A Sound Upgrade !!!

2012 - What a spectacular waterfront view of Howe Sound, BC Ferry Lanes, and the Coastal Mountains. Long gold sofa sits over top of the old stairwell making the living room larger and ensuring the separation between the Lazy Bowen Hideaway and the Lazy B Petite Suite.  

2005 - before with railing and stairwell 

2012 Lazy Bowen Hideaway 

The Lazy Bowen Hideaway was originally built in 1978 as a single family waterfront home. The main floor was a comfortable 1200 square feet with a large living area and 2 nice sized bedrooms. The cottage had a narrow staircase at the end of the living room that accessed the ground floor space which was used mostly for storage. The ground floor was rustic, unfinished, with a tool shed and a very primitive pink bathroom. My Aunt Jerry purchased the Kohler pink sink, toilet, and tub from someone’s remodel castoffs.

2005- Old Pink Petite Suite washroom

2012 Petite Suite bath

When I inherited the home in 2004 we closed off the staircase and removed the railing which allowed us to make the main living room larger. The long green / gold couch sits over top of the old stairwell. Now the ground floor space could be separate and self contained with it's own entrance. Over time I added kitchen cabinetry, laminate flooring, painted the walls, and updated the bathroom to what you see today, the current Lazy B Petite Suite. 

This past spring, April 2012, we improved the sound separation between the floor of the Lazy Bowen Hideaway and the ceiling of the Petite Suite. It was a HUGE project that took 3 weeks to complete. Graham Richie, my contractor of choice, removed the existing ceiling and cellulose insulation and as you can see it all dropped into the Petite Suite creating a powdery mess about 18" deep. The cellulose was bagged up and recycled to the mainland. Graham added 2 layers of Roxul Safe n Sound for enhanced sound and fire separation. Then he installed a Resilient Channel to suspend the new sheet rock. We spent even more on the Quiet Rock as it was equivalent to installing 8 layers of sheet rock but it was only 1/2" thick. Even though Graham protested he added the sound proof caulking around the perimeter of the room to stop any sound leakage between the vacation rentals. 

2012 Cellulose fills the suite during the sound and fire upgrade renovation

The result is a 300% improvement in the sound barrier between the 2 vacation rentals. We put the barrier to a test. While I was upstairs in the Hideaway I could not hear men's voices or Grahams blaring radio. We turned the Petite Suite TV up extra loud and that could not be heard upstairs either. The reverse was true as well, voices and TV sounds were not heard in the Lazy B Petite Suite. This is GREAT and makes the 3 week down time and the huge renovation expense worth it. Our guests will truly appreciate the additional sound barrier adding to their overall getaway experience. 

2005 -Petite Suite Kitchen replaces stairs

2012 - The stairwell is permanently enclosed and sealed

Because the Lazy B Petite Suite is a ground floor suite nestled under the Lazy Bowen Hideaway we were not able to eliminate all of the foot fall from guests walking on the wood floor in the Lazy Bowen Hideaway but it has been greatly minimized. Wearing soft soled shoes, slippers, or flip flops cuts the foot fall impact greatly.  

We heard from a returning Lazy B Petite Suite guest and we specifically asked about her experience with the upgraded sound proofing. This is what she had to say: 

Hi Jan,

Our second stay was wonderful. The weather was amazing and it was lovely to be able to just relax and enjoy the ocean view. We did notice that we didn't hear any noise from the other suite but just assumed that they were just very quiet.

Thanks again
Vicki and Joey

Success!!! You won't be able to see the improvement and happily you will hear nothing as well. I believe we have achieved our goal of creating a quiet getaway for all!!!   

2012 - Lazy B Petite Suite waterfront cabin is a sunny pet friendly vacation rental