A screw that can halve the level of perceived sound

If you are disturbed by noise from neighbours or traffic outside—and also between rooms—in homes and workplaces, then you are not alone, but researchers think the answer is as simple as a screw.

Scientists has developed a screw that can halve the perceived sound level, and if it is used as part of the construction of properties, it can also save floor and ceiling space by reducing the thickness of materials require to construct buildings.

With the screw, you can mount plasterboard directly to the walls, freeing up floor space, and a square meter of floor space can be worth thousands.

The sound-absorbing screw simplifies sound insulation and suitable for construction with wooden joists, where the acoustic challenges are greater than buildings constructed from concrete.

The Sound Screw breaks soundwaves; in principle, it is split in the middle with a spring placed inside. The screw tip goes into the wooden joist, the head holds the plasterboard in place and in between a thin resilient mechanical coupling that prevents the sound waves from advancing is formed.

Tests in a sound lab show a sound reduction of 9 decibels for a traditional dry wall, which corresponds to a halving of the perceived

sound level. Installations in a hair salon also showed good results, where standard screws were replaced with the new screws without removing the existing plaster board in the ceiling.