YYC Pickleball, Indoor Pickleball Courts, Calgary

Commercial Property Owner/Manager: ONE Properties  
Commercial Tenant: YYC Pickleball

HGC Noise Vibration Acoustics was asked to conduct an acoustic assessment of the demising separations between an existing warehouse and office space in a commercial building located at 1108 – 53rd Avenue NE, in Calgary, Alberta. The existing commercial space was recently renovated and repurposed for use as an indoor multi-court pickleball facility boasting 7 courts that would be owned and operated by YYC Pickleball.

The indoor courts are located within a shared warehouse / office building. Existing private office spaces were already situated along the demising wall adjacent to the proposed indoor pickleball facility and it was understood that future tenants might also use the adjacent space for office use.

Pickleball Court Noise and Tenant Adjacencies Concerns

As a result of these adjacencies, concerns were raised about potential intrusive noise disturbing the tenants in the neighboring private office areas. HGC acoustical consultants visited the commercial building to gather information and acoustically investigate the proposed location of the pickleball courts area. The acousticians undertook sound measurements in various spaces in and across the existing demising wall. As there are no specified sound level limits for commercial spaces, HGC applied typical industry standards and guidance for appropriate acoustical criteria.

Establishing Criteria that Defines Intrusive Noise

The intrusiveness of a noise as judged by human hearing is subjective and is closely tied to how it compares with the ambient sound level in the occupant’s space. Complete inaudibility is often an unrealistic goal. HGC’s acoustical know-how and experience suggested that a reasonable criterion could be defined as sporadic and arrhythmic intrusions with a peak amplitude of 5 dB or less above the ambient noise levels be permitted. This type of intrusion will typically constitute soft but audible “thumps”, not more than, say, once every few minutes (on average).

ASHRAE’s Noise Criterion (NC) Rating System

There are no established sound level limits applicable to the types of sound generated by pickleball play in commercial spaces. To develop objective guidelines for background sound levels in the adjacent office space, the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Noise Criterion (NC) rating system was used. The ASHRAE recommended NC rating for private enclosed office spaces was used as the background sound level target for offices adjacent to the indoor pickleball facility which served as a basis for comparison to determine if the existing separations would provide enough sound separation between the spaces.

Measurement of Airborne Sound Insulation in Buildings

Standardized field tests to determine the sound insulation ratings of the demising constructions were performed following methods from ASTM standard E-336, “Standard Test Method for Measurement of Airborne Sound Insulation in Buildings.”

Noise Isolation Class (NIC) Rating

Sound frequency measurements are used to calculate the Noise Isolation Class (“NIC”) single-number rating according to the ASTM standard E-413, “Classification for Rating of Sound Insulation Class”.

The NIC rating is a single-number overall rating of sound insulation via all transmission paths, not just through a partition or a ceiling path or HVAC system or a door path alone. It represents the sound separation or sound level difference between two spaces.

Sound Transmission Class (STC) Rating

A similar and more commonly referenced rating, Sound Transmission Class (STC) makes adjustments to the NIC by accounting for the common area of a separating partition as well as receiver room acoustic effects, in order to isolate the performance of the separating partition, allowing for the comparison of the field partition performance to a laboratory rating of its performance, ideally with minimal flanking or leakage.

Noise Reduction (NR) Rating

One parameter that is also used to quantify the performance of a separating partition is noise reduction (NR) rating. The NR rating is defined as the difference in sound levels between two points across a demising partition. The higher the NR rating, the higher the acoustic performance of a partition and the better the ability to reduce sound propagation from one space to another.

To determine the required noise reduction rating of the demising wall separating the future indoor pickleball courts and the office spaces, typical pickleball noise levels were simulated and measured. Measurements were conducted in the existing empty warehouse space while pickleballs were struck with a paddle and hit against the hard wall and floor surfaces. Using the average and maximum sound levels of pickleball impact noise, the noise reduction ratings required to achieve the ASHRAE NC criteria were determined.

Based on the measured performance of the demising wall and the pickleball impact noise measurements conducted, HGC determined that the noise reduction provided by the existing block wall would be sufficient to achieve the target criteria in the adjacent office spaces for typical pickleball on racquet impacts.

Noise from Pickleball Summer Camps for Children

We were informed that the facility might also host pickleball camps for upwards of 150 children during summers. This has the potential to generate a significant level of additional noise at the facility above and beyond pickleball play alone.

When considering loud and boisterous speech from numerous children, the existing demising wall would be insufficient. Recommendations were provided to improve the sound separation between the pickleball courts and offices spaces

Sound flanking Mitigation

Additional measurements of sound playing in the proposed pickleball courts area indicated noise flanking at the intersection of the block wall and the exterior west wall, as well as through gaps/holes around piping that penetrates the demising wall. Sound flanking occurs when sound bypasses around, through, or over the demising partition, compromising the acoustic performance of the assembly. As a result, HGC recommended that any piping penetrations and gaps across the demising wall be sealed with flexible sealant. HGC also proposed that the junction of the demising wall with the exterior wall should also be sealed.

Speech Intelligibility for Conversation and Instructional Purposes

In the proposed pickleball court areas it was noted that all of the surfaces within the existing building consisted of non-acoustically absorptive surfaces which would promote sound propagation. The existing acoustically hard surfaces if not acoustically treated could cause the space to become very loud as sound reflects and re-reflects off the surfaces in the enclosed space.

Therefore, in order to improve speech intelligibility for conversation and instructional purposes, as well as to reduce the build-up of sound levels, it was advised that acoustically absorptive surfaces be considered throughout the proposed pickleball court areas most notably the ceiling areas.

HGC’s recommendations were followed and the new pickleball center opened to great success in January of 2024, with no tenant noise concerns reported.

Acoustical Consulting Services Included

• Sound Transmission Class (STC) and Noise Isolation Class (NIC) testing
• Site Inspections
• Technical Specifications for a Lease Agreement