When Tudhoe Moor Nursery School had a noise problem that needed sorting out quickly and efficiently, they approached acoustic insulation and absorption specialists Sound Reduction Systems Ltd (SRS) for help.
The level of noise in Dining Room at Tudhoe Moor Nursery School had become unbearable. SRS Director, Richard Sherwood commented:
"A combination of acoustically reflective surfaces on the walls, floor and ceiling, along with the high frequency noise generated by the children, was resulting in excessive levels of reverberation and echo within the room."
Under the terms of their ‘Acoustics For Schools’ initiative, SRS offer free acoustic reports and advice to any UK school, and Tudhoe Nursery School took advantage of this offer. After being supplied with dimensions and details of the surfaces within the room, SRS were able to use their acoustic modelling software to predict the current reverberation time of the dining area, and also work out how much absorption would be needed to solve the problem. It is this service in particular that ensures just the right amount of material is specified, ensuring costly over-ordering does not occur.
SRS recommended the installation of their Sonata Vario panels on the ceiling to reduce the reverberation time of the room. The Sonata Vario panels are mounted on fixing brackets to stand proud of the ceiling, giving the effect of a floating absorber. Unlike the traditional, directly bonded absorbers, this allows the back of the panel to absorb sound as well and greatly improves the acoustic performance of the product – this means you need far less panels to achieve terrific results.
Stephanie Collings, Nursery Head Teacher, was so impressed that once the first dining room had been treated, she instantly ordered enough material to treat a second room:
"We were all so impressed with the service and the product in the first room that we have re-ordered for another very similar room that needs the 'wonder' treatment."
The Sonata Vario acoustic panels are available in a range of fabric colours, and customers can choose to blend them in with the existing décor, or make a bold, colourful feature of them, as they prefer. Once installed they provide a beautiful solution to any absorption problem.
Another essential innovation of the Sonata panels is their use of a non-shedding acoustic foam, as opposed to the mineral fibre materials found in most other absorbent products. The use of a non-shedding, non-itchy material in educational environments is much preferred by staff, children and installers alike.
If you have any noise problem whatsoever, and would like your School to benefit from the free report and advice service on offer from SRS Ltd, please email info@soundreduction.co.uk or call 01204 380074. Further details and a gallery of the Sonata range of absorbent panels, along with SRS’s full range of soundproofing products and a free guide to acoustic within educational environments, can be found at www.soundreduction.co.uk
