• Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • A&D
  • INSTALLATION
  • MARKETS
  • AWARDS
  • EDUCATION
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MEDIA
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Breaking Flooring News
  • eNewsletters
  • PRODUCTS
  • Carpet & Area Rugs
  • Hardwood
  • Installation Products
  • Installation Tools & Equipment
  • Laminate
  • Resilient
  • Specialty
  • Tile & Stone
  • MARKETS
  • Commercial
  • Residential
  • AWARDS
  • Installation Awards
  • Top Flooring Products
  • EDUCATION
  • Continuing Education
  • Webinars
  • Sponsored Insights
  • MEDIA
  • FLOOR Podcast
  • Videos
  • TISE 2025 Videos
  • eBooks
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issues
  • Contact
  • Advertise
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
    • Breaking Flooring News
    • eNewsletters
  • PRODUCTS
    • Carpet & Area Rugs
    • Hardwood
    • Installation Products
    • Installation Tools & Equipment
    • Laminate
    • Resilient
    • Specialty
    • Tile & Stone
  • A&D
  • INSTALLATION
  • MARKETS
    • Commercial
    • Residential
  • AWARDS
    • Installation Awards
    • Top Flooring Products
  • EDUCATION
    • Continuing Education
    • Webinars
    • Sponsored Insights
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MEDIA
    • FLOOR Podcast
    • Videos
    • TISE 2025 Videos
    • eBooks
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP
Residential Flooring

Solving Sound Issues in Multi-Family Projects

By Tanja Kern
apartment
February 22, 2019

Imagine you move into a new apartment complex only to realize your upstairs neighbor does a Zumba workout every morning at 5 a.m. Sound issues are the bane of any multi-family dweller’s existence, and sound isolation issues are most effectively addressed during the design phase of a project. 

Unveiled in 2018, Sound Advisor by Shaw Industries showcases the impact ceiling and floor construction, as well as flooring and underlayment selection, have on room acoustics. The web-based tool helps users make more informed design and interior product selection decisions by pairing a sound file of an actual, controlled IIC lab test with their selected specifications with the IIC rating and data. 

Impact sounds are measured and reported using an Impact Insulation Class rating, or IIC rating. To develop the rating, a standardized machine taps on the floor repetitively with metal hammers. A receiving device is placed in the room below to measure the sounds in decibels and across a range of frequencies.

sound transmission diagram“In a real-life multi-family setting, that might be reflective of an upstairs neighbor pacing in high heels on a hardwood floor, a child or pet bouncing a ball on the floor, or a heavy chair being dragged across that floor,” said Layne Dugger, vice president of national accounts, multi-family, Shaw Industries. “All of these are impact sounds, resulting from contact with a barrier—in this instance, the floor.”

IIC ratings can range from as low as 25 up to 110. The higher the score, the more impact sound is reduced. The International Building Code requires a minimum IIC of 50—or 45 in a field test—however, most people can still hear sounds through a barrier up to a score of 65.

Impact sounds transmitting through the floor are a major concern for property managers with multi-family residents, student housing, and hotels. According to property managers, noise is among the top three most frequent complaints made by residents. These complaints aren’t just idle chatter. Twenty percent of residents say they would move if there were noisy or annoying neighbors.

According to real estate expert Edward Kelley, one turnover on a rental rate of $1,120 costs the owner $3,360 in lost revenue. So, the emphasis on noise and acoustics in the multi-family space is understandably a significant business consideration.

For example, the owner of a large apartment complex used the same flooring construction and different types of flooring covering in different buildings. Results showed that simply adding carpets in bedrooms reduced the percentage of complaints from 3.2% to 1.9%.

Using underlayment can also have a big impact. As an example, depending upon the floor and ceiling construction:

  • A bare concrete floor, with no insulation, can score an IIC of 29. That sounds pretty loud.
  • Adding 2 millimeters of luxury vinyl tile (LVT) with no underlayment can increase the IIC to 45.
  • Simply adding an underlayment can increase the IIC to 68.
  • Switching from LVT to engineered vinyl plank (EVP) at 5.5 millimeters with no underlayment, the rating could be an IIC of 56.
  • Add an underlayment to the EVP. The IIC rises to 68.

Dugger said Sound Advisor can help specifiers and project planners choose flooring solutions that help with sound reduction in multifamily structures. 

“With the growing market interest in acoustics, it’s easy to get caught up chasing numbers,” he said. “IIC ratings have been the only thing on the market to help flooring specifiers and others estimate the sound performance of a product and its ability to meet acoustical standards, guidelines and code minimums.”

Published acoustical levels can be misleading. “In a quest for the highest number, it can become tempting to set up a lab test scenario that will produce the absolute best result—i.e., the highest number in a controlled environment,” he said. “This lab result is usually a poor predictor of real-world performance. The reality is the lab environment cannot be replicated in the real world. Plus, many of the common lab setups used to achieve the high acoustic performance are not often used in real world settings. The result is a confused marketplace.”

