Doing some research on thermostats, specifically ones that can be ‘locked’ so people can’t mess with them. Ideal for landlords or shared spaces like hallways.

Here is what I found:

Chicago Controls (AKA landlordstat.com) – their stuff is a bit limiting in the temperature ranges they offer. Can’t be changed by a tenant as the temperature is burned into the motherboard.

King Electronics offers several models that are programmable, most are set by jumpers on the motherboard so easily altered by tenants. Available from Amazon, also found e-volt in Canada that sells them.

Accustat they market a product line that the temperature is controlled by installing different mercury-based thermometer ‘keys’. You order the thermometer that relates to the temperature you want to set. Interesting idea.

You got married a couple years ago, living in an apartment.

Now you are thinking about starting a family, so the two of you save up and purchase a condo. A generously sized three bedroom in a good school district. Best of all, the building is quite new, only a couple years old.

The big day comes, you get possession and move in – how exciting. You have not met the neighbors yet, perhaps you should take over an apple pie and introduce yourself? Maybe later in the week, once you have finished unpacking.

After a few hours of unpacking you are both exhausted and sitting on the couch quietly, looking over the mountain of unpacking you still have left but very content to be in your brand new home.

Then you hear it.

The neighbors upstairs must have just come home. You clearly heard them open the door and voices talking. They are talking about a new toothpaste they purchased while out getting groceries for the week.

Now they are unpacking the groceries, you hear the fridge door open and close, the cabinet doors banging. The voices continue, they just can’t stop talking about that new toothpaste.

Then you hear it, a massive FART from upstairs! There was no mistake, it was as clear as day.

A female voice says ‘excuse me’.

Your first thought OMG, did she just FART?

Your second thought, how can you be hearing every word and every FART from the unit upstairs?

Has your new condo not got any sound proofing between units? If you can hear them, can they hear you? Did the builder not follow sound insulation standards?

If your new condo is wood construction, odds are good the builder did follow the minimum sound insulation standards. Unfortunately, builders rarely do more than the minimum.

The end result is you end up living in structure that has very annoying sound issues and lack of privacy for everyone.

What can do you about the sounds from the neighbors upstairs, you can’t expect them to whisper and walk on their tip toes all the time.

There are two types of sound, the first is airborne sound such as speaking and the mids and highs of music or TV.

The other type of sound is low frequency, this is sound such as bass from music, your neighbors footsteps or dropping things on the floor.

To attack these sounds issues you must take a multi prong approach and it is not cheap, if you skip some steps you can greatly reduce or totally negate the benefits of your attempt to sound proof. Sound is like water; if you have any “leaks,” it will find a way in.

Lets take a look at what options are available to property sound proof your ceiling (their floor) to hopefully give you back as much of your privacy as possible. We assume that the unit on top is not willing to make any changes to their property, such as sound deadening or alterations to their flooring.

Step #1

Remove the existing drywall from your ceiling. Remove any insulation that exists (hopefully there was some!).

If you are careful when removing your existing drywall, you can recycle it. This increases the mass and will help reduce sound – a much better use for it than tossing it out. Cut strips of drywall to fit in between the ceiling joists. Apply Green Glue on the strips and screw into the underside of the sub floor, sandwiching the green glue between the sub floor and drywall.

You can double up by doing the same thing with another strip of drywall over the first.

Step #2

Install Roxul SAFE’n’SOUND which does an excellent job at stopping the mids and highs but does little to nothing to stop the low frequency sounds of footfall or items dropping on the floor.

Step #3

All light boxes or electric junction boxes that exist in your ceiling need to be encased with an acoustical sealant or sound will leak right through those boxes – negating all your hard work and expense. Consider products such as QuietPutty or ATS Acoustics Putty Pads.

If you have any holes in your ceiling for cables, smoke detectors or recessed lighting, everything must be protected with acoustical protection. Even one hole will allow sound to easily pass.

Step #4

Now comes the important step to block low frequency noise.

You need to install your ceiling again but it must be decoupled from the walls and floor above as much as possible. You can use a product such as Green Glue Noiseproofing Clips, The WhisperClip or Kinetics Wave Hanger. For those budget conscious, consider the Resilient A237 clip. All things being equal the Whisper Clip delivers an STC score of 60, A237 delivers 57 vs using no clips delivers a score of 42.

Install your choice of clip in conjunction with drywall furring channel, the clips are expensive ranging in price from $5.00 – $10.00 for each clip.

Next mount a double set of 5/8″ drywall onto your furring channels. If you have lots of cash available for this project, consider adding Green Glue between your 5/8″ drywall sheets or even use QuietRock 530 for maximum noise reduction.

