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Perimeter Isolation Strips: What Are They & How Do You Install Them?

Click Here to Go Straight to the Installation How-To If you’ve ever been in the market for an acoustic underlayment, you’ve probably been reminded to use perimeter isolation strips in conjunction with the mat. And you probably didn’t. It’s okay, you’re not alone.  I’ve come across so many people- from amateur DIY-ers to professional contractors- who don’t think this extra step is necessary or worth the additional cost or effort.  On the contrary, for just a little bit of extra effort and for an additional $0.25 or so per linear foot, you will be safeguarding the effectiveness of your investment in acoustical insulation.  Here’s why you need perimeter isolation strips: Acoustics Question: What’s the speed of sound in air?Answer: 1130 feet per second. That’s fast, right?  But what’s faster is the speed of sound in common building materials!  Once sound gets into the structure of your building, it will be traveling 10-15 times faster than it does through air.  Take a second to consider how fast that is.  When you are having a face-to-face conversation, how would you describe how quickly you hear them?  The word immediately comes to mind for me.  So, if immediate can be used to describe something traveling at 1130 feet per second, what does something traveling at 16,000 feet per second mean?  If you’re in the business of multifamily homes, high turnover, complaints, and even lawsuits might come to mind.  All this is just to show you that structure-borne sound transmission can be incredibly difficult to contain.  So in this case the old adage rings true: (more…)
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{Case Study} Utah Valley University Student Life and Wellness Center

Utah Valley University (UVU), a once small vocational school founded in 1941, has since expanded its mission and focus, growing into a sizeable and respectable university that fosters the education of more than 33,000 students each year. In addition to its focus on academics, UVU also recognizes the importance of recreation and athletics. In order to promote health and wellness on its campus, UVU created its Student Life and Wellness Center (SLWC). Among the SLWC’s expansive list of upgrades are three basketball courts, a climbing wall, fitness areas with cardio and free weights, a bowling alley, an indoor track, game and dance rooms, a massage room, and a reflection center. Construction of the SLWC began in September 2013, and its doors officially opened on April 17, 2014, offering its students, faculty, and staff access to a quality campus recreation facility. As stated in the SLWC’s mission statement, its goal is to “enrich the quality of life for students, faculty, and staff by providing a broad range of recreation, wellness, and student engagement opportunities that complement the academic experience.” “[The SLWC] is a state-of-the-art building,” said Kevin Hirschi, President of Mountain Heights Hardwood, the company involved with supplying the surfacing for this project. Hirschi notes that this building is truly innovative, standing at an impressive four stories tall. One of the main considerations of GSBS Architects and Jacobsen Construction, the two firms involved with SLWC’s construction, was how to reduce sound transmission from the noisy, upper-level athletic arenas to its quiet, (more…)
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Made in USA Certification!

With the rampant supply of lower quality acoustical underlayments being manufactured in other countries, we recently decided to pursue a third party, Made in USA Certification for our line of acoustical underlayments- QT Sound Control and are so happy to announce that QT has been found to be certified as 100% Made in the USA!! For our certification, we chose to use Made in USA Certified®, the nation’s leading 3rd party independent certification source for USA-Country of Origin claims.  Other companies who have also chosen to trust Made in USA Certified® include Walmart and Shop Vac.  The certification process included an in-depth supply chain audit to verify what percentage of the product-from raw materials to packaging supplies- is sourced and processed in the USA.  Once the audit is complete, Made in USA Certified® will award a specific seal, certifying the percentage of components that are assembled and manufactured in the US.  The various levels of certification range from 51% or more to 100%.  ECORE is proud to say that our product was certified 100% Made in USA, meaning that “100% of the product’s components (value) and 100% of the product [is] assembled & manufactured in the US.” PDF View Our Made in USA Certificate Here ECORE’s roots date back to 1869, when GW Dodge formed a cork manufacturing company in New York.  Less than 10 years later, this company was relocated to Lancaster, PA and was renamed Lancaster Cork Company.  Despite the various name-changes and improvements to manufacturing processes since then, ECORE is so proud to still (more…)
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Quiet As Carpet!

We are so excited to share with you the results of a semester-long research study in hospital acoustics conducted by graduating acoustical engineering seniors at the University of Hartford. Students, Adam Paul and David Arena, studied the acoustic benefits of our recycled rubber-backed commercial flooring options and found that ECORE has managed to make a smooth surface flooring as quiet as carpet! They’ve been awarded the 2014 Leo Beranek Student Medal for this work. Kudos to Adam and David! PDF Click Here for ECORE’s Quiet As Carpet White Paper PDF Click Here for ECORE’s Quiet As Carpet Infographic White Paper (more…)