How can suitcase wheel noise and footfall noise be reduced on pathways and in courtyards?
Wheeled suitcases, skateboards and hard shoe heels are noticeably loud on pathways and in courtyards mainly because the surface gives very little. Small, hard wheels briefly lift as they cross edges and joints, then strike the surface again. Hard heels create a short impact with every step. The result is a bright clatter and rattle that echoes back and forth between tall façades. In hotels and residential developments, this noise is especially noticeable during the evening and at night because there is little background sound to mask it.
Pathway tiles and rubber interlocking pavers made from PU-bound rubber granules give slightly beneath wheels and heels and absorb some of each impact. Spreading the impact over a little more time makes the hard, high-frequency components less pronounced at source. Internal friction within the rubber structure also converts part of the vibration into heat. Consequently, less structure-borne sound passes through the covering into the base layer.
Dimensionally calibrated pathway tiles with rounded puzzle interlocking edges form an almost joint-free covering, so wheels meet raised edges much less often. This requires an even substrate with all tiles at the same level. In courtyards above underground car parks, less vibration also reaches the floor slab. How much sound is heard in the room below depends on the slab and floor construction. A path in use does not become silent because wheels and bearings remain audible. Even so, the hard, impulsive component becomes markedly less prominent, and that is the sound which stands out most in a courtyard. WARCO supplies pathway tiles and rubber interlocking pavers in several thicknesses.