Soundproofing for Historica Renovations

Soundproofing for Historica Renovations

Soundproofing for Historica Renovations

Portland, Oregon began in the mid-1850s on the banks of the Willamette River. Originally known as "The Clearing," the land was methodically cleared by lumberjacks to make way for the new city. Upon incorporation in February 1851, the city had 800 residents, a sawmill and a log-cabin hotel.Since its founding, Portland has stayed the course of rustic development. As a result, today's busy metropolis of 600,000 people is considered the most environmentally friendly (or "green") city in the United States and the second most in the world. Portland also has a strong commitment to preserving and protecting its many historic buildings. One such structure - located at 654 SW Grant Street - was built to house the lumbermen who cleared the downtown area in 1917. Nearly 100 years later, after various limited restorations, it once again faced renovation and conversion into 12 contemporary residential units - known as the Marianna Condominiums - by developer/contractor David Markham, Founder and Principal of OV River Group.Something Old, Something New"We started with a building where you could hear everything from floor-to-floor and hallway-to-hallway," says Markham. "That concerned us, because the main source of lawsuits on buildings like this comes from noise transmission problems. We wanted to do as much as we could to prevent that from happening."The OV River Group had a number of rigid criteria to meet to make the project successful. They needed to create STC levels that met or exceeded city code (STC 47) requirements, adhere to strict fire codes and regulations and reliably reduce noise transmission among units. The noise transmission and STC requirements meant finding a soundproofing solution that didn't require staggered framing - since they needed to stay within the frame of the historic building.Through internet research they discovered soundproofing drywall, which allows builders to more easily and reliably construct quality, quiet spaces in various challenging environments. Soundproofing drywall turned out to be the ideal solution for the daunting task of creating multi-residential housing in an historic, landmark-protected building.Soundproofing Drywall Saves the DayThe primary soundproofing product selected was soundproofing drywall. A single sheet is acoustically equivalent to eight sheets of standard drywall. The OV River Group installed one layer of soundproofing drywall on each side of the existing walls and additionally installed used soundproofing drywall in the ceiling panels to eliminate airborne noise. "The party walls between units are now completely soundproof. You can knock on them and can't hear anything. Even demising hallway walls with doors are well soundproofed," notes Markham. "Our decision to use QuietRock on both sides... including the recommended rails and insulation in the walls... got us to the point where we have more than met everything we set out to do."Using soundproofing drywall helped the OV River Group overcome the project's inherent challenges. They achieved an STC Rating of 57, ten points higher than city requirements. Units are fully compliant with UL code requirements for fire safety. And noise transmission levels reached astoundingly low levels. Furthermore, using soundproofing drywall did not require any additional training. The OV River Group team could install the soundproofing drywall using standard assembly methods. That meant saving time and money. In Markham's own words, "Our overall quality of construction and soundproofing techniques created market differentiation that helped us sell these condominiums. And for them to sell in such a timely manner, given the current state of the real estate market, felt great."

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