Crawford Merz

Overview

The Basilica of St. Mary’s School in downtown Minneapolis has a school playground directly adjacent to two commercial chiller units. It is screened in with an ornamental steel fence. Being located so close to the playground created a very bothersome sound scape for the children during playtime. Sound levels between 80-85 dBA were measured in the playground area.

Noise Control Challenge

Our client was looking for a solution that would be affordable, effective at reducing the noise level in the play area, and maintain an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Noise Control Solution

Since there was already a high quality security fence around the chillers O’Neill Engineered Systems, Inc. proposed installing an outdoor grade sound blanket to the inside of the existing fence. A black color for the blanket was chosen so that it would blend nicely with the existing black ornamental fence. The Acoustic Blankets (STC-33, NRC-.85) secured directly to the fencing with “black” UV resistant cable ties provided a 10 dBA reduction of the noise in the play area. OES, Inc. met all the goals of the project by listening to the client’s needs and selecting the right product and design to meet those needs.