sound insulation between apartments has developed. However, measurement results in different decades are not comparable, because measurement methods have changed. This paper studies how sound insulation between apartments has varied between the years 1955 and 2008. The requirements and measurement results of different eras have been transformed to correspond with the present sound insulation regulations, valid since the beginning of the year 2000. Since the 1950s, the requirement for airborne sound insulation expressed in present terms as weighted apparent sound reduction index R’w has increased 4 dB both in horizontal and vertical direction, from 51 dB to 55 dB. The requirement for impact sound insulation expressed in present terms as maximum allowable weighted normalized impact sound pressure level L’n,w has changed 9 dB from 62 dB to 53 dB. The proportion of the measurement results fulfilling the requirements has grown from the worst value around 50-60 % in the 1960s and 1970s to 90-100 % in the last decade. The standard deviation of the measurement results has been decreasing. The proportion of the satisfied subjective judgments of inhabitants has increased from around 60-70 % to over 90 %. The mass of structures has grown, in the case of cast floors, even doubled.