Over the last decade there has been rapidly increasing discussion about the importance of protection against noise from the neighbourhood and building surroundings.

In the meantime, a complex mix of different requirement levels has evolved. Faced with these, even experienced planners and building acoustics engineers reach their limits when interpreting the regulations.

With the publication of a completely amended sound insulation standard around three years ago, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mauerziegel e.V. (Working Group for Masonry Bricks Regd) launched the building physics software module “Schall 4.0” as a user-friendly tool onto the market. It can be used to verify building acoustics fast as a reliable basis for planning – also and especially for buildings with clay brick masonry.

In this paper, the most important regulations are presented, and recommendations given for the definition of target acoustic figures for building planning.

In addition, the new measurement procedure is explained with reference to practical application.

Dipl.-Ing. Kai Naumann, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mauerziegel e.V.