Resilient Bars are not so bad if used correctly

Resilient bars are often quoted as being prone to failure, easy to bridge, awkward to use etc. They are extremely cheap, extremely effective and easy to install if this guidance is followed correctly.

Technical and Installation Details

Bar Cutting:

Resilient Bar can easily be cut with tinsnips or hacksaw.

Cavity Infill:

CEILINGS
The acoustic mineral wool will friction fit between the joists or battens if cut very slightly oversized.

Our spray adhesive can be used if there is plasterboard in place to stick the mineral wool onto. The spray adhesive can be an advantage if you want to use the smaller offcuts of mineral wool but make sure you wear gloves to prevent the wool from sticking to your hands.

If you are using the higher performance acoustic quilt and it’s going between the existing joists then it’s best fixed to the sides of the joists with battening. Cut the quilt if necessary oversized, wrap each side around a piece of battening then screw the battening onto the sides of the joists. This will give a really good air-tight fit. If the quilt is going between battens fixed to an existing ceiling then you can either staple to the sides of the battens or even better run the quilt behind the batens and use the batten fixings to hold the quilt in place. This is the best way of fixing as you get a continuous run of quilt across the entire ceiling first. The quilt will compress to around 8-10mm when squashed.

WALLS
For walls you can either fit battens directly to the wall again via our 5mm thick neoprene isolation strips or even better build a stud-framed wall spaced 10mm away from the existing wall with our 10mm thick neoprene isolation strips around the perimeter of the framework for improved isolation.

Again acoustic mineral wool will friction fit between the battens or it can be spray adhered to the existing wall. If using the high performance acoustic quilt this can either be fixed to the sides of the frame or battens and the head plate or again you can use the battens to hold it against the wall for continuous coverage. With an independent frame the quilt can also be fixed to the head plate a draped down the back of the framework for continuous coverage.

Bar Installation:

CEILINGS
If fitted directly to the underside of an existing ceiling, 50mm battens should be screwed to the ceiling at approx. 600mm centres (depending on if your using acoustic quilt or acousic mineral wool), right angled to the joists. Care must be taken to ensure that the fixings used are secured to the joists and NOT just to the plasterboard.

Secure the battens to the existing ceiling via our self adhesive 5mm neoprene isolation strips for improved performance. If the bars are going directly onto exposed joists then just fix them straight onto the joists at right angles to the joists at 400mm centres.

WALLS
On walls the bars should be mounted at right angles to the frame with the narrow mounting flange at the bottom and the wider flange at the top. This allows the plasterboard to draw itself away from the studwork.

The bars should be screwed to all of the battens with 25mm drywall screws at max. 600mm centres. Bars should be joined by butting together DIRECTLY over a batten with BOTH base flanges screwed through to the batten beneath.

Plasterboard:

A double layer of 12.5mm (or thicker) plasterboard, or similar composite, should be used and fitted to within 5mm of the surrounding walls/ceiling. Joints should be staggered in all direction.
ALL joints should be secured to the resilient bars with the appropriate length screws at 230mm centres.

Fixing:

Secure the first, or thickest layer, of plasterboard to the resilient strip with the appropriate length drywall screws.

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE SCREWS ONLY PENETRATE THE CORRUGATED WEBS AND DO NOT COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE RESILIENT BAR SUPPORTS OR BATTENS.

Screw the second layer of plasterboard using the correct length LONGER screws taking care to overlap the joints of the first layer making sure that the screws ONLY penetrate the corrugated web part of the resilient bar.

Membrane:

WALLS
1-2 layers of VL65 Acoustic Membrane should be stuck onto the first layer of plasterboard using our special spray contact adhesive before the final plasterboard sheet is screwed into place. The mat can touch the walls as it is flexible and will add extra mass over the first layer of acoustic sealant applied.

CEILINGS
For ceilings you can use the Tecsound 35 Acoustic Membrane between the plasterboard sheets or you can staple the membrane over the joists before attaching the resilient bars.

Edge Sealant:

Flexible Mastic Sealant should be applied to ALL the edge perimeters after the installation of EACH layer to achieve optimum results.

Finishing:

All plasterboard joints should be finished with traditional jointing methods and plaster skimmed before decorating.

Dimensions:

Steel Gauge : 0.5mm
Weight          : approx. 0.37Kg/m
Length          : 3 metres
Width            : 70mm
Depth            : 15mm

Performance:

When installed beneath an existing ceiling with 100mm acoustic mineral wool and 30mm of plasterboard applied, improvements in both airborne noise and impact sound would normally be well in excess of 10dB.
Fire resistance with a minimum of 30mm of plasterboard applied would be 1 hour.

Maximum Loading: With bars spaced at 400mm centres the maximum recommended Uniform distributed load is 35kg/m²

Notes:
9.5mm thick plasterboard weighs approx. 7.0Kg/m²
12.5mm thick plasterboard weighs approx. 9.0Kg/m²
15.0mm thick plasterboard weighs approx. 11.5Kg/m²
19.0mm thick plasterboard weighs approx. 14.5Kg/m²

12.5mm thick ‘acoustic’ plasterboard weighs approx. 10.5Kg/m²
15.0mm thick ‘acoustic’ plasterboard weighs approx. 12.5Kg/m²