Floor Iic Rating

I am doing reno s on a condo and they have a specific requirement.

Floor iic rating.

Luxury vinyl flooring and iic stc ratings. The lowest iic rated floors ceiling assemblies come in at around 25 and the highest rated systems can come in at 85 and up. All ratings are not equal as with any underlayment sound testing number that a company gives you each subfloor or floor assembly in your home. An iic rating 50 means that the flooring material has minimal sound absorption capabilities.

Further complicating matters is the effect that poor construction techniques may have on the field iic performance of your flooring assembly. It is also one of the most controversial and confusing topics a homeowner strata council architect or designer will ever encounter. The highest rating is iic rating 65 which includes cork flooring and carpet. International building code requires 50 iic between adjacent dwelling units.

The quietwalk underlayment provides very high ratings such as iic of 71 and stc 66 as of mid 2018. This is called impact sound transmission. Insulation ratings for flooring what s behind the numbers the more multifamily unit houses that are built the more important acoustic testing insulation ratings sound ratings becomes. For multi family structures some codes require an iic of 50 or more when tested in the laboratory or 45 or more when tested in the field.

The stc rating is 67db and the iic rating is 68 perfect for condos and apartments. Iic values can range from as low as 25 for lightweight residential construction with no floor covering to over 65 for commercial construction with carpet. All too often this plenums and suspended ceilings unbaffled ducts window to window outdoors common heating units transoms and air grilles unblocked joist spaces uncaulked wall perimeters ducts piping and fixtures masonry joints. Floor coverings with a high iic rating help to reduce impact sound transmissions to lower levels thus reducing or eliminating those bothersome noises.

Impact sound complaints are common on floor ceiling assemblies that meet the bare minimum requirement of 50 decibels iic. A midrange level is iic rating 60 which includes some vinyl flooring as well as wood and laminate floors. On top of that the manufacture of the floor covering can use different materials. Local municipalities can have different rating requirements.

More typical values fall between 35 and 55. Higher end units often expect iic ratings between 55 65. The microbeads in the underlayment allow for maximum bounce back and circulation so no mold or mildew gets a chance to grow. Many properties are now requiring sound control ratings in the high 50 s or low 60 s range.