What is it?
Vibrations are oscillating movements transmitted through structures, floors, walls or other building elements. They may have a natural origin or be caused by human activity, technical installations or nearby infrastructure.
The SBM-2024 includes them among the physical factors that may form part of an assessment of the indoor environment.
Their behaviour depends on the strength of the source, the characteristics of the building and how well the building elements transmit them. In some cases they are clearly perceptible; in others they can only be detected with specialist instruments.
Where can it be found?
They can be caused by road or rail traffic, underground lines, industrial machinery, lifts, pumps, heating and air-conditioning systems, technical equipment, construction work and other installations that transmit mechanical energy to the building.
They can also be produced by certain activities carried out within the property itself. How far they spread depends on the type of structure, the materials used and the distance from the source.
How does it affect the space?
Vibrations travel through the building’s structure, so they can be felt far from where they are generated. The structure, its materials and the distance from the source determine how much of that vibration reaches each room.
That is why the behaviour of a room cannot be explained solely by what happens inside it: a source on another floor or outside the building can affect its conditions.
How is it assessed?
What the inspection looks at
The technical inspection locates possible sources and examines the construction characteristics of the building.
What is recorded for each measurement
Equipment, quantity, unit, location, date, measurement conditions and duration, together with the relevant limitations and the interpretation criterion applied.
How this factor is measured
Measurements are taken with specialist professional instruments to record vibrations in different directions and at the points where people spend time.
The analysis may include identifying events, assessing their frequency and amplitude and studying how they are transmitted through the structure.
In assessments intended as expert evidence, calibrated instruments are used to ensure the reliability and traceability of the measurements.
Criteria
Results are interpreted according to the SBM-2024 and, where appropriate, taking into account the technical standards applicable to the type of assessment carried out.
The assessment takes into account the intensity, frequency and duration of the events and the intended use of the different rooms.
This guide does not publish values or thresholds. Technical criteria, legal limits and recommendations are different things and are not presented as equivalent.
Improvement measures
Work always begins by understanding and, where possible, reducing the source, before acting on the path or on the space. Measures are prioritised by expected effect, feasibility and proportionality, and no products are recommended by default.
The action taken depends on the origin of the vibrations detected. Options that may be considered include:
- Acting on technical installations.
- Isolating machinery.
- Making structural improvements.
- Reorganising certain spaces.
- Applying specific solutions adapted to the building.
Each recommendation is made after an individual assessment, taking into account the technical feasibility of the different alternatives.
How Cemprotecta helps
This factor is not assessed on its own. It is measured as part of an assessment that treats the space as a system, because vibration travels through the structure and its origin can be far from where it is felt.
What an assessment gives you is knowing what is there, where it is and what can be done about it, with an ordered sequence of measures rather than a list of problems.
- Inspection of the space and of accessible installations.
- Measurement in the rooms where people spend most time.
- Combined interpretation with the other factors assessed.
- A report with measures ranked by their expected effect on exposure.
Request an assessment
If this factor concerns you in your home or workplace, tell us about your case. The prior inspection will determine whether it is worth measuring and what else should be assessed alongside it.