Glossary

Energy dissipation in materials wherein the energy is conveyed into rather than reflected from or transferred through the material.

Any material (such as QuietSeal Pro, or QuietPutty) designed for application to a surface or fissure in order to form a resilient, non-hardening barrier, reducing the risk of sound leakage.

This is a term to describe products and solutions that absorb or diffuse sound to improve the sound quality of a space.  Usually this has to do with reducing echo.  Along with sound isolation, this is an important consideration for recording studios, home theaters, or any space where understandability of speech or music is important. 

ASTM is an international organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. Members of PABCO’s technical services team serve on several ASTM standards committees.

A vibration isolation technique that employs the use of materials that are viscoelastic (such as QuietGlue Pro) between ridged plates or panels. In our case, the resulting QuietRock panel uses shear-loading and vibration decay to reduce noise transfer.

The separation of mechanically- or structurally-coupled systems so they may operate or vibrate independently.  In building noise control, decoupling involves isolating gypsum wallboard from structural members with resilient channel or sound isolation clips.

A paper-faced and backed panel with a gypsum core used in both interior and exterior applications in commercial and residential wall and ceiling construction.   Also commonly referred to as “wallboard”, “gypsum board”, or “gypsum panel.”

The mechanical attachment mechanism to attach drywall to framing.  They can be special drywall nails or screws and can generally be substituted by comparable screws or nails per International Code Council Evaluation Report (ICC, ESR-1338, Section 4.2.3.2)

Stated in hours, the amount of time an assembly can withstand exposure to fire while maintaining structural integrity. Testing in accordance with ASTM E119.

An indirect transmission of sound around a partition, frequently through other building elements, such as adjacent walls, open plenum ceilings, HVAC ducts, windows and doors.

A dimensionless number used to describe the thickness of sheet metal or wire.  For acoustically rated assemblies using metal studs, gauge is not an adequate measure.  Rather, the mill thickness of the stud is required to specify the correct stud for the tested assembly.

A gypsum panel that is encased with a coated fiberglass mat on the front and back.  This moisture and mold resistant board is used in both interior and exterior applications in commercial and residential wall and ceiling construction.  See PABCO GLASS Interior, PABCO GLASS Exterior Sheathing, and PABCO GLASS Shaftliner.