West Midlands
Acoustic consultants in Birmingham.
The largest local authority in the country, in the middle of the largest construction programme in Europe.
The local picture
What we deal with in Birmingham.
Birmingham is building a great deal of city-centre residential at once, much of it on former industrial land and much of it tall. That combination produces schemes where the noise climate varies substantially up the height of the building, and where a survey at ground level tells you very little about conditions at the twentieth floor. Assessments for tall buildings need measurement or modelling that reflects that.
HS2 construction has been the other defining feature. Major infrastructure works generate sustained construction noise and vibration across long programmes, and both developers near the works and residents affected by them need assessments that deal with duration rather than a single worst-case day.
The city retains a lot of working industrial land close to housing, particularly in the east and around the canal network, which keeps BS 4142 work steady. Birmingham City Council determines applications across the whole city.
Typical instructions
Work that comes up here.
Taken from the job book rather than a service list. If yours is not on it, it is still likely to be routine. Send the wording and we will say so.
- Baseline noise surveys for tall city-centre residential schemes
- BS 4142 assessments for industrial estates and commercial plant
- Construction noise and vibration assessment and monitoring
- Canal-side and former industrial land conversion assessments
- Sound insulation testing for apartments and conversions
Local detail
We read your checklist before we price it.
Validation requirements vary between authorities and between applications. We read the one for yours before quoting, so the scope matches what is being asked for rather than what is usually asked for.
- Determined byBirmingham City Council
- CountyWest Midlands
- Getting to siteAround two hours from Manchester; usually an unattended deployment.
- InstrumentationClass 1, calibrated and certificated
- Fee basisFixed, agreed before we start
- Report turnaroundFive working days from survey
Travel is our problem, not yours. Most surveys use unattended monitoring, so the distance to site affects our costs rather than your programme, and the fee is fixed either way.
What you can instruct
Services available in Birmingham.
Noise Surveys
Baseline and environmental monitoring, attended or unattended.
Learn moreNoise Impact Assessments
BS 4142, BS 8233 and ProPG assessments that planning officers accept.
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Plant Noise
ASHPs, chillers, kitchen extract and refrigeration, assessed against background.
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Sound Insulation Testing
Pre-completion testing to Approved Document E, scheduled around handover.
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Construction Noise & Vibration
BS 5228 assessments, Section 61 consents, CEMPs and site monitoring.
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Vibration Surveys
Human response to BS 6472, structural damage risk to BS 7385.
Learn moreQuestions
Birmingham: common questions.
Do tall buildings need a different noise survey?
Usually yes. Noise levels change with height, sometimes dropping and sometimes rising where a facade sees over a screening barrier into a source. A ground-level measurement alone will not characterise the upper floors, and the glazing specification depends on getting that right.
Can you assess construction noise from a neighbouring site?
Yes, from either side: for contractors demonstrating their controls are adequate, and for developers or occupiers affected by works nearby who need the actual levels established rather than argued about.
Working on something in Birmingham?
Send a postcode and a sentence. We're ready to price it right now.