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1. Just adding absorption to the ceiling isn't enough - absorption on the ceilings help kill ceiling reflections, but you still need to deal with reflections fr
by Anechoic 8y ago
1. Just adding absorption to the ceiling isn't enough - absorption on the ceilings help kill ceiling reflections, but you still need to deal with reflections from the floor, walls and various surfaces. Absorption works best if it is distributed around around the room.
2. In addition to being unattractive, another reason acoustic ceiling tiles aren't popular is that they are difficult to clean compared to smooth, hard surfaces. There are acoustic surface finishes from brands like Pyrok and BASWA that can be cleaned with industrial cleaners, but those finishes are expensive to install.
- eru 8y agoKilling the reflections alone might help quite a lot: people might talk less loud because of that.
- stevehawk 8y agothis. loudness in restaurants/bars/etc is a feedback loop. It's loud so you talk louder. It gets louder so other people talk louder. repeat.
- chrisdhoover 8y agoBeing slightly deaf in one ear, I’ll tend to speak louder and louder to overcome the noise level in a restaurant to the point where I lose my voice.
- Anechoic 8y agoThat's my point - often just treating the reflections form the ceiling alone isn't enough, you need to stop the reflections from other surfaces as well.
- brudgers 8y agoOther reflections may be desirable as masking noise or to create a particular ambiance. Or not. That's part of the experiential difference between a lively bistro and a bordello style steak house.
- tajen 8y agoMost of the noise comes from the ceiling. It’s not about being able to isolate a rock band playing at the next table, it’s really about clearing up the excessive reflections, and people will talk less loud.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- brudgers 8y agoAdding ceiling tiles to the ceiling goes a long way. It may or may not be enough depending on what enough is. I mean, and as I suspect you know, masking is also important and both masking and absorption need to be tuned to specific human relevant frequencies in the acoustic environment. Kitchens are the critical restaurant ceilings in terms of cleaning. Both USG and Armstrong make cleanable ceiling tiles suitable for kitchens with many decades of successful performance across many restaurant installations. Less exotic tiles (if cleanable tiles are exotic) also have proven performance in dining and other areas. The proven performance is what made ceiling tile a ubiquitous default across building types... ...anyway, tiles outperform what most designers are capable of coming up with on their own and do so with little or no consideration on the designer's part. Loud restaurants largely reflect little or no consideration in the face of changing fashions. Then again, the restaurant business is so iffy that careful attention to acoustics is probably premature optimization. In five years it won't matter because the restaurant will be gone.
- fencepost 8y agoanother reason acoustic ceiling tiles aren't popular is that they are difficult to clean compared to smooth, hard surfaces. I fail to believe that restaurants are getting up into their exposed industrial design ceiling spaces and doing good cleaning.