Quick answer: Shophouses are long, narrow and tall, often with timber floors and exposed brick or plaster. They echo, and footsteps travel between floors. Acoustic panels or clouds on the ceiling and long walls fix the echo. Noise between floors needs separate floor treatment. Panel colours can be chosen to suit heritage finishes.

Key takeaways

  • Long, tall rooms echo.
  • Ceiling clouds and long-wall panels fix echo.
  • Footsteps between floors need floor work.

Why shophouses echo

High ceilings, long parallel walls and hard finishes all add echo. Sound bounces along the length of the room. The narrow shape makes it worse.

Long walls

Panels on one of the two long walls stop sound bouncing back and forth. You do not need both walls covered. About 20–40% of the wall area is a good start.

Not sure what your room needs? Send us a photo on WhatsApp or request a free quote. We'll tell you how many panels, where they go and the price. See our restaurant acoustic panels and recent projects.

Quiet a shophouse infographic

Ceilings

Clouds under high ceilings keep the airy look. They are always fixed mechanically, never glued. Standard fixings are included; scaffold for high ceilings is quoted separately. See ceiling vs wall panels.

Shophouse noise fixes diagram

Between floors

Panels do not stop footsteps through timber floors. That needs underlay or floor treatment. It is a separate job. See treatment vs soundproofing.

Heritage look

Pick panel colours to suit plaster or timber. Ask us about matching your finishes. Conservation rules apply to facades, so treatment stays inside.

F&B

Shophouse cafés and bars get loud, with hard finishes and a full room. A 30-seat café usually needs 10 to 18 panels. Ceiling first, then one long wall. See restaurant acoustics.

Airwells

Open airwells let rain in. Keep fabric panels away from them. Water damages fabric panels.

Upper floors

Offices upstairs often have meeting rooms with hard walls. A 6 × 4 m meeting room usually needs 8 to 12 panels. Treat them along with the ground floor.

What we see on real jobs

In a long shophouse room, the long walls are the key. Panels on one side stop sound bouncing along the room.

Get a straight answer for your room

WhatsApp us (+65 8930 1905) a photo of your dining room, ideally taken during service, and tell us when it gets loudest. We'll come back with a ceiling-and-wall plan and a price. Ask us about installing outside opening hours.

WhatsApp us a photo · Request a free quote · See prices

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