Hi all,
I have some questions on this credit.
1. To meet the Site Exterior Noise, Table 1.3-1 of the 2010 SV Guidelines has defiend the exterior site noise exposure categories A through D, and there are some conditions for each category. For example, because the site is 400 ft distance from the nearest rail line so we choose category C. But if the day-night average sound level we measured is 68dB, could we choose category B? Is there a rule about how you choose the category by these different conditions?
2. We need to meet the speech privacy of Table 1.2-4 of the 2010 SV Guidelines. But I can't find any construction materials with these coefficients, how could I prove the spaces meet the requirements? Does anyone know how to meet the requirements of PI, AI, STI, SII?
3. There are two buildings in this project, one is for clinic and the other is for machenical equipment. Do we also need to consider the site exterior noise of the machenical equipment building? There are only one small office and a center control room in it.
Any help and suggestions will be appreciated.
Susan Walter
HDRLEEDuser Expert
1296 thumbs up
January 9, 2012 - 4:28 pm
James,
1. I think you have some leeway on selecting category B or C. How often does the train run? How noisy is the site when the train isn't running? Did you take your measurements according to ANSI S12.9? If the train runs once a day then I think you can select category B. If it runs more frequently and your clinic has sensitive patient groups, then C may be more applicable to your project.
2. If you are getting hung up on the different indexes or unusual building materials, you may want to consult with an acoustical engineer. The Privacy Index, Articulation Index, Speech Transmission Index and Speech Intelligibility Index are all measured according to ASTM/ANSI standards and will depend on the total construction; not the individual elements. Taking a big step back, it seems from your questions that the process is harder than it is intended in the RG. Anyone else have advice/experience with this?
3. For the mechanical building, depending on equipment you may want to build STC 50 walls for the workers assuming they are there a good portion of their day. Look at how much of their work day is spent in that environment and discuss the noisiness of the equipment with the MEP engineer. It is more likely that you'll be evaluating the impact of the mech. building on the adjacent clinic and the neighbors. Again, it may be a situation where you need an acoustical engineer.
S
James Chueh
93 thumbs up
February 11, 2012 - 12:59 pm
Thanks for your reply,
I still have some questions about acoustic environment.
1. When I refer to "Sound & Vibration Design Guidelines for Health Care Facilities", table 4.3-1 shows Recommended sound isolation performance between enclosed rooms. Take Consultation Room as example, there are only three different adjacent types in this table and the types are Public Space, Patient Rooms and Corridor (with entrance). Does it mean if the room next to the consultation room is not the type of above, there is no limitation in the wall between consultation room and the spaces?
2. There is recommended sound isolation of toilet room in the table 4.3-1. If the floor is only for mechanical or doctor purpose not for the health care such as consultation, exam and patient. Do we have to consider the sound isolation of toilet room?
Any help and suggestions will be appreciated.