Abstract:
Due to the effects of bailout of Portugal, the construction sector has been subjected to an unexpected
adjustment process. The construction of new buildings has almost stopped and what is envisaged for the
future is a moving from the new buildings construction to the rehabilitation of old ones, aiming to facilitate
the renting market. In this context, and to assure some knowledge of buildings performance, a methodology
to assess the overall acoustic quality of these rehabilitated buildings has been proposed. This methodology
complements the one conceived for the new buildings, by extending the same concepts to the lower
performance side of the buildings behavior, thus contributing for their classification in terms of acoustic
comfort, and consequently for their acoustic sustainability. The proposed methodology has 5 classes (D+, D-,
E, F, and G; the A, B and C are reserved for the new buildings or for those complying with the existing legal
requirements), will allow users and renters to decide the best options based on the class of the apartment they
want to rent. Whenever possible, this classification scheme was correlated with subjective data on the
perception of noise inside the dwelling, obtained through socio-acoustic surveys.
