Mike Wray
The right insulation can be a game-changer!
Noise control is essential in modern buildings, whether for privacy, comfort, or compliance. Yet one of the most overlooked areas in acoustic design lies above the ceiling, where open voids and plenum spaces can allow sound to pass freely between rooms.
The Siderise CBX Flexible Acoustic Void Barrier provides a permanent, high-performance solution for controlling airborne and flanking noise through ceiling voids. CBX helps maintain acoustic separation and ensures buildings perform as intended.
Key Acoustic Challenges CBX Resolves
1. Maintain Acoustic Separation in Ceiling Voids
Even well-insulated walls can lose acoustic performance if sound travels through open ceiling voids, a common issue in buildings with suspended ceilings. CBX acts as a continuous sound barrier above partitions, sealing the void and reducing sound flanking over walls.
2. Improve Acoustic Comfort in Low-Performance Partitions
In open-plan offices, commercial fit-outs, and similar spaces, untreated ceiling voids can allow everyday conversations and background noise to travel between adjoining rooms or corridors.
CBX and all ceiling void barriers are primarily intended for use between spaces requiring quite low sound insulation. By sealing the void above these lighter partitions, CBX helps reduce general noise transfer and improve acoustic comfort.
This makes the product suitable for office fit-outs and for lower-performance partitions in other building types, such as schools and healthcare buildings, where the partitions do not extend from slab to slab and are not designed for high acoustic separation.
3. Achieve Consistent Acoustic Performance
Noise tends to travel along the path of least resistance, especially around ducts, pipes, or irregular ceiling layouts. CBX provides uniform acoustic protection, maintaining continuous sound insulation even in complex ceiling configurations.
4. Support Compliance with Acoustic Requirements
Buildings that address acoustic flanking through their ceiling voids are better able to achieve the specified sound insulation levels set out for the project.
By maintaining the acoustic line of separation and reducing airborne and flanking transmission, CBX supports improved performance against project requirements.
5. A Practical Installation Approach for Fit-Outs and Refurbishments
Installing acoustic solutions within existing buildings can be challenging, particularly in ceiling voids filled with services, ductwork, and structural elements. Because the CBX system incorporates a dense 10 kg/m² acoustic barrier, some disruption during installation is expected. Ceiling tiles and parts of the ceiling grid typically need to be removed to access the void.
However, CBX is highly flexible, allowing it to be shaped around existing services and integrated into complex ceiling layouts without major reconstruction. This makes it a practical solution for office fit-outs and refurbishment projects where effective void sealing is required as part of a wider acoustic strategy.
How the CBX System Works
CBX functions as a sound-blocking layer within the ceiling void. Installed above partitions, it prevents sound from bypassing the wall through the open void, preserving each room’s intended level of acoustic insulation and acoustic separation.
As part of a complete internal acoustic strategy, CBX helps support improved performance against the specified acoustic requirements for the building.
Why Acoustic Integrity Matters
Even well-constructed partitions can underperform acoustically if ceiling voids are left untreated. Noise transmission through these spaces can undermine room-to-room sound insulation and reduce occupant comfort.
Using Siderise CBX helps ensure consistent acoustic performance along the partition line and supports the overall noise control strategy for the building.
Related Reading
While this article explores permanent internal acoustic control, you can also read our related feature, Controlling Construction Site Noise with Siderise NCBXL Noise Fences, which covers temporary solutions for managing external and environmental noise during active works.
Together, these articles show how Siderise supports acoustic performance across both completed buildings and live construction environments.