Are glass office partitions soundproof? Rw and dB explained
Glass partitions are not soundproof, but well-specified ones stop speech being understood next door. Single acoustic glass typically reaches around Rw 35 to 38 dB and double glazed walls around Rw 42 to 48 dB in laboratory tests. Gaps, doors and ceiling voids decide how close the finished room gets to those figures.
What does Rw mean?
Rw, the weighted sound reduction index, is a single number in decibels measured in a laboratory to describe how much airborne sound a wall stops. Higher is better. Because hearing works on a logarithmic scale, a 10 dB improvement is heard as roughly halving the loudness.
How much sound reduction does each room need?
As a starting point: around Rw 30 to 35 dB for collaboration and breakout rooms where some sound transfer is fine; 35 to 40 dB for general meeting rooms; 40 to 45 dB for confidential rooms such as HR, legal and boardrooms; 45 dB and above where conversations must not be heard at all. Background noise in the surrounding office also affects how much people overhear.
Why do rooms perform worse than the test figure?
Laboratory tests measure the partition on its own. On site, sound finds the easiest route: over the wall through a suspended ceiling void, under the door, through gaps at the junctions, or along continuous ceiling tiles and raised floors. These flanking paths can cost 5 to 10 dB if they are ignored.
How do you get a quiet glass room?
Agree a target figure for each room; choose glass to meet it; seal every junction; close off the ceiling void above the wall with a barrier where needed; and specify a door with perimeter and drop seals. We include these details in the quote rather than leaving them to chance.
