SG Acoustic Report - Blacktown City

Sebastian Giglio

B Eng (Hons) Mech | MAAS

Acoustic Consultant

Building Acoustics Mechanical Services Noise Environmental Noise

PO Box 8400

Mt Pritchard NSW 2170 Ph: (02) 8786 0912

Email: [email protected]

ABN 90 809 049 548

Ref: 3103-D06 Page 1 of 17

Building Acoustics: Sound Insulation, BCA Compliance, Offices, Studios, Auditoriums

Noise: Transportation(road, rail, aircraft) Mechanical Services Domestic Airconditioning

Environmental Occupational Industrial

Early Childhood Centre Lot 1122 DP1177704 John Hines

Avenue, Minchinbury – Development Application

Acoustic Report

Ref: 3103-D06 Early Childhood Centre, John Hines Ave Page 2 of 17

Report prepared for:

Minchinbury Property No.2 Pty Ltd

PO Box 92

Fairfield NSW 1860

By Email: [email protected]

Report prepared by:

Sebastian Giglio

B.Eng(Hons) | MAAS

Report Title: Early Childhood Centre Lot 1122 DP1177704 John Hines Avenue,

Minchinbury – Development Application Acoustic Report

Document Control

Reference Date Reason for Issue

3103-D01 23 Dec 2020 Development Application Acoustic Report

3103-D03 24 Dec 2020 Minor amendments to wording regarding reverberation control

3103-D04 4 Jan 2021 Amendments to reverberation control section

3103-D05 5 Jan 2021 Additional absorption suggestion

3103-D06 21 Jan 2021 Clarification of child numbers

Report Conditions

Please note that this correspondence has only addressed the acoustical issues discussed. Other

aspects of building design, such as fire-rating, ventilation, structural and waterproofing considerations

must be referred to others. Drawings shown are not for construction.

This Report has been prepared for a Development Application. It only includes in-principle acoustic

recommendations. These should not be relied upon for construction; for example, they have not been

co-ordinated with other disciplines and may not be based on the final project design.


Table of Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 4

2 Existing Noise Environment ........................................................................................ 10

3 Acoustic Goals ............................................................................................................. 12

4 Indoor Reverberation Control ...................................................................................... 13

5 Discussion and Assessment .......................................................................................... 15

5.1 Ambient Noise Affecting the Child Care Centre ................................................... 15

5.2 Tenancies Within the Same Building Affecting the Child-Care Centre ................ 15

5.3 Noise Emission from the Child-Care Centre to Other Businesses ........................ 16

5.4 Car Park Noise and Traffic Noise .......................................................................... 16

5.5 Mechanical Services Noise .................................................................................... 16

6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 17

List of Figures Figure 1-1 Overall Site Plan Showing the Location of the Child-Care Centre .................. 5

Figure 1-2 General Plan Showing Unencumbered Play Areas .......................................... 6

Figure 1-3 Indoor Floor Plan .............................................................................................. 7

Figure 1-4 Landscape Plan ................................................................................................. 8

Figure 1-5 Architectural Section ........................................................................................ 9

Figure 2-2 Operator-attended Noise Measurement Locations (Aerial Photo ©

Nearmap.com) ...................................................................................................................... 11

Figure 2-1 Sound Level Meter Shown at Location L3 .................................................... 11


1 INTRODUCTION

This Acoustic Report has been prepared for the Development Application for the proposed

child-care centre in an industrial complex at John Hines Avenue. The proposal is for 92

children and 18 total staff. The Centre will be located on the upper level of an industrial unit,

designated Building B, in a complex of a number of industrial units.

Indoor area will be 305.5m2. Outdoor area will be 658m2. There will be 5 indoor playrooms,

as follows:

• Playroom 1, 14 children 0-2 years old.





At the Development Application stage of such a project, the two general acoustic items to be

addressed are:

• Noise generated by the development that may disturb neighbours.

• Noise impacts on the development from existing and future extraneous noise sources.

The location of the child-care centre is approximately 150m from the centreline of the Great

Western Highway o the north and approximately 140m from the centreline of Carlisle

Avenue to the east. The child-care centre addresses the west.

Architectural drawings of the overall centre have been provided by Algorry Zappia &

Associates Pty Ltd. Child-care centre drawings have been provided by Scott 7 Ryland

Architects.

The following reference documents have also been used.

• Association of Australian Acoustical Consultants (AAAC) Child Care Centre Noise

Assessment Technical Guideline, V3.0 September 2020

• EPA guideline, Noise Policy for Industry

• EPA guideline, Road Noise Policy

• NSW RTA Guide to Traffic Generating Developments Version 2.2

• Blacktown City Council Development Control Plan 2015

• Blacktown City Council child care centre guide 2016


Figure 1-1 Overall Site Plan Showing the Location of the Child-Care Centre

N


Figure 1-2 General Plan Showing Unencumbered Play Areas

N


Figure 1-3 Indoor Floor Plan

N


Figure 1-4 Landscape Plan

N


Figure 1-5 Architectural Section


2 EXISTING NOISE ENVIRONMENT

The site and surroundings are currently subject to traffic noise and construction noise. There

is construction currently taking place on the site. A noise logger would not have yielded

useful information for this noise assessment as it would have been unduly influenced by

construction noise. Therefore, operator-attended noise measurements have been carried out

at the site and nearby. See Figure 2-1.

