Upstairs 
Downstairs 
A case study of acoustic transmission in multi-family housing
Professors Cartwright, Kwok. GTF Weltzin
Team Members: Joshua Brandt, Martha Breed, Ryan Kanteres, Andrew Wenrick (contact us)
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Prelim. Questions 
References 

"My upstairs neighbor's sounds are the worst part about living here." -- Downstairs Tenant

Appendix

Team

Joshua Brandt jbrandt@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Martha Breed mbreed@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Ryan Kanteres rkantere@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Andrew Wenrick awenrick@darkwing.uoregon.edu

Acknowledgments

Bollo, Christina, Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of Architecture, University of Oregon.

Connolly, Sean, PE., Big Sky Acoustics.

Kwok, Alison G., Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, University of Oregon.

Kyrk, Juliana, Human Subjects Compliance Coordinator, Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects/Institutional Review Board, CPHS/IRB.

The Residents of Spencer View Apartments

Weltzin, Chad, PE, Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of Architecture, University of Oregon.


Preliminary Questions

  • Why do we hear the people upstairs but not the people next door?
  • How much noise is transmitted structure-borne (pipes etc.) vs. air-borne?
  • What sort of strategies did the builders/architects implement to ameliorate sound transmission?
  • Is the party wall a firewall?
  • What levels of sound transmission are allowed by code? Does this apartment meet those codes?
  • What are ASHRAE standards (how do they compare to Eugene codes)?
  • Do the furnishings/crap in the space affect the sound levels at all?
  • Can people upstairs hear people below them?
  • Having the codes on acoustic isolation changed since time of construction?
  • When was the apartment complex built?


References
Books

Acoustics and Noise Control Handbook for Architects and Builders, Irvine, Leland K. and Richards, Krieger Publishing Company, Florida, 1998.

Acoustics Noise and Buildings, Parkin, P.H., Faber and Faber Ltd., London, 1958.

Airborne, Impact, and Structure Borne Noise- Control in Multifamily Dwellings, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington D.C., 1963.

ASHRAE handbook: Fundamentals 1997, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, Georgia, 1997.

Carpentry, Koel, Leonard, American Technical Publishers, Inc., Homewood, Ill., 1991.

Contractor's Guide to the Building Code, Hageman, Jack M., Craftsman Book Co., Carlsbad, California, 1996.

Design/Construction Guide, American Plywood Association (APA), 1994.

Detailing for acoustics, Duncan Templeton and Peter Lord, Nichols Publishing Co., New York, 1983.

Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings, Eighth Edition. Reynolds, John S. and Stein, Benjamin, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York,1992.

Noise Control in Buildings, Harris, Cyrill.

Uniform Building Code, Section 1206, Sound Transmission Control, International Conference of Building Officials, Whittier, California, 1997.


Web Sites

Airborne and Impact Noise in Buildings, McGunnigle, Ken
http://www.prendos.co.nz/prendos/article_noise_buildings.shtml
Canadian Building Digest, CBD-10, Noise Transmission in Buildings
http://www.nrc.ca/irc/cbd/cbd010e.html



 
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