Here is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART to stopping the low frequency noise. Your ceiling must not touch the walls – yep, you read that correctly. You must leave a 1/8″ gap between your ceiling drywall and your walls. Fill the 1/8″ gap using a non-hardening, paintable, resilient acoustical caulk such as QuietSeal Pro (it is blue) or OSI SC175 (it is white).

Do NOT tape or mud the ceiling drywall to your walls. The acoustical caulk must the the only connection, this prevents the low frequency sound from traveling down your walls.

The general consensus among sound experts is to use the lowest price clips and spend your savings adding more mass in the form of additional layers of drywall.

Additional Tips

• You will need to lower any lights or fans that existed in your ceiling as your new ceiling will be several inches lower as a result of the clips, furring channel and double drywall.

At this point you should have a massive improvement in sound blocking, you are ready to tape, mud and paint your ceiling.

If you have access to the flooring above you, consider installing a product like Peacemaker or Rubber Underlay for Floors. In Canada Foam Solutions makes quite a few different underlay products.

With a little luck, you will no longer be able to hear your neighbor FART!

Finding quality people to work on projects can be difficult, not everyone has a website to promote themselves and you often only learn about them through word of mouth. I am going to maintain a list of a few different trades that I have had good experiences with. If experiences have not been so great, that will also be noted here.

Handyman Services

Yes Dear Handyman Services – Use these guys extensively, everything from painting, AC replacement, building decks to light electrical work. They make quick work out of most jobs.

Handyman Hands – This guy is the go-to guy for RE/MAX Commercial Solutions in Vernon. I would suggest you keep looking and avoid this one.

Plumber

If you own your own home, you know the value of a quality plumber. I have spoken to many of them in the Vernon area most just don’t seem to care.

Fifth Generation Plumbing – 250-542-5052 – Used several times, very satisfied with quality of work and availability of staff.

Broco Home Maintenance – Primarily a plumber, but may also do handyman jobs.
*** UPDATE *** Broco has closed down, the company merged into Vernon Air Conditioning.

Electrician

Rad Energy Electric – Jeff Radies – 250-306-4868. A few people around town mentioned Jeff.  I had his company do a few small jobs including, changing light fixtures, replacing some undersized wiring and adding new power receptacles.

Litzenberger Electric – Marcel Litzenberger – 250-309-1295 / 250-542-3217

Adair Electric Ltd. – Bob Adair – 250-275-4780. They do work for a some of the bigger restoration companies in town. Used them on a few jobs so far.

Drywall

Before you get to the paint stage, you are going to need some drywall. Have not tried any of these companies, just putting them here for future reference.

Copper Fox Interiors – Mark Ward – 250-309-2831

Painters

Paint Special – Used these guys once to paint a condo. The actual quality of the painting was OK but they were very messy. I had to spend $200+ to have all the paint removed off the floor and electric baseboard heaters when they were done. Will not use them again.

Home / Garage Plans

If you are looking to have some construction done, maybe adding a garage or new home consider Accu-Rated. They are a small firm out of Kelowna. *UPDATE* As of August 2018, it looks like this company may not even exist anymore.

Adaptive House Plans, suspect this may be the company Accu-Rated mentioned above, but still in business as of 2021.

Roofing Companies

If you have water dripping on your head, you probably need a new roof. Here are a few in Vernon.

Torchcraft Roofing – They claim to be specialists in flat roofing.

Community Roofing – I used this guys once, they tried to scam me on a repair. They claimed there were lifted shingles causing the leak. Once I approved the work, their ‘worker’ went on the roof for a total of 4 minutes and did not even take a replacement shingle up. I would NOT recommend these guys.

Vernon Roofing – Have seen their name around on social media quite a bit. Know of one guy personally who had them put on a new roof and he was pleased.

Trash Removal

If you don’t have enough trash to rent your own dumpster, check out Dump Runz.

Bagster, dumpster in a bag is a good option for small renovation jobs.
*** UPDATE *** Dumpster in a bag no longers provides service in Vernon, such a shame.

Vernon Eco Property Care – 250-308-2159 – Have not used these guys, but looks like they might be good for cleanouts of yards & houses. Could not find a website, but currently they have a Facebook page.

Cleaning Services

Twila Harsch – 250-550-8059 – Have used Twila a few times, she knows her stuff.

The Clean Gecko – Used only once, staff were slow and quality not very good. Your mileage may vary with this one.

BMB Cleaning Services – 250-215-4356 (facebook) – Have not used yet.

Miranda @ Dust Dame Cleaning Service – 306-381-8441 – Have not used used yet.

