Acoustic treatment for a place of worship

Much planning and preparation goes in the design of a new church. It is always a very exhilarating time when a decision is made to build a new amenity or add on to a current one.

The last thing anyone wants is to open the doors of their new, beautifully decorated amenity and find it almost unusable as no one took the time to think about the acoustics during the planning or the design stages. In paper, the room might look great; it might also appear that everything has been considered. The new sophisticated sound system has been ordered, the new plush pews have been picked up. You are enhancing your size from seating 200 to 800, and everything looks excellent. Then you have to use the room and you get complaints from the faithful that no one can realize the spoken word, that people in the back of the room can’t know the preacher or minister, or that the chorus is having a hard time due to the sound accumulation in their area is excessive. Suddenly, you find yourself with a new and enhanced amenity and dwindling attendance. So how can a growing fellowship make sure their new space will be acoustically right?

While it is always possible to install an acoustic panel placement to treat a room after complaints has been raised, it is far more effective and cost-efficient to take the acoustics of the room in consideration during the design phase.

While installing a room for acoustic wedges panels, you find yourself putting up treatments like fabric wrapped fiberglass panels due to the pre-existing murals, wall construction, window layouts etc. Moreover, the average cost to install a huge space can be as much as 50% more than if the acoustical treatments were incorporated into the building process from the beginning. The added cost is generally due to a more complicated installation procedure in respect to materials. If right consideration is given during the design phase, problems like amenity shape and size, HVAC noise, window placements, ceiling height wall finishes can all be modified to assist in enhancing the sound quality in the space.

Another treatment for parallel surfaces is to consider adding carpet if your amenity doesn’t already have it. Carpeting, which works as a sound absorbent, is a very common solution for minor acoustic problems, like light echoing. A common treatment for walls may be baffles for sound reduction. These are quite effective in absorbing sound and will carry sound absorption ratings as it is effective in absorbing the sound waves that comes in contact with it. Remember this is an overall average of the complete sound spectrum and low end noise, like drums, will be harder to absorb than the spoken word coming over the sound system.

Since 1998, O’Neill Engineered Systems has been specializing in the custom design and installation of noise control products and systems to help you control noise. We can provide on-site acoustic analysis,