GB2316694A

GB2316694A - Sound-absorbing floor

Info

Publication number: GB2316694A
Application number: GB9717371A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Finlayson Danskin
Original assignee: Danskin Flooring Systems Ltd
Current assignee: Danskin Flooring Systems Ltd
Priority date: 1996-08-20
Filing date: 1997-08-18
Publication date: 1998-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 2017-08-18
Also published as: GB9717371D0; GB9617425D0; GB2316694B

Abstract

A floor construction comprising a supporting structure (1), and a floating raft construction (2) on said supporting structure wherein the floating rail construction comprises floor boards (3) fixedly attached to battens (4) each having at least one horizontal surface faced with a laminate (5) of which one layer is a resiliently flexible polyethylene material (5a) of which the cells are closed, another is an extruded polyester fibre (5b) and there may or may not be a further layer of polyethylene film (5c).

Description

Floor Construction This invention relates to a floor construction and in particular a sound attenuating floor construction for use on sub floors such as screeds, concrete sub-floors or units, or joisted sub floors in a timber frame construction.

As a result of current building regulations excessive noise between party floors is one of the prime concerns of todays architects and builders in the design and construction of buildings.

Prior art floor systems comprise raft type arrangements especially where building regulations specify that the floors must be built to comply with a certain standard for airborne and impact sound attenuation. Several types of arrangements have been used in order to provide adequate attenuation to the transmission of impact sound by using mineral wool quilt which is placed underneath the timber battens associated with the raft construction. Strips of closed cell polyethylene or polyurethane foam have been used underneath the battens also to attenuate impact sound.

GB 2196356 discloses a floor construction wherein the floating raft structure comprises chipboard or timber flooring nailed or screwed to timber battens. On the underside of each timber batten is open-celled resiliently pliant polyether material.

GB 2214537 describes a floor construction wherein the floating raft structure comprises chipboard or timber flooring nailed or screwed to timber battens. On the underside of each of the battens are bonded open-cell foam strips with a vertical deflection in the range 4mm-24mm under a static compressive load of 8000 pascals.

GB 2192913 describes a floor construction wherein the floating raft structure comprises chipboard or timber flooring nailed or screwed to timber battens. On the underside of each of these battens is a laminate of which one layer is an open-celled resiliently pliant polyether material and the other is a closed cell resiliently pliant polyethylene or polyurethane material.

The aim of the present invention is to overcome and mitigate disadvantages in the traditional floor systems and to provide a raft floor construction having enhanced sound attenuating properties.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a floor construction comprising a supporting structure, and a floating raft construction on said supporting structure, said floating raft construction comprising floor boards fixably attached to battens each having at least one horizontal surface faced with a laminate of which one layer is a resiliently flexible polyethylene material of which the cells are closed and another is an extruded polyester fibre.

Alternatively the laminate having a further layer comprising a polyethylene film.

Advantageously the battens are of softwood timber.

Further the battens can be of sheet material such as plywood, oriented strand board (OBS), chipboard, hardboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF).

Preferably the lower horizontal surface of the batten is faced with the laminate.

Advantageously the upper horizontal surface of the batten is faced with the laminate.

Figure 1 A cross sectional view of the floor construction in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 A cross sectional view of the floor construction in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

A floor construction is provided which comprises a supporting structure 1 for example concrete slab or floor or joisted floor, onto which is positioned a floating raft construction 2.

The floating raft construction 2 comprises timber floor boards or lengths of suitable chipboard 3 fixed to timber battens 4. The battens 4 are of any suitable length which is generally determined by the length dimensions of the supporting structure 1. The battens 4 have a substantially square or rectangular cross sectional area and can be made from any suitable material such as softwood timber but may also include sheet material such as plywood, oriented strand board (OBS), chipboard, hardboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF), and the like.

The floor boards 3 are attached to the upper horizontal surface of the timber batten 4a by any suitable fixing means such as nails or screws. On the lower (or the upper) horizontal surface of each batten 4b is located a foam strip or laminate 5. The laminate 5 is of substantially the same dimensions as the underside of the batten 4b and is attached to the lower surface of the batten by a suitable bonding material, adhesive or stapling.

