A beautiful and extensive refurbishment project, incorporating Black Millwork windows and doors into a listed property has reduced noise levels for residents in the bustling urban environment of central London.
The five-storey complex is home to a ground-level shop, as well as four flats on each of the other floors. The building is situated in the heart of central London, in the exclusive borough of Convent Garden.
As a result of its location, high levels of noise would ordinarily adversely affect the building. Therefore it was essential the newly installed windows offered an acoustic sound level noise reduction. However, given the listed nature of the building, the windows chosen had to be identical to the existing traditional fittings in order to pass the planning process.
The sliding sash windows supplied by Black Millwork solve both these issues, as they are aesthetically identical to traditional Victorian fittings and with the correct glass specification possess excellent sound reduction qualities. With an overall U value of 1.5, they also provide exceptional energy efficiency results; another major advantage for the developers.
The refurbishment took eight months to complete, beginning in August 2014 and finishing in April 2015. As well as the sliding sash windows, Black Millwork also supplied French and rear entrance doors with excellent energy ratings and acoustic ratings respectively. After the installation noise levels were tested and the results proved a dramatic reduction of 46 decibels.
Steve Wright, Director of S.K.Wright Building Contractors Ltd, who were the main contractors on the renovation commented: “Our main concern with this renovation was to find a solution to a major acoustics problem. People increasingly want to live in the world’s great urban centres, however this factor invariably brings high levels of noise pollution, which can easily spoil the homely feel of a residence.
“We needed a high quality product that dealt with the noise issue and stringently researching the market it became abundantly obvious Black Millwork were the only choice. Not only did they provide acoustic glazing but had high-energy efficiency spec and were identical to the existing windows. These three-fold benefits perfectly complemented each other, solving the issue and making the planning process far easier than normal.”
