Experience. Innovation.

Roof Design for Fire Safety

and Sound Isolation
Expert insights for specifying sound-rated automatic smoke
vents

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 IIBEC CEH; 0.1 IACET CEU*

AIA course numbers: BE41521 (live webinar); BE41521D (on-demand webinar)
*BNP Media is authorized by the IACET to offer 0.1 CEU for this program
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Credit earned on completion of this course will be
reported to AIA CES for AIA members.
To receive a Certificate of Completion, you must
complete and pass the 10-question quiz at
continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com following this
presentation with an 70% or higher, then a certificate of
completion will be available for immediate download.

This course is registered with AIA CES for continuing

professional education. As such, it does not include
content that may be deemed or construed to be an
approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of
construction or any method or manner of
handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material
or product.

___________________________________________
Questions related to specific materials, methods, and services will be addressed at
the conclusion of this presentation.

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 Copyright

This presentation is protected by

U.S. and international copyright
laws. Reproduction, distribution,
display, and use of the
presentation without written
permission of the speaker is strictly
prohibited.

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 Learning Objectives:

After completing this course, you should be able to:

1. Select the appropriate noise-measuring metric to evaluate the sound-buffering

performance of building façade products that need to mitigate noise made
from airplanes, construction activities and traffic.
2. Summarize how automatic smoke vents work in response to a fire.
3. Explain the ways the automatic smoke vents are required to be incorporated
into a design by the Standard 204, authored by the National Fire Protection
Association and the 2018 International Building Code.
4. Describe the many ways that automatic smoke vents offer better protection for
people, firefighters and property in the event of a fire.

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Noise and the Building Envelope

The building envelope can be designed to:

• Resist excessive air infiltration

• Resist water penetration
• Resist thermal transfer
• Maximize daylight penetration
• Provide rated resistance to heat and smoke
• Protect occupants from outside threats
• Protect occupants and property in case of a fire
• Attenuate sound transmission

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Basics of Sound—Frequency

• Frequency—Describes how fast the sound

vibrations are moving.
• Measured in Hertz (Hz).
• Low-Frequency Sounds
o Range: 0-500 Hz
o Examples: bass, thunder, tuba
• Middle-Frequency Sounds
o Range: 500-2000 Hz
o Examples: sirens, human speech
• High-Frequency Sounds
o 2000+ Hz
o Examples: Birds chirping, piccolo
• Different frequencies move through
materials differently.

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Basics of Sound—Volume

• Volume—Describes how loud the sound is.

• Measured in decibels (dB).
• Decibel Examples
o Whisper 15 dB
o Conversational Speech 60 dB
o Alarm Clock 75 dB
o Vacuum Cleaner 80 dB
o Garbage Disposal 85 dB
o Blender 100 dB
o Motorcycle 105 dB
o Power Saw/Heavy Truck 110 dB
o Jet engine 150 dB
• Decibel scale is not linear, it is logarithmic.
• An increase of 10 dB is perceived as a
doubling of the sound.

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Examples of Environmental Noise

Common environmental sounds

can be quite loud.

• “Most construction sounds

fall in the range of 80-
90dB”—How Loud is
Construction Noise?
published by the American
National Standards Institute
(ANSI)
• “Traffic in midtown
Manhattan creates between
70 and 85dB of noise.”—
CityandStateNY.com
• “A medium aircraft
descending at 1000ft is
70dB.”—
nats.aero/environment/aircraft
-noise

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Expert Insight

“There are many reasons that a project

may need to be designed to mitigate
exterior noise. Some spaces are sound
sensitive, like the audience chamber or
stage in a performing arts facility, while
others have been constructed on noisy
sites, near a railroad track or under a flight
path. Sometimes the mechanical
equipment on the roof generates a lot of
noise that needs to be addressed as well.
Whatever the reason, the building
envelope can be designed to control the
transmission of sound and the roof area
plays a critical role in achieving a sound
management.”

-Harold Merck, INCE, LEED AP, principal at

Merck & Hill Consultants.