The laminate 5 itself generally comprises three separate layers of material (as shown in Figure 1) which are bonded together to form the laminate 5. The top layer 5a is a resiliently flexible closed cell polyethylene of about lcm in thickness, the second or middle layer 5b is generally an extruded polyester fibre of about from 7mm - 15mm in thickness and the bottom layer Sc is a polyethylene film.

The laminate 5 is attached to the batten by its top layer 5a with suitable adhesive.

It should be noted that the laminate may also be positioned on the upper horizontal surface of the batten.

According to a second aspect of the invention the laminate 6 is made up of two separate layers (as shown in Figure 2). The first layer 6a is a resiliently flexible closed cell polyethylene of about lcm in thickness and the second layer 6b is generally an extruded polyester fibre of about 7mm - 15mm in thickness. Again these two layers 6a, 6b are bonded together to form the laminate 6 and attached to the underside of the batten 4b by the top layer of the laminate 6a with suitable adhesive.

In tests the use of the laminate of the present invention enhances the impact sound perfomance of the floor construction.

In use of the present invention the timber battens 4 are laid either onto the floor or sub floor 1 so that the laminate 5 or 6 contacts the floor 1 leaving the upper surface of the batten 4a exposed. Once the timber battens 4 are in place the floor boards or other floor covering 3 i.e.

chipboard sheets etc may be fixed to them to hold them in place. In an alternative floor construction the laminate is on top of the timber battens therefore the laminate contacts the floor boards or other floor covering.

The flooring is laid in a routine generally known per se and in a manner intended to satisfy appropriate building regulations and to take account of relevant standard practice in the industry.

The laminate 5 or 6 on the base of the batten 4b prevent the floor or sub floor 1 contacting the timber batten 4 even when the laminate 5 or 6 is compressed thus preventing a bridge to sound being transmitted. Sound from the timber floor boards travels down through the batten and is absorbed by the laminate or thus inhibiting its progression into the sub floor.

The invention offers many advantages whilst the cost remains highly competitive with other systems or methods currently on the market. The floor is easily laid and because it is a dry construction it is not necessary to wait any time after the floor is laid thereby reducing delays for other trades.

In particular by virtue of this present invention are it is possible to eliminate the use of a quilt in impact sound reduction. Furthermore, the floor construction of the present invention is less susceptible to disintegration than the mineral wool quilt in which quilt fibres are brittle and deteriorate rapidly.

Tests have indicated that the floor construction system of the present invention provides better impact sound reduction than traditional and the prior art floor constructions.

Claims

1. A floor construction comprising a supporting structure, and a floating raft construction on said supporting structure wherein the floaing raft structure comprises floor boards fixably attached to battens each having at least one horizontal surface faced with a laminate of which one layer is a resiliently flexible polyethylene material of which the cells are closed, another is an extruded polyester fibre.

2. A floor construction according to Claim 1 wherein the laminate comprises a further layer of polyethylene film.

3. A floor construction according to Claims 1 or 2 wherein the battens are of softwood timber.

4. A floor construction according to Claims 1 or 2 wherein the battens can be sheet material such as plywood, oriented strand board (OBS), chipboard, hardboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF), and the like.

5. A floor construction according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the lower horizontal surface of the batten is faced with the laminate.

6. A floor construction according to Claims 1-4 wherein the upper horizontal surface of the batten is faced with the laminate.

7. A floor construction according to any one of Claims 1, 3, 4, 5 or 6 when dependent on Claim 1 wherein the laminate comprises a first layer of resiliently flexible closed cell polyethylene of from about lcm in thickness and a second layer of extruded polyester fibre of from about 7mm - 15mm in thickness.

8. A floor construction according to any one of Claims 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 when dependent on Claim 2 wherein the laminate comprises a first layer of resiliently flexible closed cell polyethylene of from about lcm in thickness, a second layer of extruded polyester fibre of from about 7mm - 15mm in thickness and a final layer of polyethylene film.