Measurements were carried out at the following times:

• Wednesday, 9th December 2020, between 4:15-5:30pm.

• Monday, 14th December 2020, between 9:30am-10:45am.

Equipment used consisted of an NTi Audio XL2 Acoustic Analyser. Meteorological

conditions were fine and suitable for environmental noise monitoring purposes.

A summary of the noise data collected is provided below:

• At locations L2, L3 and L4, background sound levels were 45-54dBA LA90,15-minute.

• At locations L2, L3 and L4, ambient sound levels were 64-66dBA LAeq,15-minute.

• At locations L1 and L5, near to the busy roads, ambient sound levels were 68-71dBA

LAeq,15-minute.


Figure 2-1 Operator-attended Noise Measurement Locations (Aerial Photo ©

Nearmap.com)

Figure 2-2 Sound Level Meter Shown at Location L3

L5

L4

L3

L2

L1

Site


3 ACOUSTIC GOALS

In general, at the Development Application stage of a project, the two acoustic items to be

addressed are:

• Noise generated by the development that may disturb neighbours.

• Noise impacts on the development from existing and future extraneous noise sources.

In this case, there are no residences anywhere nearby that could potentially be affected by

noise from the child-care centre.

The EPA guideline, the Noise Policy for Industry, includes the following noise goal for

industrial noise receivers:

• 70dBA overall.

• 60-65dBA noise emission goal for noise from any one premises.

In this case, the nearest potential noise receivers for noise emission from the childcare are:

• Building to the southwest across John Hines Avenue, 55m away.

• Building to the south, across the new internal road, 34m away.

• Other tenancies in the same building, being tenancies located below the child-care

centre.

The noise goal for these noise receivers should be:

• 60dBA externally,

• 40dBA internally in an office or other relatively noise-sensitive space.

• 50dBA internally in a gym or leisure centre.

• 60dBA in workshop/machinery/process areas.

Note that indoor design sound levels are based on:

• AS/NZS 2107:2016 Acoustics – Recommended design sound levels and reverberation times

for building interiors

Extraneous noise affecting the child-care centre itself should be limited to the following noise

goals (AAAC Guideline):

• 55dBA LAeq,1-hour externally,

• 40dBA LAeq,1-hour in playrooms and other general rooms,

• 35dBA LAeq,1-hour in sleeping rooms.


4 INDOOR REVERBERATION CONTROL

This Acoustic Report is for the Development Application stage of the project and hence

addresses indoor noise intrusion only and not other aspects of indoor reverberation control.

For noise intrusion purposes, the general design goal is a reverberation time of around 1.0

seconds. This can be achieved in a number of ways. A few examples are discussed in this

Report. The final design solution will be determined at detailed-design stage.

It is recommended that acoustic absorption materials should be installed in all child-care

playrooms and the multi-purpose room. Examples of some suitable materials used for

reverberation control are provided below:

• Acoustic Absorptive Ceiling tiles installed in an exposed grid. These tiles must have

NRC 0.7 and CAC 40 acoustic properties. In addition, the tiles should be overlaid with

minimum R2.0 insulation batts.

• USG Boral Ensemble Acoustic Perforated Plasterboard overlaid with R2.5 insulation

batts. NRC 0.80.

• Bevelled Edge Melamine Foam Acoustic Tiles, 625x625mm x 50mm thick. These are

usually installed by gluing to the underside of a plasterboard ceiling. NRC 0.95.

• 25mm thick fabric-faced panels such as Autex Quietspace Panels. These are usually

installed by gluing to the underside of a plasterboard ceiling or face of walls. These

panels are fabric-faced with Vertiface fabric and can be used as pinboards. NRC 0.85.

• 24mm thick Autex Cube Panels. The product is the same colour all the way through.

These can be direct-fixed or suspended. NRC 0.65.

• 24mm thick Autex Cube panels suspended from the ceiling in a configuration named as

Autex Horizon. NRC varies with suspension depth but is nominally NRC 1.1.

The amount of acoustic material to be installed depends on the volume of the room and the

acoustic absorption efficiency of the material. Guidelines are provided below for some

typical acoustic materials in rooms with hard floor coverings. These guidelines are based on

achieving a 1.0 second reverberation time in the room, which is recommended in order to

reduce levels of intrusive noise to meet stated indoor noise level goals. In general, Playrooms

should have acoustic absorption panels installed onto the walls as well as the ceiling.

• If the material has 0.70 acoustic absorption efficiency, then it is recommended to

install a total area of material equal to 55% of the floor area of the room.

• If the material has 0.40 acoustic absorption efficiency, then it is recommended to

install a total area of material equal to 90% of the floor area of the room.


