For an upholstery workshop in town, the quietest option is a variable-speed screw compressor: the S 55 runs at 65 to 68 dB(A) for 0.6 m³/min at 8 bar, and the K 75 at 66 ± 2 dB(A) for 1.1 m³/min, dryer and air receiver included. Installed on anti-vibration mounts, away from the party wall and switched off outside working hours, it goes unnoticed by customers and neighbours alike.
The air needs of the trade are presented on our page compressor for upholstery and trimming. Here, we deal with noise.
Why does noise matter so much to an upholsterer?
The furniture upholsterer rarely works on an industrial estate. The workshop is often a shop with a window, an old outbuilding at the back of a courtyard, or a ground floor below flats. The customer comes in, sits down to choose a fabric, talks over the finishes. A compressor that starts with a bang in the middle of the conversation, or makes the floor of the flat upstairs vibrate, soon becomes a problem.
Noise also wears the team out. A staple gun already cracks with every shot. Adding a noisy compressor in the same room makes the workshop hard going over a whole day.
How many decibels for a workshop compressor?
Sound level is measured in dB(A), generally one metre from the machine. The scale is logarithmic: 3 dB more means twice the sound energy, and 10 dB more is perceived as a noise twice as loud. Our guide to compressor noise in decibels explains how to read these figures.
| Situation | What you need to know |
|---|---|
| Piston compressor without a cover | Clearly louder, with abrupt starts on every cycle. To be installed in a separate room. |
| S 55, 5.5 kW screw | 65 to 68 dB(A), steady noise, no jolts |
| K 75, 7.5 kW 4-in-1 screw | 66 ± 2 dB(A), 420 L air receiver, built-in dryer and filtration |
At 65 dB(A), you are in the same range as a lively conversation. A screw compressor under its cover can therefore run in a storeroom close to the workshop without disturbing the work.
Screw or piston for a workshop in town?
The piston compressor has its place with an upholsterer who staples for a few hours a day: it is simple and robust. But it makes more noise and, above all, it starts and stops on every cycle. It is this intermittent noise, with the vibration on start-up, that bothers neighbours the most.
A variable-speed screw compressor works differently. It slows down when demand falls instead of stopping and starting again at full load. The noise is lower and, above all, more constant.
If you are keeping a piston compressor, our article how to reduce piston compressor noise gives solutions to limit the nuisance.
Where should the compressor go in an upholstery workshop?
The right place
- A separate room, if possible. A storeroom, a plant room, a ventilated corner of the cellar. A simple partition and a door already make a big difference.
- Away from party walls and shared floors. Structure-borne noise, the kind that travels through the building's structure, is often more annoying than airborne noise. A compressor standing against the stairwell wall can be heard throughout the building.
- On anti-vibration mounts, on a concrete slab rather than a timber floor if you have the choice.
- With a flexible connection hose between the compressor and the fixed network, so that vibration does not travel into the pipework.
Common mistakes
- Shutting the compressor in a cupboard with no ventilation. It heats up, trips on a fault and wears out. A compressor needs cool air at the inlet and an outlet for the hot air.
- Putting it under the shop's staircase, where the noise resonates.
- Placing it right by the shop window or the reception area, where the customer waits.
Our page quiet workshop compressor sums up the principles of a discreet installation.
The calculation for a three-person upholstery workshop
The air flow determines the size of the compressor, and therefore its noise. There is no point oversizing.
Step 1. Three staple guns at 80 l/min, used in bursts and counted at 50%: 120 l/min.
Step 2. One blow gun at 150 l/min, counted at 50%: 75 l/min.
Step 3. Total: 195 l/min. With a 25% safety margin: 244 l/min. With 20% for expansion: about 290 l/min.
The S 55 and its 600 l/min cover this need comfortably and leave room for a glue spray gun. Thanks to its variable speed, it runs slowly most of the time, and therefore even more quietly. A K 75 is only worthwhile if the workshop adds several gluing stations or moves into production.
The working hours and habits that make all the difference
- Switch the compressor off in the evening. If it stays powered up, the slightest leak makes it restart in the middle of the night. Switch it off at closing time and drain the air receiver.
- Get rid of leaks. A leaking network keeps the compressor running even when nobody is working. Go round the couplings with soapy water, with the compressor running and the tools idle.
- Maintain the machine. An intake filter clogged with stuffing and foam dust makes the compressor run hot, and its fan works harder. On a screw compressor, keep to the first service at 500 hours, then every 1,500 hours.
- Tell the neighbours about the installation work. A note in the stairwell often avoids misunderstandings.
- Measure. A sound meter app on a phone gives an order of magnitude before and after installation, in the workshop and at the neighbour's if they agree.
Our article quiet compressors and the neighbours adds to this advice.
To choose the right model for your tools, use the configurator, or describe your premises to us in a quote request.
For your trade: Compressor for upholstery, auto trimming and soft furnishing workshops.