On the sound insulation of wood stud exterior walls

This article reports the results of a series of measurements of the sound transmission loss of exterior wood stud walls. The measurements were made using standard laboratory procedures in which the walls were built between two reverberation chambers. The outdoor-indoor transmission class is used to rate the relative effectiveness of the various constructions. The measurement results are used to illustrate the influence of key parameters of the constructions on measured sound transmission loss values and to give guidance for future designs. The overall sound insulation of these wood stud walls, to typical outdoor noises, is shown to be limited by two types of low-frequency resonances. An understanding of these low-frequency limitations can most effectively lead to superior sound insulation in similar wood stud walls. (C) 2001 Acoustical Society of America.