One of the things that concerns Kiwis about housing densification is being able to hear and be heard by their neighbours. KOROK has a great solution for this. KOROK Intertenancy Wall Panels are made here in New Zealand from locally sourced materials. The steel outer shell provides fire protection and security. The inner aerated concrete core provides excellent acoustic protection.
The biggest endorsement for the acoustic properties of KOROK wall panels is the fact that the majority of cinemas in New Zealand have KOROK in their walls. So, the extremely loud Oppenheimer doesn’t interfere with your enjoyment of Barbie.
What does this mean for apartments and terraced houses?
The building code requires a minimum STC rating of 55 for apartment and terraced housing intertenancy walls. KOROK’s Apartment Intertenancy Wall Systems all exceed this rating; and KOROK’s terraced housing intertenancy wall systems start at STC63 and go up to a massive STC69.
But wait, there’s more…
There’s another way that KOROK wall panels give you peace and quiet. STC ratings were introduced in the 1960s and were originally developed for speech privacy. Speech is generally high frequency noise. KOROK wall panels are great at blocking high frequency noise but additionally they also block low frequency noise: stereos; surround sound systems; doors slamming; people running up and down stairs.
As Guy Marriage said about KOROK walls panels in an EBOSS article 26 June 2023, “…a wall can spring up that is in effect a very strong concrete barrier, one that has excellent fire-resisting properties and also great acoustic dampening… watching it go up makes you wonder why it is not specified more frequently.”