Development and Architectural

Fitness Center Noise and Vibration Issues in Condominiums and Apartments

Everyone wants to stay healthy and what could be more convenient than an on-sites fitness center or gym?

Let’s face it. Access to a gym that is a short walk (or elevator ride) is a major plus for many people when they are making a decision about renting an apartment or buying a condominium.

That said, there are some major issues that seem to crop up time and time again when combining fitness centers, gyms, and dojos with residential communities when it comes to noise and vibration. The plain truth is that most buildings are simply not engineered to contain high level noises (from fitness coaches, sound systems, and people working out, nor are they able to prevent the vibrations when happen when weights are dropped, treadmills are used, or any other number of activities are performed.

These noises and vibrations transfer to nearby (and some not-so-nearby) apartments, event spaces, and other co-located business always resulting in angry owners and tenants, and often ending up with both parties in litigation.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Proper planning in the design stage of a building is always best, but unfortunately uncommon. A more realistic goal is a full design review of the build out plans, prior to the building of the fitness facility/gym and the installation of equipment. Floating floors, isolation mats, sound system design, and traditional building materials can all be leveraged to contain noise and vibration before it transfers to adjacent spaces.

Often, no consideration is made to these issues prior to the roll-out of the gym or fitness center, and the challenge is in allowing all parties to co-exist peacefully!

We can provide the required testing (Building Acoustics – ASTC, AIIC, and OITC) along with vibrational analysis, to develop a plan to allow for successful remediation.

On-Site Acoustic Testing does not sell (nor profit from in any way) acoustical materials or installation, so you can have faith that our only interest is in rectifying the situation for all parties involved.


Contact us today, using the convenient form below to find out how we can help resolve fitness center and gym facility issues:

Please list the city and state where testing will take place.
List the project criteria and type of testing required, if known (noise survey, dosimetric, AIIC, ASTC, NIC, air quality, etc.)

Or speak directly with one of our professionals at 1-800-665-0080

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Swimming Pool Noise and Vibration Testing and Remediation

Whether they are indoors or outdoors, in front of your building, in back of your building, or on top of your building it’s a fact that pools create noise and vibration which can sometimes be detrimental to resident and neighbor’s health.

We provide noise and vibration level testing, and (when required) remediation services to deal with noise and vibration complaints.

Additionally, we can provide indoor air quality testing to diagnose and help resolve pool odor issues.

On-Site Acoustic Testing can provide the knowledge and expertise to solve the most difficult swimming pool (and hot tub) noise and vibration-related issues.


Contact us today, using the convenient form below to learn more:

Please list the city and state where testing will take place.
List the project criteria and type of testing required, if known (noise survey, dosimetric, AIIC, ASTC, NIC, air quality, etc.)

Or call us at 1-800-665-0080 to start the conversation.

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Consulting Services for Homeowner’s Associations (HOA) and Apartment Management Companies

Homeowner’s associations sometimes get a bad rap in the media, but the fact is they are made up of folks who are looking out for their property values, and the property values of the neighbors.

HOA’s need to make decisions regarding noise, vibration, and air quality issues within the buildings (both in common spaces and in resident’s units) as well as outdoor spaces. Their responsibility doesn’t end there! Neighboring properties can also have major impacts on the quality of life for the residents of their community.

On-Site Acoustic Testing provides the services that HOA’s require in evaluating noise, vibration, and air quality complaints and concerns.

We provide the following services to homeowner’s associations across the United States:


Contact us today to find out how we can assist your Homeowner’s association:

Please list the city and state where testing will take place.
List the project criteria and type of testing required, if known (noise survey, dosimetric, AIIC, ASTC, NIC, air quality, etc.)

Or call us at 1-800-665-0080 to talk to one of our professionals to discuss your HOA’s issues.

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Pickleball Noise Testing for Condominiums and Apartments

Everybody loves pickleball, right?

It’s one of the fastest growing sports, offering a great mix of fun and fitness! There’s only one problem…and that is the noise!

If you’ve every been near a pickleball court, you can’t help but to notice the noise. If you’re playing the game yourself, it’s just another part of the experience. If you should happen to live next to the court, the noise can very well become maddening after a short while!

We offer consulting noise services for condominium associations and apartment management services to evaluate proposed locations for pickleball courts, as well as to provide noise monitoring (and remediation advice) for existing courts.

Contact one of our noise survey professionals today using the convenient form below:


Please list the city and state where testing will take place.
List the project criteria and type of testing required, if known (noise survey, dosimetric, AIIC, ASTC, NIC, air quality, etc.)

Need to talk right now?

Call us toll-free at 1-800-665-0080

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Building Acoustics, Noise & Vibration Measurement, and Air Quality Consulting Testing Services

We offer a wide variety of acoustical (sound), vibrational and air quality field testing protocols and consulting services worldwide.

Click on any of the below links for more information on acoustical, vibrational, and air quality consulting services that we provide:

On-Site Acoustic Testing can provide sound and noise testing according to ASTM (for United States), ISO (for EU), as well as JIS, DIN, and other worldwide standards.

Our consultants have performed testing for government, military, commercial, industrial, architectural, and residential clients worldwide.


On-Site Acoustic Testing does not sell any products, materials or installation services, nor do we take payment of any kind from manufacturers or vendors that we may recommend as part of our project recommendations. PERIOD.

Use the convenient form below to contact us regarding your specific project requirements:


Previous Clients Include

Please list the city and state where testing will take place.
List the project criteria and type of testing required, if known (noise survey, dosimetric, AIIC, ASTC, NIC, air quality, etc.)

