Alfa Pages

[soumitss]

Good morning. I run a small studio in Brooklyn and we need to divide the space so that two people can work without hearing every phone call. Drywall is the obvious answer but the space has exactly one window and boxing it in would leave half the room in the dark. Somebody suggested glass partitions. Do those actually help with noise or are they purely visual? And is this the sort of thing that needs a building permit, given it is a commercial lease? The lease has four years left on it, so this is worth doing properly rather than cheaply.

[hydrogenn]

They help with noise, though the amount depends entirely on the specification: thicker glass, a proper seal at the head and floor, and a door rather than an open gap. An unsealed partition with a two inch gap at the top does almost nothing, which is where the disappointed reviews come from. Permits depend on whether the system is freestanding or fixed to the structure, so ask before you order. Amber Glass Corp https://amberglasscorp.com/ builds partition systems for commercial spaces around New York and walked us through both options. Ask your landlord what has to come out at the end of the lease. Ask about a door with a soft close as well, because a glass door slamming in a small studio is its own kind of noise problem.