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Dogs being dogs, will bark, and as we humans don't speak Doggie Language very well, we cannot really make them understand that the neighbours are complaining, that the EPA wants to fine you for noise pollution, that two handlers are on stress leave or that OH&S regulations are being broken and WorkCover is hot on your trail.
Hence the necessity for "soundproofing".
 When Rover (the sound source) is barking his head off, the output is, say, 80dB(A). However if the kennel has hard reflective surfaces, the sound is amplified by high reverberation, and the resultant sound pressure level may elevate to a disturbing and penetrating 90dB(A).
When you multiply this effect by several dogs within the same kennel, the final outcome is a tremendous cacophony, unhappy personnel conducting unintelligible conversations and bitterly complaining neighbours.
The primary objective of "soundproofing" the kennel is the reduction in the ambient internal noise levels. The secondary objective is to contain as much of this ambient noise from breaking out and reaching the neighbours boundaries.
The first objective is easily achieved by the introduction of a high absorbent surface to the roof and available wall areas. If these absorbent surfaces have a large enough area, and a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) greater than 0.95, the outcome will be a greatly reduced reverberation time. As big dogs, such as Great Danes, bark with a low pitch (125 Hz), the chosen absorber should be as thick as possible, as a greater thickness equates to better low frequency absorption. Smaller dogs such as terriers bark with a much higher frequency (1500 Hz), and almost any absorber will work in this range.
The ideal broad spectrum absorber will be at least 50mm thick and have a density of more than 60kg/m3.
The second objective is achieved by having the kennel bounded by walls and a roof with a high mass and stiffness. Double brick walls and concrete roofs are excellent but generally blow the budget to smithereens. The smart approach is the use of composite mass layers with as large an air gap as possible between the same. A typical wall assembly would use 0.5mm roof profile sheet metal as an external cladding fixed to a frame of 100mm steel girths with an internal lining of 12mm fibre cement sheets. If the void between the external metal cladding and the internal fibre cement is part or fully filled with a high density absorbent material, the resultant assembly could have a design rated transmission loss of up to Rw50, which is adequate in most kennel locations.
In general, the proximity of the neighbours boundary will largely influence the final acoustic design of the walls and roof.
 ENVIROSPRAY 300 is ideally suited as a high performance absorber in kennels, as it is generally spray applied directly to the metal roof, thus stiffening the same and greatly enhancing the assembly transmission loss while offering an excellent thermal barrier.
With a dry density of over 65kg/m3, an ENVIROSPRAY 300 coating of 50mm would have a mass of 3.5 kg/m2, an NRC of 1.0, a Thermal Rating of R 1.30 m20K/W , while simultaneously offering adequate condensation control and over 15dB(A) of attenuation to generated rain noise.
Once applied, ENVIROSPRAY 300 will set in a few days and the resultant acoustic and thermal effect is a very hushed and insulated environment, truly enjoyed by all.
ENVIROSPRAY 300 is available in two colours, Steel Grey and Off White.
Source: Envirospray
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