The Complete Guide to Acoustic Flooring for Offices

Why Acoustics Matter in the Modern Office

Open-plan offices have transformed how Indian businesses work — collaborative, dynamic, and visually impressive. But they come with a hidden cost: noise. Studies consistently show that uncontrolled office noise is the number one driver of employee distraction and productivity loss. The solution isn't to build walls — it's to engineer the floor beneath your team's feet.

Acoustic flooring is one of the most effective and least visible ways to manage sound in a commercial space. At Decko Floor, we've specified acoustic solutions for some of Delhi NCR's most demanding commercial clients, and the difference is transformative.

How Sound Travels Through a Building

Sound in a building travels in two primary ways: airborne sound (voices, music, phone calls) and impact sound (footsteps, dropped objects, chair scraping). Standard flooring does nothing to address either. A proper acoustic flooring system — which combines the right surface material with a high-performance underlay — attacks both categories.

"In our experience, the right acoustic underlay can reduce impact noise transmission by up to 22 decibels — the difference between a quiet library and a busy café."

The Role of Underlay

Acoustic underlay is the invisible hero of commercial flooring. Installed beneath carpet tiles, LVT, or engineered wood, it creates a buffer layer that absorbs and dissipates sound energy before it travels through the slab. Decko Floor supplies several grades of acoustic underlay, each with a specific Impact Insulation Class (IIC) and Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating:

• Comfort Underlay — Standard residential and light commercial use
• Acoustic / Noise Reduction Underlay — High-performance commercial specification, STC 55+
• Thermal + Acoustic Combination — Ideal for raised-access floor systems in data centres and server rooms
• Hygienic Moisture Barrier Underlay — Used in healthcare and food-processing environments where both acoustic and hygienic performance are required

Best Floor Surfaces for Acoustic Performance

Carpet tiles are the undisputed champions of commercial acoustic performance. Their fibrous structure absorbs airborne sound, and when paired with an acoustic underlay, they deliver an IIC rating that open-plan offices genuinely need. Modular carpet tiles also have the practical advantage of being individually replaceable — critical in high-traffic commercial environments where isolated staining or damage is inevitable.

For spaces where carpet is aesthetically unsuitable — executive corridors, reception areas, or luxury co-working spaces — LVT with a 3mm acoustic backing offers a premium hard floor appearance while still meaningfully reducing impact noise compared to a bare concrete slab.

Case Study: Gurgaon Technology Campus

For a 40,000 sq. ft. technology campus in Sector 44, Gurgaon, Decko Floor specified Interface carpet tiles across all open-plan floors, with our Acoustic Noise Reduction underlay beneath. The result: a measured reduction in ambient noise levels from 68dB to 52dB — a 24% improvement. Employee satisfaction scores on the post-fit-out survey showed a 31% increase in reported concentration levels.

Specifying the Right Solution

Acoustic specification is not a one-size-fits-all exercise. The right solution depends on the slab construction type, the floor-to-floor height, the ceiling treatment, and the operational profile of the space. Our commercial specification team works directly with architects and project managers to develop a complete acoustic strategy — not just a floor product.

Contact us to discuss your next commercial project and receive a complimentary acoustic assessment.