Whether in a residential, commercial, healthcare or educational setting, the choice of flooring will often make the difference between a space that’s calm and pleasant to be in — and one that isn’t.

High noise levels are known to increase stress and disrupt sleep in hospitals, hinder classroom teaching, and reduce office productivity. As flooring makes up a significant proportion of interior surfaces, it plays a substantial role in the acoustic performance of a space.

The key factor is how well a flooring material absorbs sound. Soft surfaces — such as carpet and textile composite flooring — absorb more noise and transmit less sound. This makes for a quieter, more comfortable interior.

Carpet tiles for tested and proven noise reduction

While hard surfaces like vinyl and rubber are necessary in wet areas and specialist environments, products such as Advance Flooring’s ComfortBack carpet tiles and Kinetex composite textile flooring offer superior acoustic performance in most interior spaces.

For architects and designers seeking to create acoustically comfortable interiors, these products provide both technical performance and design freedom.

Tested at the Centexbel facility in Belgium, ComfortBack carpet tiles have been proven to reduce airborne and structure-borne noise by up to 27 dB. This includes impact noise such as footfall — critical for inter-tenancy floors — as well as airborne sounds from both within and beyond the space.

No compromise when hard flooring is required

In environments such as schools and hospitals, hard flooring is often essential for its durability and cleanability. Yet, these spaces also benefit significantly from reduced noise levels to support learning and recovery.

Kinetex advanced textile composite flooring is designed to deliver both. As a soft flooring with hard-floor characteristics, it offers durability, moisture resistance and high traction — alongside industry-leading acoustic performance.

With one of the highest Noise Reduction Coefficients and Impact Insulation Coefficients of any commercial flooring product, Kinetex helps reduce errors, enhance communication and support overall well-being, vital in healthcare and education settings.

Whatever the application, acoustic comfort matters. While flooring selections must meet a range of performance needs, Advance Flooring offers solutions that allow designers to create without compromise.