Reducing Background Noise on a Balcony

From the beginning of spring till the end of summer we often receive the following question: “How do I solve the sound issues at my balcony?” The sound problem on a balcony mainly consists of background noise that rebounds against the balcony ceiling, and thus is being amplified. The subsequent nuisance is makes it virtually impossible to open your balcony door or to sit outside.

Not everyone suffers from background noise on the balcony. These sounds, coming from passing traffic or a school close by, are more frequent and louder on certain floors than on others. Solving the problem by using this step-by-step plan will accordingly have different results in different situations. But the solution to the problem is relatively simple: installing absorption material against the balcony ceiling. In cooperation with a client we arrived at the solution mentioned below. The picture and the reaction arise from practice.

Which products or most suitable?

In order to mute sounds on the balcony – another term would be ‘to absorb’ – you should equip as much surface of the balcony ceiling with Akotherm SF. This product is made from skin-friendly polyester wool and contains fire- and moisture-proof properties. Moreover, the product the product is very durable and of course it has good absorption values. By means of Stauf Extreme Tack pasta you can easily glue the product to virtually any substrate. By placing a protective profile along the long side of the balcony celing, you can protect the material against rain, dirt, and wind. In principle, Akotherm resists moisture, but it shouldn’t get soaked, since it would absorb both moisture and dirt.

Step-by-step plan for installing the balcony absorption

In order to carry out this job you will need the following products from our web shop:

• Akotherm SF, absorption plates for the ceiling
• Stauf Extreme Tack, with one little bucket you can install approximately 6m² of Akotherm.
• Keramisch knife, a sharp knife in order to cut the plates to size
• Glue spreader, in order to appply the adhesive
• Sikaflex, in order to install a profile or lath

To be taken care of yourself: a synthetic U-profile 2-4-2 in order to protect the outer edge(s) of the Akotherm plates. Plumb bob (line) in order to mark plumb lines so that the plates will be installed straight.

• Step 1: Cleaning
  

  Make sure that the balcony ceiling is clean in order for the adhesive to adhere well. The substrate has to be dry and dust free.

• Step 2: Preparatory work
  

  Install a U-profile (see pictures) or a wooden lath at the outer edges of the balcony ceiling. This protects the edges of the Akotherm against the weather conditions.

• Step 3: Cutting the Akotherm plates to size
  

  Try to install as many entire Akotherm plates as possible. You can cut Akotherm to size with a sharp knife, but it is quite a tough material. Leaving a strip of a few centimeters free of material won’t negatively influence the result and, by contrast, protect the material (see picture).

• Step 4: Mounting the Akotherm plates
  

  In order to mount Akotherm you should use Stauf adhesive. You can apply this using our glue spreader to the plates or the substrate, whatever works best for you. Apply a layer of about 2 mm and press the plate against the substrate. If you used enough adhesive the plate will keep hanging and render timbering unnecessary. The first plate should be installed at the outside of the ceiling in such a way that it joins the U-profile or connects with the lath that is supposed to protect the edges.

Reaction from a customer

The reaction from our customer:

“The result isn’t spectacular, but when I sit on the balcony I clearly notice a difference, which met my expectation. Interestingly enough, the amount of noise that enters the room when my outside door is opened was greatly reduced. The outer edge is being protected against weather conditions because of the U-profile. I attached this profile asymmetrically to the Akotherm plate prior to installing the whole thing, and gave it 24 hours to harden. Since our flat has an overhang of 30cm per floor I didn’t dare to install the material up until the edge of the ceiling. Thank you very much for the qualitative advice”.

 

Questions?

Do you have questions concerning this topic? Please feel free to contact us, we will be happy to answer your question as soon as possible. Via our contact form you can also request a product sample of Akotherm SF.