Or feel free to contact us at 1-800-665-0080 to speak directly with a consultant regarding your noise, vibration, nuisance sound, or building acoustics project.

Please note: Noise and sound consulting services provided by On-Site Acoustic Testing are performed by On-Site Acoustic Testing consultants and/or employees and never outsourced to third parties.

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Building Acoustics Testing Services – ASTC, AIIC, OITC, and RT

We offer a full variety of building acoustics field testing services that are geared towards military and commercial clients.

Using the most current ASTM (and/or ISO) standards, as well as industry leading equipment, we perform building acoustics measurements throughout the United States and world.

We work with all four branches of the military, federal, state, and local governments, as well as with builders, developers, and architects to verify that building partitions meet their required field tested values.

While our services are geared towards governmental and commercial clients, we do work with homeowners and condominium owners to provide testing services, most often of flooring installations.

The most common building acoustics testing services that we offer are:

ASTC – Apparent Sound Transmission Class – which is used to determine the airborne sound transmission values of wall and floor partitions. This testing has implications for secure (SCIF and SAPF) areas, as well as for general residential or commercial use buildings.

AIIC – Apparent Impact Insulation Class – which is used to determine the structure borne (impact sound) transmission of floor partitions. This testing is most often performed in a residential setting.

OITC – Outdoor Indoor Transmission Class – which is used to determine the airborne sound transmission of the exterior facade of building elements, such as walls, windows, and roof partitions. This testing is often performed on buildings that must be proven to be secures (such as SCIF and SAPF) areas, as well as general residential or commercial use buildings.

RT- Reverberation Time – which is used to determine the length of time that sound takes to decay within an enclosed space. This testing is always performed in conjunction with ASTC, AIIC, and OITC testing, as it is an integral part of the calculation when performing those testing protocols. It can also be performed to determine the suitability of a room for a particular task. Long reverberation times are pleasing in a concert hall (for example) but harmful to speech intelligibility in a classroom or subway tunnel.

Contact us today at 800-665-0080 or pr*****@os*****.com">pr*****@os*****.com to discuss your testing requirements.

Fill in the form below for immediate response:

Please list the name of your company and/or the division of the company requiring testing.
Please list the city and state where testing will take place.
Please include extension, if applicable

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Modeling of walls, floors, and windows

Sometimes you start out with the best of intentions, a veritable roadmap to success…but someone, somewhere along the way drops the ball.

That’s where we come in (along with our modeling software) assessing what you already have in situ, and determining what will be necessary for fulfillment of your mission.

We can model virtually any wall, ceiling, floor, window or HVAC structure in order to determine the correct remediation to bring your building partition into compliance.

Contact us at 800-665-0080 or pr*****@os*****.com to discuss your project

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Spectrum Analysis

Sure, you can measure noise (of all kinds) with your iPhone or Android phone. That may (or may not) tell you something regarding the noise level in your facility or area. Truth is, though, that’s not the whole picture.

What is really important is the actual distribution of the frequencies.

That’s where spectral/spectrum analysis comes into play.

We can measure in 1/1 or 1/3 octaves the actual noise levels from 8 Hz on to the 20 kHz band. If necessary we can actually perform subsonic, or ultrasonic measurements to determine the actual noise emissions in situ.

Contact us at 800-233-8700 or pr*****@os*****.com for more information.

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Thermographic (FLIR) Testing

We can provide expert imaging of equipment, rooms, and building envelopes. Using infrared sensitive equipment, we are able to capture thermal images to pinpoint hot spots on electrical panels (or equipment surfaces), energy loss through walls, windows, doors, and other building facade elements.

Both spot readings and average temperatures of equipment and processes can be acquired, accurately and safely.

Additionally, thermal images can help pinpoint areas where sound may be leaking from area to area.

This technology combined with Sound Intensity Testing and Image Mapping, can provide the required information to diagnose and remediate even the most difficult sound leakage issues in SCIFS and SAPF’s (and other secure areas)

Contact one of our consultants today at 800-665-0080 (or email us at pr*****@os*****.com) to speak with us about your project.

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Light Quality Testing

Great lighting makes any room look better…that’s something that you probably would expect to hear from an interior decorator, but the truth is that proper lighting is essential for any and every workplace, restaurant, or retail establishment.

On-Site Acoustic Testing can provide lighting surveys (in LUX or Footcandles) to determine whether your lighting is suitable for the area and purpose.

We also provide ultraviolet light (UVA, UVB, and UVC) testing (commonly found in printing and other production environments).

The following table illustrates acceptable minimum levels of lighting (in LUX) in different areas:

Recommended Lux Levels by Area

Area Nominal Illumination Level in
Lumens/Square Meter (lux)
Office Space
Normal work station space, open or closed offices1 500
ADP Areas 500
Conference Rooms 300
Training Rooms 500
Internal Corridors 200
Auditoria 150-200
Public Areas
Entrance Lobbies, Atria 200
Elevator Lobbies, Public Corridors 200
Ped. Tunnels and Bridges 200
Stairwells 200
Support Spaces
Toilets 200
Staff Locker Rooms 200
Storage Rooms, Janitors’ Closets 200
Electrical Rooms, Generator Rooms 200
Mechanical Rooms 200
Communications Rooms 200
Maintenance Shops 200
Loading Docks 200
Trash Rooms 200
Specialty Areas
Dining Areas 150-200
Kitchens 500
Outleased Space 500
Physical Fitness Space 500
Child Care Centers 500
Structured Parking, General Space 50
Structured Parking, Intersections 100
Structured Parking, Entrances 500

Contact us today at 1-800-665-0080 to speak with one of our consultants about your light level survey needs!

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