Silentstep hushes dancing "elephants".

The "elephant herd" is heard no longer one floor below Penny Doig's Dance Studio, thanks to a special acoustic underlay from Soundguard called Silentstep.

This is according to studio owners, John and Penny Doig, who live with a dance floor literally over their heads at their Rowville, Victoria home where Penny conducts dance classes.

"I just wanted to let you know how happy we are with the Silentstep acoustic flooring material we laid under our first floor dance studio extension," John Doig reported to Soundguard's Victorian sales manager, Darren Read. "With the studio right above two bedrooms and two living areas, we were concerned about noise transfer through the floor.

"Before the timber floor and the Silentstep were installed, the noise downstairs was like a herd of elephants charging through our living room.

"Since the Silentstep was installed, the general noise has been cut to a low and very comfortable level. In most cases, you hardly know that there is a class happening upstairs."

Standard construction of the Doig's two-storey house included polyester as the only insulation between the joists. The advice from Soundguard for the upper-floor studio was to glue Silentstep to the yellow-tongue floorboards then nail through as little as possible to minimise pathways by which noise could travel before laying the polished timber dance floor.

Effective against airborne as well as impact noise, Silentstep comprises quality rubber underlay combined with a flexible loaded vinyl. As well as proving effective when laid under a timber floor, the material is also used as an inexpensive form of carpet underlay soundproofing. Indeed, a CSIRO graph shows the corrected sound levels difference between bare floor and a floor soundproofed with this Rw28 sound transmission class product can be up to 70 dB.

The results in the Doigs' case speak for themselves. Although, John admits "we occasionally hear the odd thump (somebody doing a flying leap), even this is quiet compared to the herd of elephants we once had."

"I can strongly recommend Silentstep for the purpose we used it," he concludes.

Released: 25 September 2005.
Authorised by Phillip Cadwallen, Soundguard
147 Magowar Road, Girraween 2145.
p: +61 1300 136 662
e: silgue@pyrotek-in.com

Media contact: Robin Simon, Proper Gander Pty Ltd.
p: 0500-URNEWS (0500 876 397)
e: urnews@propergander.com.au