LABORATORY TEST RESULTS FOR SYLOMER GYM DRY FLOOR SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION

Every day gyms are becoming more popular and the activities in them more extreme. Due to the boom in this type of activity and the business behind it, gyms have moved closer to urban centres.

The proximity of a quality sports facility has innumerable benefits but brings with it a difficult coexistence with the neighbours who are in the same building. Activities such as dumbbell throwing, weight dropping, jumping, etc. generate annoying inconvenience to the neighbours.

This problem is aggravated when this sport activity takes place at night and makes difficult the rest of the neighbours. On many occasions, municipal regulations force the closure of gyms for exceeding the maximum admissible noise limits, resulting in the end of the gym activity and loss of investment.

The correct design of an acoustic solution with a floating floor such as the Sylomer Gym Dry Floor systems can put an end to these disturbances, allowing the coexistence of the neighbour’s rest and the activity of the gym.

 

THE SYSTEMS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED ARE:

 

SYLOMER® GYM DRY FLOOR – BASE:

This system is based on 50 mm Sylomer AFB Floor block installed approximately every 500 mm with metal profiles. Next, 12 mm thick Sylomer SR28 strips, glued to the top of the profiles, and the mineral wool installed in the space between the profiles. The dry floor is made of double 18 mm OSB type 3 board with an interlayer of agglomerated neoprene. A Getzner floor mat 29 final elastic layer is finished with a rubber sports floor on top.

       

SYLOMER® GYM DRY FLOOR – ADVANCE:

This previous Base system is improved with an additional OSB type 3 board and additional interlayer of agglomerate neoprene. Moreover, the finishing elastic layer is improved with more elastic Getzner floor mat 33 and an extra damping layer with 12,5 mm shock absorb.

   

SYLOMER® GYM DRY FLOOR – PRO:

The best result is obtained when in the Advance system is replace the finishing elastic layer with the high performance Getzner floor mat 35, besides 25 mm shock absorb is added. The higher damping coefficient helps to dissipated part of the impact energy.

     

RESULTS OF THE LABORATORY TESTS

In order to show the acoustic advantages when using Sylomer Gym Dry Floor systems, impact noise tests are carried out with different configurations. In addition to this noise tests have been conducted to show the performance of each alternative in the most extreme gym activity. Different weight dumbbells have been thrown from different heights causing different energy impacts in the dry floating floor, at the same time the noise is measured in the lower chamber.

       

Together to the standard impact noise, additional measurements have been carried out throwing some dumbbells from different heights. In this way we are simulating the extreme activity in a gymnasium.

     

Noise level

Tests carried out in Audiotec.

         

CONCLUSIONS

These results clearly show how the Sylomer Gym Dry Floor can improve noise transmission for gym activity. Impact noise is significantly improved by more than 50 dBs with any of the alternatives.

But what is particularly interesting is the reduction in the maximum noise level achieved in the lower chamber when the dumbbells are thrown. The use of a usual rubber sport floor only achieves a reduction of 10 dBs while Sylomer Gym Dry floor systems achieve reductions of around 50 dBs.

Another point to take into account is the high noise level obtained during dumbbell throwing, the use of a usual rubber sport floor means a noise level around 80 dBs, this level of noise can be very uncomfortable. With Sylomer Gym Dry systems we have managed to reduce the noise level by more than half.

These type of floating floors are absolutely a must for the agreement on the activity of a gymnasium in a building with neighbours.