QuietRock Drywall: Candlewood Suites Fort Huachuca

Challenge

Fort Huachuca, a historic Army installation in Arizona, required a new 243-room Candlewood Suites hotel as part of the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) program. This public-private venture revitalizes on-post transient housing for soldiers, families, and government travelers. The hotel is one of the largest Candlewood Suites ever built, designed in a U-shape across four floors.

Military hotel construction presents unique acoustic challenges. Unlike civilian hotels where guests have varying schedules, soldiers shower at the same time, eat breakfast at the same time, and move to and from physical training en masse. This simultaneous activity pattern makes sound transmission between rooms, corridors, and common areas a critical design consideration. Candlewood Suites maintains specific minimum STC ratings for every wall assembly type: corridor walls, demising walls, floor-to-ceiling assemblies, elevator core adjacencies, and laundry room separations.

Solution

Approximately 200,000 square feet of QuietRock sound-reducing drywall was specified throughout the facility, primarily QuietRock ES Mold Resistant (EZ-Snap) with some QuietRock 545. The QuietRock ES delivers three performance attributes in a single board: maximum mold resistance (score of 10 per ASTM D3273), STC 55 sound reduction, and Type X fire rating. The architect used UL Design No. U305 to achieve a one-hour fire rating alongside the STC 55 acoustic performance.

The EZ-Snap technology was a significant factor in selection. Contractors can score, snap, and hang the boards exactly like regular drywall, eliminating the specialized installation procedures that add cost and complexity with other acoustic solutions. Standard finishes apply normally to the QuietRock surface.

Results

The hotel opened in October 2014, meeting all Candlewood Suites acoustic standards, fire code requirements, and mold resistance specifications with the single-layer QuietRock system. The architect reported that QuietRock was subsequently specified on all future projects in the PAL program, extending the product's deployment across the military hotel construction initiative.