Jumpax Acoustical Underlayment: MIT W1 Building

Challenge

MIT's W1 Building is a 100+ year old structure on the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus used for student and staff housing. The building underwent a complete renovation, with the old interior gutted from top to bottom. The age and condition of the structural floor/ceiling assembly created three simultaneous requirements: extensive floor preparation for glue-down vinyl and VCT finish flooring, a hard and stable sub-floor surface to ensure the integrity of the vinyl installation, and an acoustical underlayment to increase the Impact Insulation Class (IIC) of the renovated floor/ceiling assembly for the multi-story housing use.

Solution

Jumpax acoustical underlayment was specified for the project, a sound-reducing, free-floating, dry-leveling, fast-track floor preparation system. Jumpax addressed all three project requirements in a single installation layer: it provided the smooth, stable surface required for direct glue-down of resilient floor coverings, it leveled sub-floor irregularities up to 1/8 inch over 3 feet and 1/4 inch over a 10 foot span, and it delivered the IIC improvement needed for the multi-story student housing application.

The project team worked closely with Miller, Dyer, Spears Architects and Shawmut Design and Construction (general contractor), with on-site training and support provided to Contract Flooring, the flooring contractor and installers. This collaborative approach was essential for a project of this profile, ensuring all parties understood the Jumpax installation methodology and quality requirements.

Results

The 80,000 square foot installation was completed successfully. The flooring contractors reported that Jumpax eliminated the extensive floor preparation that would otherwise have been required on the century-old sub-floors, saving significant time and cost. The dry-leveling system provided a seamless surface for the vinyl and VCT finish while delivering the structure-borne noise isolation required for student housing where impact noise between floors is a primary occupant concern.