Acoustic Foam Furthers Firebirds Bar
When a Richmond, Va. restaurant with serious echo problems was in need of soundproofing and noise control in its bar/lounge, but management didn't want to change the look of the establishment at all, Acoustical Solutions, Inc. knew what to do.
Using Sonex™ acoustic foam for sound absorption and sound deadening, Acoustical solutions beat the echo.
Application Introduction
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill in Richmond, Va. is a new sleek restaurant with a carefully thought-out look and feel.
So when numerous sound and noise problems arose in the restaurant's infancy, the last thing management wanted to do was compromise design.
The noise problems were numerous and stemmed from the fact that the bar/lounge side of the restaurant had a corrugated metal ceiling and flat parallel walls. These smooth surfaces were reflecting sound back and fourth creating loud echoes.
And these echoes weren't your everyday echoes.
"When it got really busy on Friday and Saturday nights the customers couldn't hear each other, so they would talk louder and louder," said Chris Reinka, a bartender at Firebirds. "Then the servers couldn't hear over the echoes or the customers, so they would start talking louder."
This never-ending cycle was not only uncomfortable, but was also disturbing customers on the other side of the restaurant in the dining room section.
Enter Acoustical Solutions ... with a plan.
Treatment Provided
The ceiling and top 3 to 4 feet of walls in Firebirds are black. Acoustical Solutions decided to treat these spaces with black Sonex™ Classic Colortec Acoustic Foam.
Acoustic foam panels are used in sound absorption to reduce reverberation and echoes.
"They didn't want to change the look of the room at all," said Michael Binns, an Acoustical Solutions Technical Sales Representative. "And the Colortech was perfect for that, it blended right in."
The Sonex™ Classic Colortec Acoustic Foam is perfect for blending in as well as situations in which the foam needs to be cut and shaped. Instead of simply dying the surface of white foam, the Classic Colortec is actually dyed throughout the foam.
Also, Sonex™ Classic is an extremely popular foam because of its design, acoustical effectiveness and its economical price point.
Project Results
Firebirds has changed dramatically since its acoustical treatment.
The music can be heard more clearly, echoes have been drastically reduced and the overall sound level in the room has dropped.
The drop in sound level is not only because the acoustic foam is an excellent sound absorber, but also because servers and customers are no longer trying to talk over one another.
For more information on this application, contact Michael Binns.
