New Eaton High School

Challenge

New Eaton High School in Eaton Rapids, Michigan required high-performance acoustic door assemblies as part of a new construction project. The school design specified doors with laboratory-tested STC ratings for classrooms, music rooms, administrative offices, and corridor separations. The doors had to meet strict acoustic performance standards while also satisfying fire rating requirements, ADA accessibility standards, and the durability demands of a K-12 educational environment.

The project required seven distinct door types, each with specific STC ratings, fire ratings, and hardware configurations matched to its location and function within the building. Coordinating acoustic performance with fire-rated assemblies, code-compliant hardware, and the construction schedule required a single-source specification and supply approach.

Solution

Memtech Acoustics specified and supplied a complete acoustic door package covering all seven door types required by the project. Each door assembly was engineered as a complete acoustic system, not just a door slab, including the frame, seals, threshold, and hardware selected to maintain the rated STC performance of the assembly.

Key specifications across the door package included:

Door Construction: 2.5-inch steel leaves with acoustic core material, providing the mass and damping required for the specified STC ratings across all seven door types.

Perimeter Sealing: Magnetic perimeter seals on all units to maintain consistent contact pressure and eliminate air gaps that degrade sound isolation. Unlike compression seals that wear over time and lose contact, magnetic seals maintain their performance characteristics through the life of the door.

Bottom Seals: Concealed automatic bottom seals (drop seals) that activate when the door closes, sealing the gap between the door bottom and threshold without creating a trip hazard or requiring a raised threshold that would compromise ADA accessibility.

Hinges: Cam-lift hinges that raise the door slightly as it opens, clearing the seals and threshold, then lower it back into the sealed position when closed. This mechanism protects the bottom seal from drag wear and ensures consistent acoustic performance over thousands of open-close cycles.

Hardware: Schlage, Von Duprin, and LCN hardware specified across the package, matched to each door type's security, fire, and accessibility requirements. Fire-rated doors received hardware compliant with the applicable fire rating (up to 90 minutes on select assemblies).

Memtech coordinated the entire package as a single submittal, ensuring that every component, from the door slab to the closer, was compatible and would not compromise the acoustic or fire rating of the assembly.

Results

All seven door types were delivered, installed, and verified to meet their specified STC and fire ratings. The single-source approach eliminated the coordination gaps that commonly occur when acoustic doors, frames, seals, and hardware are sourced separately. The magnetic seal and cam-lift hinge systems ensured that acoustic performance would be maintained over the operational life of the doors, not just at the time of installation. The project was completed on schedule and the door assemblies passed inspection without remediation.