SERIOUS Cleaning Services

If you find yourself with a disaster, such as fire or flood you are going to need to call in a professional remediation company.

On Side Restoration – After a flood in a condo I contacted these guys. Probably the best experience I have ever had with a company, anywhere. They worked directly with the insurance company and got the problems sorted out.

*** UPDATE *** In 2022, one of my properties was set on fire. Based on great past experience, I called On Side Restoration. My experience with them the 2nd time working them was also excellent.

Pest Control

If you have creepy crawlers around Vernon, call The Bugman Pest Control. Young crew of friendly guys, they responded quick when I called them.

Note that they do not do bedbug treatments. If you have bedbugs, I found a company that does a fungal treatment that is cost effective and quick. Here are their details:

BugMaster Pest Control – 778-400-1373 – Used these guys multiple times for BedBugs, the little bastards. Their fungal treatment is great!

Mudjacking

Not a service most people need, but if you have concrete that has slipped or sunk the process of mudjacking or foamjacking can save you a bundle.

Accurate Concrete – Based out of Armstrong BC, worked with Russ to lift a set of steps that had fallen away from the house.

Property Management

If you are looking for someone to manage a property, there are not many choices in Vernon. The real truth is no property manager would ever take care of your property like you would. Unfortunately I can’t recommend any of the ones listed here, if you know of someone that does property management in Vernon, let me know.

RE/MAX Commercial Solutions – They currently manage one property for me, when the current tenant moves out the property manager will go with them.

Associated Property Management – I suspect they don’t really operate in Vernon, but they do list and office address and phone number.

Delaney Properties – Have heard nothing but bad things about these guys.

Century 21 Executive Realty, Property Management – I know nothing of these guys but they claim to provide property management in Vernon.

Appliance Repair

I have found a few places in Vernon that do appliance repair. These days the supply chain is messed up and even if you wanted to buy a new appliance you probably can’t.

Community Appliance – 778-475-3004 – Have used a few times, very friendly, returns calls & shows up when they say they will. What else could you ask for?

One issue with Community Appliance is they do not work on all brands. If you happen to have a brand they do not work on, no fix for you.

Ron’s Appliance Repair – 250-306-1146 – This guy was referred to me by Community Appliance, when I had a brand that they did not work on. Apparently it is just a guy working out of his garage and so far, he does not return calls or answer his phone. Seems fairly standard for trades, which is why I maintain this list.

Sure Pro Services – 250-575-2425 – Appliance repair out of Kelowna. I can’t locate a website for them, but someone referred them to me. Looking at ratings online, this guy is rude, does not return calls and does poor quality work.

If you have ever prices a new kitchen, either custom or from a big box store you know the prices are mental.

After doing some research the Ikea model seems to be the most cost effective, assemble them yourself and save a bundle.

The next time you are in the kitchen market, check out places like:

RTA Cabinet Store (New York)

Barker Cabinets (Oregon)

The Cabinet Spot (California)

Euro-Rite Cabinets (Pitt Meadows BC)

Canada Kitchen Liquidators

Sunnax Cabinet (Port Moody BC) – Trusted Pros Reviews

I’m sure there are others out there, but I just found these two that both look excellent.

Tips When Buying RTA Cabinets

• Ensure boxes are 100% plywood, not particle board
• Ensure doors and frames are solid wood
• If assembly uses cam lock hardware, ensure they are metal not plastic.
• If you have the space to paint your own cabinets, consider getting them unfinished. The cost of buying ‘naked’ doors and painting or finishing them yourself can be incredible.

Something a little different than I normally post on this site. I have been researching options for putting laminate flooring in a basement, there are so many options.

The Problem

• Basements are often wet
• Concrete is cold
• Ceiling height may be limited

I was recently looking at a basement that has laminate flooring installed directly over concrete, which works I guess but must be very uncomfortable during winter months.

Possible Solutions

Here are some possible solutions that I have found for improving the comfort of laminate in a basement. None of these are fixed to the concrete and can have laminate flooring installed directly on top.

• Dricore – $190 100 sq/ft – 1.7 R-value – 22.22mm – Dimples create air space under the floor, OSB top.
• DMX 1-Step – $90 100 sq/ft – 0.91 R-value – 7.94mm
• DMX Airflow – $?? 100 sq/ft – 1.2 R-value – 4mm
• Delta-FL – $66 100 sq/ft – ?.?? R-Value – 8.00mm

The insulation value of any of the above products seems very limited, however having the flooring off the actual concrete should make the floor feel a lot warmer.

DMX Airflow seems like the best choice to me, availability may be limited in Canada (even though it is made there) but the cost seems to be about the same as DMX 1-Step although I can find no actual retailer.