Lotte Construction teamed up with a startup to unveil a new flooring material that can solve both inter-floor noise pollution and environmental problems at the same time.
Lotte Construction said on the 26th that, together with eco-friendly composite material specialist corporations Regenti&I, it developed the "Soilastic (Soil+Plastic) soundproofing pallet."
According to Lotte Construction, the material is a multifunctional product that is placed on the impact-absorbing layer of apartment floors to firmly secure hot-water pipes while absorbing sound transmitted to the unit below. The key feature is that it combines into one the pallet that previously only held the pipes in place with a noise-blocking function.
In performance tests conducted from Oct. 2024 to last month, the floor system using this product reduced "heavy impact noise," the dull, loud sound of children running, by about 4–6 dB (decibels) compared with conventional methods. The company expects this is sufficient to raise the apartment floor impact-noise performance rating by up to one grade and to serve as a practical solution to calm inter-floor noise.
In addition, with parts integrated into one, laying heating pipes has become easier and the overall construction process has been further simplified. In particular, compared with existing products, it can save more than half the expense. Lotte Construction is currently going through the floor-structure certification process of the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) to obtain official recognition of this technology.
"Soilastic," used in this product, is a resource-circulating material made by combining recycled aggregates from construction sites with discarded plastic. Lotte Construction is preparing for Excellent Recycled Product (GR) and green product certifications.
Lotte Construction and Regenti&I plan to continue joint research and on-site verification to further advance the technology, while expanding the application of eco-friendly technologies to a variety of building material fields.
A Lotte Construction official said, "We will continue to work with excellent startups to pursue the technological innovations that are truly needed in the field."