It would help to know the height of the ceiling above the floor, and if there is an existing curtain or room divider track in the ceiling. There are many good quality moving wall systems, both manually operated and motorized, that can provide you with pretty good acoustical separation between the cafeteria and the stage. Just need to know more about your situation. We can work with your school's architect to define an optimal solution.
If you are just looking for movable floor mounted rolling partitions like the
ScreenFlex, then look for a product that has an ability to interlock the panels so the gaps are minimized. Buy as tall of panels as you can get, as the smaller the gap between the top of the panels and the ceiling, and the bottom of the panels and the floor, the better the sound isolation will be. Think of it like a car window - when a noisy vehicle pulls-up next to you and you roll-up the window, the sound really doesn't diminish much until you close-off that last 1/16th of an inch. The big gaps above and below the example
ScreenFlex product would provide little-to-no acoustical isolation between the spaces.
You may need to get your school's architect involved for another reason, too: Closing-off this 60 foot wide opening may affect the fire / emergency egress route(s) for either or both of the rooms. Feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss this further.
I recommend that you re-evaluate the functional situation with your cafetorium. Rarely are they designed to serve an auditorium function, instead they are a cafeteria with a stage / platform scabbed onto one end. It'll never be a concert hall, but vast improvements can be made to help the space be a better presentation venue. Take a look at the attached whitepaper, maybe that can energize someone in your administration to think beyond replacing a broken portable partition with a not-broken one.
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Erich Friend
Theatre Consultant
Teqniqal Systems
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-21-2017 17:28
From: Bonnie Wilson
Subject: Room Dividers for Multi-purpose Rooms
After 13 years of doing three shows a year on a cafeteria stage, we've finally worn out the feeble fabric folding divider that we often used to separate our rehearsals from the basketball team meals or the kitchen crew, and it's time to invest in a real divider. I've searched the Forum for information but can't seem to find any discussion about Screenflex, which appears to be the only company that makes the folding dividers big enough for our purpose.
To set off the stage end of the cafeteria, I will need a partition that is at least as tall as 6 ft., and as wide as 60'. I would love for it to provide soundproofing, but the best I can hope for is that it makes other users of the room aware that a class or rehearsal is being held beyond the partition.
As I mentioned, Screenflex is the only company that seems to carry this size of folding divider. Has anyone had any experience with this company or with a different one? I'd love to hear some input from this group. This is a pricey piece of equipment.
Many thanks!
Bonnie Wilson
Scottsdale, AZ
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Bonnie Wilson
Scottsdale AZ
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