Acoustic Panels and Baffles Reduce Echo at Tenn. Church
Poor sound quality and excessive echo recently became too much to handle for members of a Tennessee church. Among other things, their multipurpose space was being used as church gym, back-up worship space and multimedia event center, but excessive echo seriously deteriorated the quality of communication within the space.
Facing a staggering reverberation time of 5½ to 6 seconds, the church reached out to Acoustical Solutions. The soundproofing and noise control company worked with the church to create a solution that was not only effective, but also designed to align aesthetically and functionally with the room's many purposes.
Application Introduction
When Blairland Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN first contacted Acoustical Solutions the church was looking for ways to improve the sound quality in its Family Life Center. The center is a 104' x 62' x 27' multipurpose space which had a large number of hard parallel surfaces when church members contacted Acoustical Solutions. It was - and still is - serving many different functions including church gym, back-up worship space and multimedia event center.
The Family Life Center at Blairland Baptist was a great space for the church, but its hard parallel surfaces were creating reverberation times between 5½ and 6 seconds, which made communication and presentations difficult if not impossible.
The church contacted Acoustical Solutions looking for a solution to its problem, and because the space served many functions, they had a list of requirements that would need to be met in order to move forward with the project.
- The church wanted a much-improved RT60 reverberation time, looking to drop down into the 2-second range.
- They were working on a limited $10,000 budget.
- They wanted help designing a look for the room that would serve all of their various functions as well as stay with a color contrast look in the space.
Treatment Provided
Acoustical Solutions recommended adding 2,000 SqFt of sound absorption products to the space to help decrease the reverberation time to the desired levels.
Acoustical Solutions also suggested applying the products to both the walls and ceiling because only treating one would have left a flutter echo in the space. Flutter echo is eliminated by treating adjacent surfaces, which includes wall/wall AND ceiling/floor.
Adding slightly more than 2,000 SqFt of material for less than $10,000 can be a daunting task. Product selection is key. Treatment should include materials that will have high sound absorption ratings (NRC values), be able to serve the environment in which they are placed and still be decorative.
The first product Acoustical Solutions suggested and used was the PolyPhon Polyester Panels. These large acoustic panels allow for the best "bang for the buck" because they create a large square footage area of sound absorption at a lower cost than other acoustic panels.
Thirty-two 4'x8' and (8) 4'x4' PolyPhon Panels were used on the space's walls.
The ceiling required acoustic baffles, which needed to withstand the abuse of an occasional basketball or volleyball that might come in contact with it, so AlphaEnviro Ripstop Nylon Baffles were installed. In total, (96) 2'x4' acoustic baffles were tied into the metal trusses at the ceiling.
Finally, an additional 140 SqFt of fabric wrapped AlphaSorb acoustic panels were added to the stage area. The fabric wrapped fiberglass acoustic panels have a higher cost per SqFt than the other products used, but the fabric finish really helped to "dress up" the stage area for events.
Now that the amount and type of materials were chosen based upon square footage and budget, the final step in this process was to find a panel layout and appropriate color options that would work best for the church.
The bulk of the sound absorption for the room was coming from the PolyPhon Polyester Panels on the walls, so the church chose color beige to have the panels fade into the beige color walls without being distracting.
Church administrators and members did, however, want some color contrast in the space, so the AlphaEnviro Baffles in the ceiling were stitched in the wine-colored RipStop Nylon cloth.
The main focal point of the room is the stage, and that is where extra money was spent to install the AlphaSorb Fabric Wrapped Panels. The stage has large glass windows in the center and angled walls. Since only (4) panels were installed on that wall, the idea was to make them as decorative as possible. The church used a chalk line to determine the angle for the panels, and Acoustical Solutions cut to match the angled roofline.
Results
In the end, 2,070 SqFt of sound absorption products were added to the space, all of which ranged from NRC .75 - NRC 1.15. The reverberation time was reduced to slightly less than 2 seconds.
The church ended up with a much-improved acoustical environment, the color contrast and new look for the room they desired, and a project that ultimately stayed within their budget. This goes to show that proper project planning really is necessary when trying to achieve your goals.
For more information on this application, contact David Ingersoll.
