Features of experience in regulating the acoustic quality of dwellings

According to a building regulation along with a mandatory sound class C in Lithuania, there is a possibility to select another level of acoustic comfort in buildings depending on developer needs, from the lowest class E to the highest-class A. Conformity with appropriate sound class criteria should be controlled during pre-completion testing of main sound insulation indicators for dwelling. If design acoustics properties require carrying out calculations based on the voluntary method selected by the designer, for measurements, only standardized methods should be used. Another important specification following the building regulation is that at least 5% of the building or its elements should be selected for the evaluation of airborne and impact sound insulation values, outdoor noise level, reverberation time values, should be tested. All criteria for the selected sound class must be met. This difference in requirements for application calculation and measurement standards allowed us to ensure that the declared sound class of dwelling is implemented. The experience obtained in Lithuania opens the possibility to highlight the features of a sound classification scheme with mandatory acoustical pre-completing testing, which features are presented in the paper.