Foot traffic is a major source of noise indoors. This auditory distraction can lower one’s productivity if they’re trying to work and disturb those who are trying to get some rest.
The problem with sound-based distractions is that it travels between barriers, which means that you may even be distracted by the footsteps in the adjacent room. It’s not uncommon for one to create a silent home office only to be distracted by the footsteps from the hallway in front of it.
The importance of proper flooring
What if we’re talking about a flooring option for a home with multiple floors? Wouldn’t a low sound absorption make spending quiet time in the rooms on the first floor nearly impossible? How would this constant banging noise from above affect your mental health in the long run? Overall, this is the scenario in which soundproofing the area is an even greater priority.
So, how does one fight this menace?
The simplest solution is to install sound-absorbing flooring. There are several ways you can get there, and here are some of them.
Impact Insulation Class (IIC)
The first thing you need to do is develop an in-depth understanding of floor acoustics and industry averages (with metrics). Some floor types have a naturally higher sound absorption quality than others. This is something worth considering for all those who plan to build a house rather than buy it.
In order to understand this, it’s crucial that we mention that the unit for measuring the sound rating of the flooring option is the IIC (impact insulation class). Here’s a brief example of what we’re talking about.
IIC 50: This is a particularly low sound absorption level. For instance, a stone floor would be classified in this category. It is something that you can go to in a ground floor room but would be best to use outdoors or in areas in which keeping it quiet isn’t that important.
IIC 60: This is the mid-level category. Generally speaking, the best examples of this would probably be wood, laminate, and vinyl. In other words, materials that are generally soft but not designed with the intention of being sound-absorbent.
IIC 65: This is the pinnacle of noise-reduction. These types of flooring offer high-impact absorption and can transmit the noise through their fibers. Two flooring types that naturally fall into this category are cork and carpet.
Still, just because the flooring you have in your home or room doesn’t match some of these requirements, this doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do about it. As we’ve mentioned, carpets have the sound absorption quality of IIC 65, and they can be added atop the majority of other flooring options. Even area rugs can make a difference.
Solutions for Home Office
Keeping your home office quiet will probably affect the productivity within the room. Now, some people may wonder why this is so important. If you’re working, you cannot walk across the room at the same time, right? Well, not necessarily.
A lot of modern couples telecommute together and have a shared home office. So, it’s not inconceivable to imagine one of them being distracted by the footsteps of the other. In that scenario, it’s paramount that you cover the flooring with acoustic sound absorbing materials.
Strategic placement
We’ve already mentioned the fact that the footsteps outside of the home office may be problematic, as well. Here, you have two solutions to the problem. You could either soundproof the room so that you block out all the noise from the outside (including the foot traffic). Another solution is to consider spreading a runner rug in the hallway in front of the office.
Lastly, what if your home office is on the first floor and you have your housemates/family running above you? First of all, the strategic placement of your home office is essential. If you have a choice, keep it on the second floor. Second, make sure that you avoid placing a high-intensity foot traffic area (like a children's room) above your home office. Then again, soundproofing a floor by using a number of methods could make a difference.
Effective Methods
There are several great methods you can use to reduce foot traffic noise. For instance, it is estimated that carpets can reduce noise by 35%, which is a fairly impressive feat. Keep in mind that this depends on the material of the carpet, which is why a woolen carpet can lower the noise by 46%.
Now, keep in mind that this is just the carpet without an underlay. For those who do decide to go for an underlay, the reduction can go up to anywhere between 50% and 70%. Once again, your choice for the underlay material should probably be wool. So, you should stack woolen carpet on top of a woolen underlay for maximum effect.
Sometimes, the methods used to increase the sound-absorbing properties of the floor depending on the type of flooring used. For instance, hardwood floor is one of the most commonly used flooring options for those who aim for elegance. If the floor is glued-down or nailed-down, there are several solutions that can help. Some of these are:
Rubberized membrane
Reinforced fabric on the face
Siliconized release sheet (on the adhesive side)
Keep in mind that the quality of the installation makes a difference, as well. Cracks and squeaking noises are a result of poor insulation, and they can make the situation a lot worse.
The underlayment is not just a product designed with hardwood in mind. Some materials are specifically engineered as a thin-set mortar that can be applied beneath stone or tiles. This way, even the sound-absorbing properties of flooring choices we previously mentioned as IIC 50 can be improved.
Airborne Sound
Previously, we’ve mostly focused on the noise caused by foot traffic, but this is not necessarily the only point of concern here. You see, airborne sound is just as big of an issue.
If you don’t have just one living partner, people are going to talk even while you’re working or trying to focus. The sound of other people’s conversations can be quite distracting. In-home offices, office spaces, studios, etc., this could become a massive problem. Keep in mind that these noises:
Bounce off the floor areas
Are transmitted through the floor if the rooms are one on top of the other
This is why sound-absorbing flooring could help keep the noise in surrounding rooms to a minimum. Naturally, if the airborne sound is a major issue, you should combine your floor soundproofing with other soundproofing methods.
Rubber Flooring
The reason why we thought that rubber flooring deserves its own section is fairly simple – production facilities and workshops. This flooring type is both sound-absorbent and slip-resistant.
You will use sharp, heavy, metallic tools and sturdy raw materials in production facilities and workshops. This means that slipping is a considerable hazard, and by choosing slip-resistance flooring, you will drastically improve safety.
From the standpoint of sound absorption, dropping some of these items would cause quite a bit of ruckus. Just imagine the noise of a claw hammer dropping onto a concrete/hardwood and compare it to the noise of it dropping onto a rubber surface.
One more thing that makes rubber flooring so impressive is the fact that it’s more durable than cork or carpet. Dropping a hammer could dent cork (which is definitely one of the softest flooring options that you could pick). There’s even a risk that your carpet would be dented or damaged (even cut) this way. In other words, when it comes to workshop/industrial scenarios, rubber is the way to go.
In Conclusion
Foot traffic is never a desired effect in one’s home, and improving the acoustic properties of the place is bound to increase the quality of life in your household. Moreover, it will also increase the resale value of your property.
Keep in mind that unless you’re building the place from the bottom up, this probably won’t be an easy thing. Still, by choosing the right flooring options and applying some of the above-listed techniques, a lot can be achieved.
