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Acoustic Tiles – Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need acoustic tiles?
If a room sounds echoey, tiring, or makes conversation harder than it should be, acoustic tiles are often the simplest fix. Hard surfaces like plasterboard, glass, concrete, and ceilings reflect sound back into the room. Acoustic tiles absorb that reflected sound, reducing echo and improving speech clarity. They are particularly effective in meeting rooms, offices, classrooms, and shared spaces where people talk regularly.
How many tiles do I need?
In most rooms, you only need to treat around 25 percent of the available hard surfaces to achieve a noticeable improvement. This is known as the 25 percent rule.
To calculate tile quantity:
• Work out the surface area of the walls you want to treat
• Optionally include the ceiling
• Multiply that total by 0.25 to find your target coverage area
• Divide by the surface area of the tile you are using
• Round up to the nearest whole tile
This approach avoids over-treating the room while still delivering strong acoustic results.
What is the 25 percent rule?
The 25 percent rule is a widely used rule of thumb in room acoustics. It suggests that covering approximately 25 percent of a room’s reflective surfaces with sound-absorbing material is enough to significantly reduce echo and reverberation in most everyday spaces.
It is not a hard limit, but a reliable starting point that balances performance, cost, and visual impact.
Should I treat walls only or walls and the ceiling?
Both approaches work.
• Treating walls only is often sufficient for smaller rooms or where ceiling access is limited
• Adding ceiling treatment can further improve speech clarity, especially in rooms with hard ceilings
A mix of wall and ceiling treatment usually gives the most balanced result.
What if one wall is glass?
If a wall is fully glazed and cannot be treated, simply exclude it from the calculation. Apply the 25 percent rule to the remaining walls, and optionally the ceiling. You can still achieve excellent results without treating every surface.
Where should tiles be placed on the wall?
Start around typical head height. In meeting rooms, this usually means seated head height, as this is where most speech reflections occur. From there, tiles can be spread across multiple walls rather than concentrated in one area.
What is SoundSorb?
SoundSorb is Versare’s acoustic panel material designed specifically to absorb speech-range noise. It is made from dense PET-based fibres and engineered to reduce echo while keeping rooms sounding natural rather than overly dead.
SoundSorb panels typically have a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) around 0.6, meaning they absorb a significant portion of reflected sound energy in everyday environments.
What is Versare’s approach to acoustic treatment?
Versare focuses on practical, right-sized solutions rather than over-engineering spaces.
Our approach is to:
• Start with proven guidelines like the 25 percent rule
• Use modular, movable, or surface-mounted products rather than permanent construction
• Improve comfort, clarity, and usability without changing how a space feels or functions
• Allow rooms to be fine-tuned over time by adding treatment only if needed
This makes it easier to get good results quickly, without committing to unnecessary cost or complexity.
Can I add more tiles later?
Yes. In fact, this is encouraged. It is generally better to start with around 25 percent coverage and add more treatment later if required. This avoids over-treating the room and keeps spaces feeling balanced and comfortable.
Can you help me check my room?
Absolutely. If you would like, we are happy to sanity-check your measurements, confirm tile quantities, or help work through a specific room layout before you commit.