The Liquor Laws are Being More Strictly Enforced

UDP Mayor Danny Guerrero and his new San Pedro town council were elected this year on March 7th. Since then, the Belize Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act have been much more strictly enforced by both the town council and the local police to the delight of many town citizens. The rules dictate everything from who can own a liquor license, holidays when liquor cannot be sold, & hours of operation for all types of bars to license owners allowing prostitutes or thieves to congregate in their establishment (a $50bzd fine!).

For past years, only a handful of bars received proper night club licenses that allowed them to open until 2am without special permission. To obtain that license, the establishments had to prove that they were totally soundproofed. Only cement buildings Jaguar's Temple, Big Daddy's/Daddy Rock's and Club Latino qualified.

But the rules relaxed and favors were granted to other bars. Tacklebox was able to open until 1 or 2am on Tuesdays and Sundays. Wet Willy's famous Wednesday Ladies Night kept the bar open until 2am or later and Fido's stayed open for an extra hour on weekends. Many other bars received extensions for special and not-so-special events.

The rules were not always properly enforced. Both Big Daddy's and Jaguar's (Rehab Lounge) had outside open-air bars that served liquor and played loud music way past midnight even though they were not soundproofed.

Things have changed. Since the new administration took office ALL bars without nightclub licenses must close their doors and stop serving alcohol at midnight.

In response, the bars mentioned above have started the soundproofing process. The first to complete the construction is Big Daddy's outside bar.

Tacklebox is currently working on making their bar on a pier soundproof for later closings. (Is it even possible with a wooden structure?) Will Wet Willy's follow?

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" In response, the bars mentioned above have started the soundproofing process. The first to complete the construction is Big Daddy's outside bar.

Tacklebox is currently working on making their bar on a pier soundproof for later closings. (Is it even possible with a wooden structure?) Will Wet Willy's follow? "

I would like to know how do you Soundproof an outside bar?? That should be interesting.

Lots of insulation, air conditioners and plexiglass. You are right...should be interesting.

Sound insulation involves double pane windows and layers of sheetrock, fiberglass insulation does little, EPS does work however. Recording studios use many layers of sheetrock and non parallel walls etc.

Would lowering the oftentimes and usually too-loud music in Belizian drinking establishments (and sometimes even restaurant) help?

Are Belizians hard of hearing?

Building a second interior stud wall with a 1" gap between the exterior wall and interior wall works wonders. "Float" a 1/2" thick sheet of board insulation between the walls. This method is used for new construction utilizing stagger studding.....but I've retrofitted existing structures with the interior wall and it ends up the same. Heavy sounds passing through the wall push the board insulation but the sound doesn't transfer through the wall.

My experience as a participant and the person talking to a participant is that when we've been drinking the first thing to go is the hearing.......

So how to you take care of the racket you hear when the door opens for a customer to go in or out?
Soundproofing is a decent start but closing at midnight is still a good idea.

Good one Judyann.

The use of the word soundproof is a mis-nomer.
you can only make bars sound resistant. It's like the difference between water proof and water resistant.

Unless you want to build them like a recording studio with double doors and foot thick insulated walls,using the constrution technique described above, bars and public venues will always leak some sound.

The way the law usually works is the City/ town will set a maximum decibel level that can leak from the establishment.

Using a C weighted Sound pressure level meter, they will measure the sound level leaking out and if it is over the maximum then they take action.

Problem is exactly as you described, the longer you listen to loud music combined with alcohol the more your ears become accustomed to it and your brain will automatically "turn down the volume". This is one of the leading causes of tinnitus (sp)(ringing in the ears)

DJ's are not ammune to this phenomenem and therefore they tend to pump up the volume as the night goes on, fueled by an alcohol induced crowd encouraging him on.

How many of us remeber a night out at a rock concert and when you wake up the next morning you start the car, and the radio is at full volume?