Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/66838
28 • JUNE 2012 • WORLD FENCE NEWS SHEBOYGAN, Wis — Installa- tion of a 24-foot high noise barrier uti- lizing Acoustifence outdoor sound abatement material at the new She- boygan Festival Foods store is com- plete, ending complaints from nearby residents over extreme levels of noise leaking from the store's industrial re- frigeration chillers into the commu- nity, the product's manufacturer announced. Citizens in Sheboygan were cele- brating when the popular Wisconsin- based Festival Foods grocery chain opened the 70,000 square foot mega store there on September 16, 2011. Less than two weeks later, the com- munity's warm welcome had grown icy as neighbors began to complain about noise from the store's industrial Chiller noise no longer poses neighborhood problem after installation of Acoustifence barrier refrigeration chillers that was so loud. It violated the city's noise ordinance, according to Acoustiblok's Jay Boland. Festival Foods enlisted the help of acoustical engineer Eric Wolfram of Milwaukee-based Scott R. Riedel & Associates, LTD, who consulted with Boland to choose Acoustifence noise barrier material, a product of Acoustiblok, Inc. of Tampa, Florida, to bring the decibel level down below the legal threshold and restore peace and quiet to the neighboring community. When Wolfram first investigated the site in September, decibel readings ranged between 78.4 and 90.7, loud enough to be a risk for noise-related health problems to nearby residents and workers, had they been subjected to the noise over time. The Sheboygan Department of City Development demanded the level be reduced by at least five decibels, Wolfram said. "The existing refrigeration pump and motor systems produce extreme noise levels," Wolfram said. "This noise reverberates within the sheet- metal paneled enclosure interior and escapes through several different ex- haust and ventilation openings. "Additional noise was generated by the cooling and exhaust fans mounted above the enclosure." Working with sound consultants from Acoustiblok, Inc., Wolfram de- signed a two-step solution, creating a barrier with Acoustifence noise dead- ening material to block noise around the massive system, and incorporating another Acoustiblok product, Quiet- Fiber, to help reduce sound from re- flecting off of the taller adjacent building behind the chillers. Minimal structural changes were required, as the 1/8 inch thick Acous- tifence was easily attached to an exist- ing chain link fence and the outdoor-rated QuietFiber with a perfo- rated metal cover was capconed to the building. Wolfram said the results were bet- ter than he had hoped, with decibel levels reduced to 57.3 the moment the barrier was in place – well below the City's legal threshold, and more than 20 decibels lower than before the Acoustiblok products were installed. Neighbors are no longer bom- Acoustifence is attached to a 24-foot- high chain link fence surrounding the industrial chillers at Festival Foods in Sheboygan, Wis., creating an acousti- cal barrier which dramatically de- creased the noisy equipment's impact on neighbors. (Acoustiblok, Inc. photos)