Part E building regulations, introduced by the government to regulate the resistance to the passage of sound, has been adapted to ensure stricter acoustic guidelines in the building industry.

The UK has now amongst the strictest acoustic regulations in Europe, with recent additions addressing noise protection from adjoining buildings (E1), as well as noise protection from within the same dwelling (E2).

The regulations affect both walls and floors, although floors by their nature tend to more complicated to build, especially when the integration of underfloor heating is required.

Nu-Heat has addressed this problem by developing acoustic underfloor heating systems in consultation with Robust Details Limited.

E1 specifies minimum and maximum airborne and impact sound between the separating floors of individual dwellings. The guidelines detail a minimum of 45dB of airborne noise and a maximum of 62dB of impact noise.

E2 measures airborne sound between internal floors within terraced, semi detached and detached houses, as well as in duplex apartments. E2 requires a minimum of 40dB of airborne sound reduction.

There are two methods to comply with the additional regulations. One method is to undergo pre-completion sound testing; another is to use Robust Detail floor constructions.

Pre-completion sound testing is carried out by accredited test bodies on a proportion of the dwellings within a development. Pre-completion sound testing can hold up the build process, can carry substantial costs as failing the test can require expensive remedial work. In severe cases this can mean overhauling the whole floor in order to pass the tests, halting the progress of subsequent building work.

Robust Details Ltd is a company that has been set up to provide an alternative to pre-completion testing; they test, regulate and implement robust detail constructions that meet acoustic requirements for floors and walls.

Plots need to be registered with Robust Details Ltd; the cost is thirty pounds per plot. Utilising Robust Detail constructions means that no testing is required, ensuring fewer risks.

Underfloor heating is increasingly becoming the preferred heating method in the domestic market. Until recently there were no solutions available that incorporated underfloor heating into government approved floor constructions. To guarantee that this heating method remained an option, Nu-Heat warm water underfloor heating dedicated a large development fund to the integration of underfloor heating into Robust Details.

Andrew Grimsley, Technical Director for Nu-Heat warm water underfloor heating explains ‘to continue the development of underfloor heating in the domestic market we had to generate solutions. Not only was it important to Nu-Heat, it was vital for house builders and property developers as it is regarded as a useful sales tool.’’

Property developers often regard the inclusion of underfloor heating into housing developments as a useful sales tool. In some cases, the decision to offer underfloor heating has been to support a high-level specification, on other occasions underfloor heating is selected to increase the internal living space.

According to Tom Garbett, Partner at Knight Frank’s Esher office, "I recently sold two new homes without advertising. If the houses have top-of-the-range extras such as underfloor heating then they can sell off plan.’’

Andrew comments "housing developers can still reap the benefits of underfloor heating due to the work carried out by our development team. The floor constructions conform to the requirements of Robust Details Ltd, which means that house builders and developers will be taking fewer risks.’’

For specific solutions to Part E, call Nu-Heat on 0800 7311976.