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Basics of Sound Management

• Sound is managed by the mass of

the material through which it
passes.
• The more mass an object has, the
greater its ability to reduce the
energy of the noise.
• Doors, windows, and openings in
the roof are often weak spots in the
building envelope that are
vulnerable to sound penetration.
• These weak spots can provide a
path that will allow environmental
noise to travel into the interior.
• When projects must deliver greater
levels of sound mitigation,
architects must spend more time
shoring up the paths that allow
sound to move from the outside to
the inside.

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Managing Sound in Roof Openings

“Architects concerned with sound control

will want to make sure that the smoke vent
products they select have enough mass in
the lid to be comparable to the roof in
which they are installed.”

-Harold Merck, INCE, LEED AP, principal at

Merck & Hill Consultants.

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Noise-Control Metrics

• Sound Transmission Class (STC) Rating

o Measures how well sound in range of125-
4000 Hz transfers from one area to another.

o Applicable for conversation, television,

telephones ringing, and office equipment.

• Outdoor-Indoor Transmission Class

(OITC) Rating
o Measures the transmission of sounds 80-
4000 Hz.
o Can evaluate how well a building façade
blocks lower-frequency sounds from
automotive traffic, construction, and low-
flying airplanes.

• ISO-140-18:2006 Acoustics Rating

o Measures how well buildings isolate the
impact sound of rain.

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Which Metric Makes the Most Sense?

• STC is generally referenced

when selecting building
products.
• The OITC rating is more
applicable for façade or roof-
mounted products as it more
accurately addresses the low
frequencies of outside noise.
• Architects should specify
products with a high OITC rating
when designing a project where
outside building noise is a
concern.
• Note—The STC rating is not an
indicator of the OITC rating.
Products can have a high STC
rating and a low OITC rating.

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Which OITC Value is Necessary?

Answer: The goal is to select a product that is as

good as the surrounding structure, so that the
opening does not compromise the ability of the
larger surface to successfully isolate those
aggravating environmental sounds.

• A typical six-inch thick concrete slab that is

normal weight has an OITC value of 46.
• “An OITC value of 46 is better than a lot of roof
systems, especially a metal roof deck,” –says
Merck.
• So, in short, using a product with an OITC
value of 46 in a roof opening will likely provide
as much sound isolating performance as the
larger structure.

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Introducing Automatic Smoke Vents

Automatic Smoke Vents

Automatic Smoke Vents protect property and aid
firefighters in bringing a fire under control by removing
smoke, heat, and gases from a burning building. Smoke
vents are ideally suited for large expanses of unobstructed
space such as factories, warehouses, auditoriums, and
retail facilities.

UL Listed
Products
Typical Applications

• Aircraft Hangars • Pools

• Auditoriums • Processing Plants
• Casinos • Retail Structures
• Concert Halls • Schools
• Convention Centers • Storage Facilities
• Elevator Shafts • Theaters
• Factories • Transit Facilities
• Gymnasiums • Warehouses
• Manufacturing Plants

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NFPA 204 and IBC Code Requirements

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

• NFPA 204, the standard for smoke and heat venting,
establishes guidelines for the design of venting systems for
the emergency venting of products of combustion from
fires in buildings. Although NFPA 204 is technically referred
to as a standard, it does not specify under which conditions
venting is to be provided or required. The decision whether
to provide venting in a building depends on the design
objectives set by a building owner or occupant and on local
building and fire code requirements.

International Building Code (IBC)

• IBC Section 910, smoke and heat removal, addresses the
specific types of buildings that require automatic smoke
and heat vents. Installation of these products or
mechanical smoke removal system is required by sections
910.2.1 and 910.2.2 in factories, industrial buildings, and
storage facilities that have more than 50,000 square feet of
undivided area and where the upper surface of the story is
a roof assembly.

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Types of Automatic Smoke Vents

Automatic Smoke Vent Options

Double Leaf Skylight & Acoustic Single Vent

Double leaf Smoke Vent Sound-rated For applications with
products are the The cover can be automatic smoke smaller ventilation
most economical made from a vents guard requirements such
way to add smoke translucent against outside as stairwells and
ventilation to large polycarbonate noise intrusion. elevator shafts. Can
building areas. material that be provided with a
Available in allows the smoke polycarbonate dome
galvanized steel or vent to double as cover for the added
aluminum a skylight. benefit of a skylight.
construction.

