Get noise assessments and sound testing for your building project

For developers, landlords, businesses and homeowners dealing with noise or sound insulation. Compare quotes from acoustic consultants for planning noise reports, sound insulation design and pre-completion testing.

Acoustic assessments deal with two different questions. For planning, the council may want to know whether new homes will suffer from a busy road, railway or business nearby, or whether your plant, extract fans, heat pump or venue will disturb neighbours. For Building Regulations, new flats, conversions and homes joined to others must resist sound passing through separating walls and floors, and that usually has to be proved by testing before completion. An acoustic consultant measures the noise, designs practical solutions such as glazing, ventilation, floating floors or independent ceilings, and checks the finished building performs as intended.

How a professional can help

• Environmental noise surveys: They measure existing noise around your site, often over several days with unattended monitoring, to understand road, rail, aircraft, industrial or entertainment noise affecting the scheme.
• Plant and equipment noise: They assess noise from air conditioning, extract systems, heat pumps and other plant against the background level at the nearest homes, and specify screens, silencers or quieter equipment where needed.
• Glazing and ventilation strategies: Where windows face noise, they specify glazing and ventilation that keep indoor noise acceptable, and check this works with the overheating strategy if windows can’t be opened at night.
• Separating walls and floors: For conversions and new flats, they review the proposed separating walls and floors and suggest details that cut flanking sound travelling through the surrounding structure.
• Pre-completion sound testing: Near the end of the build, they test airborne and impact sound between dwellings and report the results for building control, as the Building Regulations generally require.
• Remedial advice: If a test fails or neighbours complain, they find where sound is getting through and recommend practical improvements before retesting.

Is this right for you?

• You’re converting a house into flats and need the separating floors and walls to pass sound testing.
• Your planning application is near a main road, railway or commercial use and the council wants a noise assessment.
• You’re opening a café, bar, gym or workshop, or fitting extract or plant, and need to show neighbours won’t be disturbed.
• Your new homes are nearly finished and building control needs pre-completion sound test results.
• Noise from next door is a problem and you want to understand how sound travels through the building and what could improve it.

How the project usually runs

• Scoping the requirements: The consultant confirms what the council or building control requires, the relevant noise sources and standards, and when surveys or tests need to happen.
• Survey and measurement: They measure background and source noise on site, or review the existing construction where sound insulation between homes is the main concern.
• Design advice: They specify glazing, ventilation, barriers, plant noise limits or separating wall and floor build-ups, and work with your designer so the details appear on the drawings.
• Planning report or conditions: A noise report goes in with the planning application, or is used later to satisfy noise-related planning conditions before work starts or before the building is occupied.
• Testing on completion: Once finishes are in, the consultant carries out sound tests, issues results for building control and advises on fixes if any test falls short.

What affects the cost

• Whether you need a planning noise assessment, Building Regulations sound testing or both.
• How long noise monitoring must run, and whether it needs to cover nights, weekends or particular operating hours.
• The number of separating walls and floors to be tested, and how many dwellings the building contains.
• The complexity of the noise sources, such as several items of plant, live music or a mix of road and rail noise.
• Whether detailed design calculations are needed for glazing, ventilation or separating constructions.
• Whether failed tests need investigating and remedial work specifying before a retest.

Noise in planning and Building Regulations

• Councils can refuse applications or attach conditions where noise would harm living conditions, both for new homes and for noisy uses near existing homes.
• In England and Wales, Part E of the Building Regulations covers sound insulation, including between flats formed by conversion. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own standards.
• In England and Wales, sound testing before completion is usually needed for new and converted dwellings, though some new-build homes can use registered, already-tested construction details instead.
• In England, permitted development for air source heat pumps includes noise conditions, so some installations need planning permission. Rules differ in the other nations.

Questions people ask

Does my flat conversion need sound testing?

In most cases, yes. When a house is converted into flats, the new walls and floors separating the flats must meet the Building Regulations sound insulation standards, and testing on completion is normally how that’s shown. Older timber floors usually need upgrading, often with an independent ceiling below and acoustic flooring above. Planning these details early gives the floors a much better chance of passing first time.

What happens if a sound test fails?

The consultant works out where sound is getting through. It’s often flanking paths around a floor or wall rather than the element itself, such as gaps at junctions, service penetrations or joists running between flats. They recommend remedial work and the test is repeated once it’s done. Failures can delay completion, so it’s worth having the design reviewed before the walls and floors are built.

Why has the council asked for a noise assessment for new homes?

If your site is close to a busy road, railway, flight path, industrial site, pub or venue, the council needs to know future occupants will have acceptable living conditions. The assessment measures the noise and shows how the design deals with it, through layout, glazing, ventilation or garden screening. Planning policy generally expects the new development to deal with noise from existing businesses nearby, rather than placing the burden on them.

Will a heat pump or air conditioning unit need a noise assessment?

It can. Outdoor units make noise that carries to neighbours, especially at night when background noise is low. Some installations need planning permission, and the council may ask for an assessment comparing the unit’s noise with background levels at the nearest homes. An acoustic consultant can suggest a better position, an enclosure or a quieter model if needed.

Can an acoustic consultant help with noise from my neighbours?

They can test the sound insulation between your home and next door, identify weak points and recommend improvements, such as independent wall linings or upgraded floors. Results depend on the building, and some improvements involve work on both sides of a wall or floor, which needs your neighbour’s cooperation and may need a party wall notice in England and Wales.

Available across the UK

Professionals cover the whole of the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Planning and Building Regulations differ between the four nations, and your professional will work to the rules that apply where your property is.

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