Check out what's been happening at Monkeytoe in October in our latest monthly news feature.
A note from Budd
Hi everyone,
We’ve got a lot keeping us busy as we approach the end of the year – not least of all our factory, who are working hard to get as many projects as possible out the door before Christmas.
It’s been a great year for the XBEAM, but that’s not the only innovation we’re celebrating. We spoke to Glen Thomas, Head of Research, about our most recent and exciting offering: novel solutions that combat noise pollution and ringing on aluminium stairs.
Stairs have long been a pain point for noise pollution. Make them heavy and you’ll minimise noise but add significant weight to your structure (and add all kinds of problems when it comes to manufacture and install). Make them light, and they’re more prone to noise and step-fall ringing travelling throughout your structure. Anyone who’s had an office beside a stairwell will know what I mean. Glen’s been leading the charge for our new wood and composite stair treatments that don’t just look good, but seriously reduce impact noise too. Anyone who’s wanting quieter egresses, mezzanines, offices or stairs will want to read on.
In addition to minimising noise for stairs, this month we’re also teasing our new and improved HushMonkey Acoustic Panel that’s promising to deliver better noise deflection and absorption. Our R&D for this innovation has already led to improvements in how we assess and evaluate noise transmission.
As you can tell, we’re always thinking about ways to do things better. That’s why we’re keen to hear about your pain points, and those things that make working in the roof mounting space difficult. Watch this space for a quick survey coming soon! Complete it and you’ll go into the draw to win a Monkeytoe gift pack.
We’re also keen to reach out to structural engineers to re-think the ways in which the XBEAM can help them maximise their spaces. And finally, we’re celebrating the work we’ve recently completed with Coles and Hutchinson Builders in Mayfield, Newcastle.
Read on for more from the month that was.
Cheers,
Budd Prestidge, General Manager
Coles Mayfield, Newcastle
Mayfield has been waiting long enough for Coles to move in. After almost a decade of talks and red tape, the busy suburb in the harbour city of Newcastle will soon welcome a brand-new and state-of-the-art supermarket alongside a host of other shops developed at what was once the site of a “muddy eyesore”.
We were pleased to get the call from Hutchinson Builders, asking us for our advice on setting up roof platforms for their new Coles store. When it comes to roof-mounted plants, supermarkets of course have a wide spread of requirements that have to be met. The ancillary equipment needs to be accessible, but discrete; it has to service large climate-controlled areas, meet robust refrigeration demands, cope with maintenance foot traffic safely and effectively, and maintain the building’s clean external look. Add to this the need to minimise noise pollution, and you’ve got a challenge!
We worked with Hutchinson Builders to develop a combination of Monkeytoe platforms and HushMonkey acoustic panels that would suit their needs and maintain discretion for the ancillary equipment. Their latest set-up will help keep their equipment safe and hidden out of earshot and eyeline for years to come. We’re looking forward to the opening of the new store and seeing what Coles has to offer Mayfield.
Glen Thomas is combatting noise pollution
Glen Thomas is Monkeytoe’s Head of Research, which means he’s at the forefront of innovation and the development of some incredible solutions in the mounting and access space.
He offered his insights on what he’s doing to overcome noise and vibration with Monkeytoe’s latest –our innovative wood treads and sound-reduction treatments.
One of the biggest issues that we encounter in this industry is noise pollution – that’s when sound and other vibrations travel through structures and become annoying to the general user, as well as potentially leading to long-term structural problems. Noises stress people out, which is why there are certain limits put down by councils and regulatory bodies on what’s acceptable in different sites (like libraries versus on the road). [check out our eBook Anti-Vibration: Understanding and Isolating Vibration for more!]
Stairs have historically been a focal point for noise issues. Whenever heels and soles strike the stair – more heavily when people are going down than up, of course – that creates structure-borne noise that comes out in the rooms of the building or adjacent to the stairs themselves.
The traditional solution was to make stairs heavy with bulky concrete or steel. But that just adds weight and limits how you can use your space. And while HushMonkey panels can help deflect and absorb high-frequency noise (such as on platforms), the challenge has been to create solutions that work well with lighter stairs, accessways and platforms.
Our high-tensile, marine-grade aluminium access stairs are an ideal alternative wherever you need something designed to fit the space and that can be installed modularly. Where you need to minimise noise, our wood treads and sound treatments give a great look without foot traffic noise.
We’ve got two main options on their way: the first is a sound-isolating treatment that utilises the innovative Sylodyn Symer-based isolation that’s been proven to reduce impact noise by an impressive 29 dB. The second is a constrained elastomer-aluminium solution that helps to reduce that annoying stair ‘ringing’. The other great thing about our options is that we have sustainable wood finishes and wood-plastic composites for great aesthetics, too. Whether our clients need something for fire egresses, mezzanines, airports, malls, offices or anywhere where there are stairs and you want to reduce footfall noise and look great, our stair options are promising to make a serious difference!
No matter what the application, we have a best-suited sound-reduction treatment; either sound-isolating or sound-dampening. Teamed with our premium contemporary balustrade and aluminium handrails, these extras complete the stair in design and aesthetics.
HushMonkey, new and improved
As you can tell, we’re serious about noise. That’s why we’ve invested so much in deflecting and absorbing it – not just with our new stair solutions, but also with a new and improved HushMonkey acoustic screening solution.
Our HushMonkeys have always been easy to install sound-absorbing wall systems that, like so much of what we do, have been designed to be innovative, functional and versatile for a wide range of industrial applications. From plant rooms to machine enclosures, and from hospitals to data centres, the HushMonkey has earned its place among the ranks.
As part of our R&D, we simulated, tested and modelled a lot of configurations and challenged a fair few preconceived ideas about how barriers work. That’s lead to a white paper on acoustics (that we’re utilising to better design to our clients’ needs), and to our latest HushMonkey panel.
Just as we created the beam that’s raising the bar with XBEAM, our new and improved HushMonkey panel is promising to change the barrier game. Rather than relying on a thicker, heavier product to mitigate and dampen noise, we’ve utilised spaced-out absorbers to get incredible results from just 6mm of insulation.
We’ll have more on our latest offering with next month’s Monkeytoe development on a Taranaki roof. Watch this space.
A call to structural engineers
We’ve been saying it for a while now: the XBEAM’s combination of marine-grade, high-tensile T6 aluminium with the unparalleled directional strength of carbon fibre reinforcement has enabled a beam that’s lighter and stronger than traditional steel alternatives.
But the potential isn’t just in its strength and lightness – it’s really in the way that it’s helping structural engineers and builders shed the limitations of old bulky steel and re-think and re-design their spaces for more light, more versatility, and more premium space.
Get Monkeytoe involved early enough in a project and our XBEAM specialists will help you discover more from your space, thanks to the power of our versatile, customisable, next-generation beam solution.
Get in touch with us today for our special brochure or with your pressing questions at [email protected]
Better Under One Roof
Get our latest ebook Better Together: Keeping it under one roof with Monkeytoe from our website.
Efficiency has always been at the heart of engineering and design. It’s the way we deliver great performance – faster, more economically, with better use of space and other resources.
This thinking undergirds all our work at Monkeytoe, and especially our XBEAM solutions, which are longer, lighter and stronger than the steel solutions of the last century. Head to the download page and see how the XBeam is helping designers, architects and engineers realise some incredible new solutions.
Head over to the resources page and see how – and why – we’re working together and better under one roof.