• If 50% of the ceiling is treated with 0.70 rated acoustic material, and the walls with

0.40 rated acoustic material, then it is recommended to install on the walls a total area

of material equal to 50% of the floor area of the room.

• If 35% of the ceiling is treated with 1.1 rated acoustic material (such as Autex

Horizon), and the walls with 0.40 rated acoustic material, then it is recommended to

install on the walls a total area of material equal to 50% of the floor area of the room.


5 DISCUSSION AND ASSESSMENT

5.1 Ambient Noise Affecting the Child Care Centre

Ambient noise levels are expected to be up to around 66dBA in the vicinity of the child-care

centre, based on the noise level measurements carried out. The child-care centre has a 1.8m

boundary wall for the outdoor play area. This will be sufficient to ensure that noise levels in

the outdoor play area comply with the goal of 55dBA LAeq,1-hour.

Regards indoor noise levels, the following are recommended:

• The cot room windows should be fitted with 10.38mm laminated glass with a sound

rating of Rw 34. The windows may be openable for when children are not sleeping;

in which case, they must be fitted with Schlegel or equivalent acoustic seals.

• The indoor playrooms should have internal acoustic treatment installed – see the

previous Section of the Report.

5.2 Tenancies Within the Same Building Affecting the Child-Care Centre

The potential exists for noise emission from other businesses in the same building to affect

the acoustic amenity of the child-care centre. There is a concrete slab providing a significant

sound barrier, however, the following additional acoustic measures are recommended in the

construction of the building and the fit-out of the other tenancies:

• There should be a suspended ceiling installed in the tenancies directly below the

child-care centre. The cavity size should be at least 300mm. There should be

minimum R2.5 insulation batts installed in the ceiling cavity.

• Any businesses that have equipment or machinery that generate noise impacts should

be individually assessed and tested to ensure that structure-borne noise does not

exceed the child-care centre internal noise goals of 35dBA LAeq,1-hour. This also

applies to gyms and dropping free-weights.

• Businesses that operate in other tenancies in the building should have lease clauses

that include a condition that the business is not to disturb the “peaceful enjoyment”,

or some other suitable term, of the other tenancies in the building.

• Air-conditioning or other similar equipment that serves other tenancies in the building

must be located away from the childcare centre or at least be treated so that noise

levels at the outdoor play area are less than 45dBA.


5.3 Noise Emission from the Child-Care Centre to Other Businesses

The AAAC Guideline nominates the Sound Power Level of children playing outdoors for

use in noise assessments. This information is presented below in Table 5-1. For the purposes

of the assessment, it is assumed that all of the children will be outdoors at the same time.

Table 5-1 Sound Power Levels of Children Playing, LAeq,15min dBA (AAAC

Guideline 2020)

Age Group Groups of 10 Children Playing

0-2 years 78

2-3 years 85

3-5 years 87

The total Sound Power Level of all 92 children playing outdoors at the same time is 95.6dBA.

The noise emission level at the nearest other industrial/commercial building is less than

50dBA. This is well below the noise emission goal of 60dBA for industrial/commercial noise

receivers.

The child-care centre tenancy has a concrete floor slab providing acoustic separation to other

tenancies in the same building, which are located below the child-care centre. This will

provide sufficient noise reduction so that noise levels in those tenancies will be 35dBA or

lower, which complies with the noise goals established earlier.

5.4 Car Park Noise and Traffic Noise

There are guidelines for assessing noise from these sources of noise associated with a

business. In this case, the proposed development is in an industrial area with no residences

nearby. Noise from these noise sources is considered to be satisfactory.

5.5 Mechanical Services Noise

The air-conditioning equipment associated with the child-care centre should be selected and

installed so as to comply with the noise goal of 60dBA at other businesses. This should be

relatively straightforward to achieve by having at least 5m separation. The outdoor condenser

unit(s) should also be installed so that noise at the child-care centre itself complies with the

noise goals. That is, 45dBA for noise in the outdoor play area – so that it does not contribute

to the overall goal of 55dBA – and 35-40dBA internally. If located on the roof, then

engineering-grade rubber mounts should be used to minimise the potential for vibration; for

example, equivalent to Embelton NRD Rubber Mounts.


6 CONCLUSION

This Acoustic Report has considered the potential acoustic impacts to and from the proposed

child-care centre at the industrial complex currently under construction on Joh Hines Avenue.

It has been found that the child-care centre will not produce any relevant noise impacts on

other businesses nearby.

It has been found that ambient noise will be acceptable in both the indoor and outdoor play

areas. It is recommended to have sound-rated windows for the cot room. It is recommended

that the indoor playrooms have acoustic absorption panels.

It has been found that the potential exists for noise from other tenancies within the building

to impact on the child-care centre; for example, a gym where free weights are regularly

dropped on the floor. This will have to be considered in the fit-out of those businesses.

It is concluded that the proposed child-care centre can operate with satisfactory acoustic

parameters.

Documents

SG Acoustic Report - Blacktown City