Floating floors for hotels and apartments improve acoustics by eliminating noise and vibration transfer between spaces. The floating floor has an air gap between itself and the subfloor, so no vibration and sound can carry through it.
We specify floating floors when old flooring lacks good acoustic qualities, like concrete floors and floorboards. Installing a floating floor over these solid systems dampens sound and improves comfort for the user.
Floating Floor Use Cases In Hotels And Apartments
A floating floor is sometimes necessary to isolate a room from guest/resident accommodation. For example, a floating floor in a gym will isolate the gym from hotel rooms next door or a hallway from apartments.
In addition, floating floors are useful when an old flooring system reaches the end of its life but replacing it is too costly and complex. Installing a floating floor over the old floor will cover it up while improving the floor’s acoustic qualities.
Acoustic floors for hotels and apartments are particularly suited to hallways, top suites and function rooms. The sound and vibration isolation qualities significantly reduce the sound of foot traffic, helping to keep guests and residents happy.
How Floating Floors Are Made
Floating floors are designed to support specific weight loads with timber, steel and concrete (wet or dry) construction and different types of insulation. Natural rubber isolators are used to isolate vibration and give the floor a dampening effect.
The sound and vibration transmission from the floating floor to the surrounding structure depends on the thickness of the floor and the size of the air gap. The thickness of floating floors ranges from 100 to 300mm with typically imposed loads up to 20 KN/M2. Thicker floors are best for functional areas like gyms and theatre rooms.
The floating floor is built on top of the existing subfloor, and it is rare for any subfloor modification to be needed, so long as the subfloor is sound. This makes floating floors a good solution for covering up old flooring that is costly to replace.
When sizing and specifying floating floors for hotels and apartments, it’s crucial to consider the intended use case and what can be achieved with available thickness. Thicker floating floors isolate better but may not be suitable for the space.
We can recommend the right floating floor for your hotel/apartment and create a package that meets your budgetary and performance needs. Get in touch for a chat.