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Westside Gallery Lofts (Urbancorp) - Real Estate -

lee, were they readily willing to redo the floors for you, or did you have to fight for it? i was really hoping they'd surprise us all with excellent work :(

did you know that you would have all the exposed piping above the kitchen? i guess it seems logical now, but in the mock ups in the sales package, where the dropped ceiling bathroom & kitchen are situated back to back like in your unit - they don't show any piping.

i spoke to one of the sales agents about this, and he said that any "plumbing" would be hidden in a walls - and would not be exposed. judging from your photos, it looks like he was incorrect.
 
pd416:
My sales rep was really helpful and she managed to persuade them to redo the floors. See photo below.
I knew that there was exposed piping above the kitchen and I like that as an aesthetic feature. I know that in the westside gallery lofts SOME people were given the option to extend the drywall all the way up to the ceiling. Maybe that is what your sales agent was referring to.

123.jpg
 
no, we didn't extend our walls (long story - we were told by natalia that that was a cosmetic change - something that we indicated at the time of colour selection :confused:). however, when i spoke to another sales agent, he said not to worry - all walls carrying plumbing would be extended up to the ceiling (requested or not) - so kitchen piping would not be exposed. guess that is not the case.

guess we'll find out in a few months.... :)

your ceilings look really high! did the first floor luck out and get higher than 9'?
 
The cement walls/floors look poorly done IMO. Very rough looking... I'm sure there will be some serious soundproofing issues in this building.
 
I was expecting 10ft high, but it ended up being 11ft which is awesome. With Artscape we had different feaures than you guys, in our 70 units we have 10ft high. But we didn't any options to upgrade anything else at all so I expect our units to be much more rough looking than yours. These are our features... http://www.artscapetrianglelofts.ca/features-a-amenities
 
JayBee said:
The cement walls/floors look poorly done IMO. Very rough looking... I'm sure there will be some serious soundproofing issues in this building.
Click to expand...

Looks like I was right:

"All walls between units have a minimum STC rating of 50"

Again, builders doing the bare minimum. It's frustrating.
 
Last edited:
JayBee said:
Looks like I was right:

"All walls between units have a minimum STC rating of 50"

Again, builders doing the bare minimum. It's frustrating.
Click to expand...

STC rating of 50 is not bad!

http://www.handyamerican.com/e-book-rp-soundproofing.asp

From the link above: "Once both sides of the wall are finished off with ½-inch drywall, the resulting STC is an impressive 48. Note: at an STC rating of 50, a loud voice or shout cannot be heard on the other side of the wall."
 
aguduser said:
STC rating of 50 is not bad!

http://www.handyamerican.com/e-book-rp-soundproofing.asp

From the link above: "Once both sides of the wall are finished off with ½-inch drywall, the resulting STC is an impressive 48. Note: at an STC rating of 50, a loud voice or shout cannot be heard on the other side of the wall."
Click to expand...

STC rating of 50 is what's required in Toronto...which is not that good.

Read this:
According to research by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC): “Noise from neighbours in multi-unit buildings is a serious problem that degrades the quality of life of the residents. It is only when sound insulation is approximately STC 55 or greater, that sound insulation is effective in minimizing the negative effects on residents. STC 55 is therefore recommended as a realistic goal for acceptable sound insulation.”

The Ontario Building Code requires an STC rating of 50 as a minimum acceptable value, and STC 55 in specific areas. Many builders prefer to design for STC 55 or more if end users are demanding and willing to pay for a higher quality of accommodation.

Work undertaken by NRC shows that masonry walls can easily meet this requirement. Depending on the density and thickness of concrete block units, concrete block masonry walls can provide STC ratings of well above 70. For example, an STC 70 assembly would consist of a “core” of 190 mm normal weight concrete block, and 38 mm x 64 mm wood strapping, absorptive material between the studs and 12.7 mm gypsum board on both sides. By using concrete block “it is possible to construct high-quality walls that can meet the most acoustically demanding situations.”

http://www.dcnonl.com/article/id20946&search_term=sounds like the right choice

Here's more:
"The Institute for Research in Construction conducted a study that found the point at which sound insulation starts becoming effective is approximately STC 55, or to put it even more simply, STC 55 makes people happy. If we design for an STC 60, it follows that as an industry we will end up with an STC 55 in the field. But STC 60 doesn’t happen with traditional wall construction. To get to STC 60, builders need an acoustical consultant or other field expert to help."

http://www.a1articles.com/article_1580271_33.html

I've done a lot of research on this....I'm sure once that dividing wall gets built the STC rating will be below 50. Not trying to be a downer just preparing you for the worst.
 
Thanks for the useful info, JayBee! According to your research, STC of 50 is certainly not great, just minimum acceptable! I hope when they said "All walls between units have a minimum STC rating of 50", they really meant that it is STC 50 or greater. And I hope it is actually greater!
 
aguduser said:
Thanks for the useful info, JayBee! According to your research, STC of 50 is certainly not great, just minimum acceptable! I hope when they said "All walls between units have a minimum STC rating of 50", they really meant that it is STC 50 or greater. And I hope it is actually greater!
Click to expand...

Yea, hope everything works out.
 
There is a two foot gap in the wall (if you didn't choose the option for the 9 ft interior walls - it was too late for me to choose that option) except for the bathroom.

I'm just curious how much noise I could hear in the master bedroom from the kitchen, for example.
 
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