Minimum Structural Floor Stiffness for Floating Floor Applications

Fitness clubs and dance venues that endorse music-accompanied, high-energy rhythmic activities have become increasingly popular and are being placed in many buildings, both new and repurposed. Two of these popular activities are Zumba and Bounce Clubs. Both involve having many people on the floor at the same time. Both are activities that can go on for very long periods of time at the same beat. If the beat of the music is close to the fundamental frequency of the floor system, this combination of a large exciting force over a long duration can cause vibrations to build up to dangerous levels in the structure. These problems may be exacerbated by installing a floor isolation system on top of the structural floor to control the transmission of sound into the spaces below the facility. This paper is intended to provide the structural design team members a set of deflection limit guidelines to help avoid vibration problems when considering a floor isolation system in these types of facilities.