Soundproofing a Natatorium
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Dayton State College
Soundproofing a Swimming Pool
Natatoriums are large gymnasium shaped rooms defined by hard reflective washable surfaces. These perimeter wall, ceiling and floor surfaces combine to reflect unwelcome levels of sound, creating echoes that threaten the teaching enviroment and general comfort of the swimmers. The goal with soundproofing a swimming pool is to lower these echoes, producing greater clarity to original sound, and delivering a more comfortable acoustic environment for everyone in the room.
The Soundproofing Treatment
The goal in sound proofing this room is to install waterproof sound panels or baffles, wall or ceiling mounted, that can absorb the sound reflections in the room. The VET Baffles shown here are fire rated and waterproof, easy to hang, lightweight, and can absorb enough echo in the room to collapse the reverberation times down to under two seconds. This is the level of acceptable echo to human ear, as we teach in our Academy. Installation of the VET Baffles depends on the unique starting point per application. In this case, the client had scaffolding set up, so the install was easy over the center of the pool. In other cases, our clients hang cable over the pool with the baffles pre-attached.
The Soundproofing Results
Following the installation of the proper quantity of VET Baffles (check with our help desk for quantities required based on room size), the echoes in this natatorium collapsed to under 2.0 seconds worth of sound reflection. As a result, the environment was more suitable for teaching, and more comfortable for the students, swimmers and audience during swim meets. For more information on how NetWell can help resolve your soundproofing problem, contact our help desk at 1-800-638-9355!