This can create a tremendous discrepancy between expected performance and the actual performance of a space. Lab tests should be good indicators of what results will be achieved if an acoustic field test is performed.

Dugger said Shaw’s comparative research provides specifiers with a better understanding of the impact that floor and ceiling construction have on IIC ratings and how flooring products perform in each of those spaces. Sound Advisor provides the ability to showcase to customers a more realistic representation of how a product will perform in the field.  

For reference, hard surface products typically range between 45 to 60 IIC, while soft surface products range from 58 to 80 IIC. 

“If a product is significantly out of this range, I’d encourage buyers and specifiers to explore further to ensure a product’s IIC ratings are accurate to real world scenarios,” Dugger said. A few questions to consider:

  • Is a test result available for the product?
  • How was the product tested?  
  • Did the lab environment use a floor and ceiling construction similar to the space in which you are designing / this product will be installed?


Sound Advisor, which won a Silver Davey Award for digital excellence in website construction, can be accessed via the following sites: 

  • Patcraft: patcraft.soundadvisor.com
  • Philadelphia Commercial: philadelphia.soundadvisor.com
  • Shaw Contract: shawcontract.soundadvisor.com
  • Shaw Floors – multi-family: multifamily.soundadvisor.com
  • USFloors: COREtec.soundadvisor.com
KEYWORDS: acoustics multifamily housing

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Tanja kern headshot 2023

Tanja Kern is associate publisher and editorial director of FLOOR Trends & Installation. She brings more than 20 years of experience covering the flooring, design, and construction industries through print and digital platforms.  


Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • resilient flooring

    The 7 Types of Resilient Flooring

    The resilient flooring category is comprised of many...
    Resilient Flooring
    By: Resilient Floorcovering Institute
  • QuickDrain USA’s ShowerLine linear drain

    Tips for Curbless Shower Installation Using a Linear Drain

    Consider these four tips when planning for a curbless...
    Installation How-To
    By: Darryl Jones
  • 2024 New Flooring Product Guide

    2024 New Flooring Products Guide

    We explore this year's introductions in area rugs,...
    Flooring Installation
    By: FLOOR Trends & Installation Editors
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Manage My Account
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Subscription Customer Service

Shaw Flooring Network Retailers Report Post-Election Sales Surge

Shaw Flooring Network Retailers Report Post-Election Sales Surge

SolidTech R: Sustainable, High-Performance Flooring from Bottle to Floor

SolidTech R: Sustainable, High-Performance Flooring from Bottle to Floor

Retailers Share Top Takeaways from Shaw Flooring Network Convention

Retailers Share Top Takeaways from Shaw Flooring Network Convention

What Shaw Flooring Network Dealers are Banking on for 2025

What Shaw Flooring Network Dealers are Banking on for 2025

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the FLOOR Trends & Installation audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of FLOOR Trends & Installation or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Woodura Herringbone 2.0
    Sponsored byBjelin

    The Herringbone Floor of the Future

Popular Stories

company branding

Branding and Marketing Strategies for Flooring Contractors

Mimi Mulugeta and Michael Barrows

Military Vet Trades Retirement for New Flooring Venture in Alpharetta

how to properly trowel adhesive

Flooring Adhesives Education: The Key to Preventing Costly Installation Failures


Download the Free Moisture Meters Guide

Events

December 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Growth Challenges in the Flooring Industry

What’s holding you back from growth in 2025?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

2025 BNI Interiors Square Foot Costbook

2025 BNI Interiors Square Foot Costbook

See More Products

FLOORtalk podcasts - Listen Now

Related Articles

  • SFN 2025 Believe.jpg

    Shaw Flooring Network Convention Believes in Family, Innovation and Growth in 2025

    See More
  • NAHB_Single-Family Home.jpg

    Single-Family Starts Up in August but Supply-Side Issues Linger

    See More
  • Charlie Dilks CCA Global Parnters

    CCA Global Solving for LVT Supply Chain Issues

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • M:\General Shared\__AEC Store Katie Z\AEC Store\Images\Flooring images\new FL site\tile-style-for-home.gif

    Tile Style for the Home

  • floordesign.jpg

    Floor Design

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • July 28, 2016

    Two Must-Have Programs for Contractor Employees Working in Health Care Facilities

    There have been many changes to regulations and increased safety concerns for floor covering contractors completing work in health care settings.
View AllSubmit An Event
×

We’re rolling out the red carpet of flooring knowledge!

Stay in the know on the latest flooring retail trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
    • Breaking Flooring News
    • eNewsletters
  • PRODUCTS
    • Carpet & Area Rugs
    • Hardwood
    • Installation Products
    • Installation Tools & Equipment
    • Laminate
    • Resilient
    • Specialty
    • Tile & Stone
  • A&D
  • INSTALLATION
  • MARKETS
    • Commercial
    • Residential
  • AWARDS
    • Installation Awards
    • Top Flooring Products
  • EDUCATION
    • Continuing Education
    • Webinars
    • Sponsored Insights
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MEDIA
    • FLOOR Podcast
    • Videos
    • TISE 2025 Videos
    • eBooks
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP