• Welcome to the new and improved Building Code Forum. We appreciate you being here and hope that you are getting the information that you need concerning all codes of the building trades. This is a free forum to the public due to the generosity of the Sawhorses, Corporate Supporters and Supporters who have upgraded their accounts. If you would like to have improved access to the forum please upgrade to Sawhorse by first logging in then clicking here: Upgrades

carpet or no carpet

E

edo

Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2013
Messages
15
Location
South bay of San Francisco
Hello all,

I was speaking with a friend of mine (GC) and he mentioned on a multifamily only the first floor can be non-carpeted floor, from the 2nd floor up the floors have to be carpeted to reduce noise. As always I asked for a code reference but he couldn't come up with one.

So is that true? and what code section of IRC, IBC is it?

Thanks in advance.
 
That was tossed out of the code when resilient channel became available. That's how the code works. New stuff comes along and changes the landscape. If it wasn't for dual pane windows, we'd still require drapes.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Don't confuse the Sound Transmission Coefficient that is required in multifamily dwellings assemblies with layman attempts at reasoning the code.... Sounds like cost savings to me....(bottom line - water or moisture from a concrete slab may weep into carpet padding unless a moisture barrier is applied.
 
& & &



edo,

1st, ...welcome to The Building Codes Forum! :cool:

2nd, ...see Section 1207 in the `06 IBC for Sound Transmission.

& & &
 
Per the IBC, the design STC is required to be 50, or it could be field tested, which only requires a field STC (FSTC) of 45.

However, STC is not the issue when it comes to carpeting, it is the impact insulation class (IIC). IIC is the structural-borne sound transmission created by people walking, moving furniture across the floor, etc. The design IIC needs to be 50, or it could be field tested, which only requires a field IIC (FIIC)of 45.

Carpet significantly reduces structural-borne sound transmission, so that is why it is popular for flooring on upper floors. However, the requirement is only neccessary between dwelling units and between dwelling units and service areas, but not within a dwelling unit. There are other products on the market that can be utilized in a hard flooring system (e.g. ceramic tile, VCT, wood, etc.) that will reduce the IIC to comply with the building code.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top