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Introducing Sound-Rated Smoke Vents

Innovative New Design

Incorporates mineral wool insulation
and high-density sound mat material
within the covers and curb

Additional Features
• Heavy-gauge steel construction
• Custom weather gasketing
• Gas-spring lift assistance
• Center-mounted gas traction spring

Ideal for Applications

• Concert halls
• Theaters
• Interiors that require limited noise
intrusion

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Noise-Control Performance

There are sound-rated

smoke vents that have
earned an OITC rating
of 46 and an STC rating
of 50.

These acoustical smoke

vents block the lower-
frequency sounds
generated by traffic,
construction, and
airplanes, while
remaining a reliable life
and safety product that
protects people and
property in the event of
a fire.

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Smoke Vents Used in Other Spaces

Many architects, engineers, fire authorities,

and insurance carriers agree that specifying
automatic smoke vents for modern
industrial and commercial structures
improves outcomes dramatically in the
event of a fire.

For this reason, automatic smoke vents are

often incorporated in buildings where they
are not required by code.

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The Great Lakes Center for the Performing Arts

• 40,000 sq. ft state-of-the-

art performance facility.
• Petoskey, Michigan
• The roof includes 5 sound-
rated automatic smoke
vents.
• These smoke vents are
designed to block outside
noise from trespassing into
the interior and
compromising the quality of
the sound in the indoor
space.

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The Great Lakes Center for the Performing Arts

“With this being a high-

performing acoustical
environment, we designed
a structure that would
separate the performance
hall from the rest of the
building. This was solely
for acoustical isolation of
building elements. The
acoustical smoke vents
became part of this ‘shell
within a shell’ structure.”

-Jason Novotny, lead

architect for TowerPinkster.

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Hale Centre Theatre

• 122,300 sq. ft. first-of-its-

kind performance facility
• Sandy City, Utah
• The roof includes 20
sound-rated automatic
smoke vents.

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Hale Centre Theatre

“Air traffic was a big

consideration for us.
The smoke vents are
the only thing stopping
the noise from coming
in at the loading level
on the outside and the
sound has been pretty
intense.”

-Lyle Beecher, AIA,

CEO of Beecher
Walker Architects.

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Dick Cold Storage

• In August 2016, the

144,000-square-foot
warehouse was destroyed
by a fire.
• Over 400 firefighters fought
the blaze.
• Their efforts were hindered
by the facilities’ contents
and lack of smoke vents.
• The reconstructed facility
features many additional
fire protection elements,
including 18 automatic
smoke vents.

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Dick Cold Storage

“Automatic smoke
vents allow for the
removal of heat and
smoke and potentially
slow the spread of fire.
They will also permit
firefighters to see and
enter the building to
possibly extinguish
the fire early,
preventing the entire
building from
becoming a loss.”

-Steve Martin,
Battalion Chief for the
Columbus Fire
Department.

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McCain Auditorium at Kansas State University

• Smoke vents in the roof of

McCain Auditorium were
damaged by a severe
summer hailstorm in
September 2015.
• Six double-leaf automatic
smoke vents were
specified to replace them.

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McCain Auditorium

“Automatic smoke
vents are the most
economical way to add
fire venting protection
in large single-story
buildings, and are
ideal for auditoriums,
warehouses, and
manufacturing
facilities.

-Breck Simonsson,
project manager for
Diamond Roofing.

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Course Summary

• The building envelope can be designed to attenuate sound transmission.

• Doors, windows, and openings in the roof are often the weak spots in the building
envelope that are vulnerable to sound penetration.
• There are three metrics used to rate how a material or assembly manages sound: STC,
OITC, ISO-140-18:2006.
• Architects should consider the OITC rating when designing a project where outside
building noise is a concern.
• A best practice is to select a product with an OITC
a rating that is as good as the
surrounding structure.
• Selecting a product with an OITC rating of 46 in a roof opening will likely provide as
much sound isolating performance as the larger roof structure.
• Acoustic sound-rated automatic smoke vents that have an OITC rating of 46 are available
and offer the life safety and sound isolation performance demanded by many sound-
sensitive applications.

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 Experience. Innovation.
This concludes The American Institute of Architects Continuing Education
Systems Course

Questions?

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