The Gateway, Leeds, Regupol 4515 (REGUPOL sonus eco) Acoustic Underlay Case Study

CMS Danskin were able to provide Regupol 4515 (REGUPOL sonus eco) to the prestigious new Gateway project in central Leeds. As the city centre’s largest residential project to date, it has also provided the area with a luxury landmark.

In keeping with high-end living, the interior design of the new build project incorporated a number of characteristic atrium and foyer spaces. While this lack of uniformity gave the building and its apartments an impressive level of individuality, it also created irregular shaped rooms which were difficult to work with from a finishing perspective.

The finish of the apartments incorporated tiles throughout all of the bathroom and shower areas. To comply with Part E impact sound regulations, an acoustic flooring system had been specified for use under the tiled floor finish. However, when the tile fitters began installation, a number of challenges emerged.

Phil Johnson, building development manager at Aqua Interiors, explains:

“The acoustic matting and adhesive combination we were initially using at The Gateway caused us a few problems. There were issues from the tile fitters regarding application of the adhesives, and the over flexibility of the system meant that the grouting was cracking and crumbling once the surface was subjected to weight and traffic.” As the tiling contractors were already on-site, a reliable alternative that would meet Part E standards for impact sound had to be sourced and delivered against extremely tight timescales.

The Solution

As the only acoustic tiling system on the market to comply with the UK Tiling Association’s (TTA)

Coefficient of Restitution figure (0.56), a test method to assess the impact resistance of ceramic floor tiling, Regupol Acousti-Tile was identified as the best solution to overcome the difficulties being experienced at The Gateway.

The main component in the Regupol Acousti-Tile system is Regupol 4515 Multi (REGUPOL sonus eco), a high performance acoustic underlay which isolates impact sound at source. Regupol 4515 Multi (REGUPOL sonus eco), which can be used with any finish, is first bonded to the construction’s base floor using Ardex AF200.

Tiles are then laid on top of Regupol 4515 Multi (REGUPOL sonus eco) using BAL Acousti-Bond adhesive. The acoustic tiling system is completed by filling in the joints using an appropriate grout finish, which is dependent upon whether the base floor is concrete or timber.

As a complete acoustic tiling system, all components of Regupol Acousti-Tile are delivered to site in a single delivery. Regupol 4515 Multi (REGUPOL sonus eco) and the complete Regupol range is available exclusively in the UK through CMS Acoustics.

The Result

The quality of the finished bathroom environments is in keeping with the ambition and attention to detail of The Gateway project overall. By installing Regupol

Acousti-Tile, Aqua Interiors has ensured that the impressive tiled floor surfaces will not cause residents disruption because of excessive noise transfer between dwellings.

Having undergone independent site trials, Regupol Acousti-Tile has been shown to achieve an impact sound value of up to 52dB, which is significantly less than the 62dB required by Part E of the Building Regulations.

Johnson concludes: “All of the environments were around 4-5m², but there was a great deal of variation in the room shapes and sizes, meaning there were some changes to the setting once we were on-site.

Regupol Acousti-Tile was versatile enough to cope with any changes we made – the Regupol 4515 Multi (REGUPOL sonus eco) element was easy to trim and shape while BAL Acousti-Bond offered the same.