Whilst wall cladding is a fundamental part of many buildings and the right installation is essential for efficiency, security and safety reasons, there are different purposes that cladding solutions are designed to achieve and assist with.
We may be far beyond the age of wattle and daub, but modern walling materials have the same purpose of providing weatherproofing, insulation protection and a consistent aesthetic for a building often made from a variety of disparate materials.
However, one unexpected boon of the right cladding is that it can assist in soundproofing and improving the acoustics of a particular area by minimising echoes and sound leakage.
Here are some of the ways in which it can achieve this.
Adding Mass
The main way in which classing can help with soundproofing is through simple audio dynamics; the thicker an object is, the harder it is for noise to pass through it.
As a result of this, practically any cladding that is not excessively thin will have some degree of sound-dampening capabilities, but the thicker the cladding is, the more effectively it will manage to reduce both airborne noise and impact vibrations.
Heavier cladding materials can be added directly to any existing walls and will boost soundproofing results by default.
Masking Soft Soundproofing
There are many dedicated soundproofing materials such as soft panels that help to dampen and channel airborne noise and reduce its exit from a room, but not everyone wants to have a room look openly soundproofed unless they are using it explicitly as a recording studio.
This means that cladding can work as a material that ensures a building has relative uniformity but also has the benefits that come from reducing sound leakage both inside and outside the building.
This can be especially beneficial for removing vibration sounds, as the best way to reduce vibrations is through soft dampening materials.
Reduces The Need For Noisy Technology
Whilst this is more of an added bonus than a specific soundproofing point, most cladding materials have an insulating effect, which means that the rooms will stay warmer for longer and resist external temperature factors.
This means that loud heating systems during the winter and fans during the summer may not be needed, reducing the noise of the building on an overall level and allowing soundproofing to be even more effective without needing to do anything.
Add Variety To Soundproofing
A combination of different soundproofing materials works better than more of the same, so using classing in combination with any variety of other sound-dampening solutions can help to magnify the effect and allow for a more relaxed space.
Can Create An Acoustic Gap
One way in which cladding can be really effective when it comes to soundproofing is by inducing a decoupling effect onto the wall itself and helping block out sounds.
This works similarly to double glazing, where a separation between different materials in the wall will reduce the ability for sounds to travel directly through, and improve soundproofing without the need for more extensive and expensive soundproofing materials.
