So Quiet Soundproofing

Thankfully, 0 stars is an option! I rarely write reviews but my experience with this company is so terrible that I need too.

I hired So Quiet Sound Proofing because I was creating a basement apartment and wanted to significantly reduce sound transfer between their unit and ours. Upon meeting with Brandon, I explained that I had two newborn babies and a dog and did not want to lose good tenants due to them being bothered by the everyday noises a young family would create. I also did not want to hear music, TV, talking etc. from the tenants downstairs. He assured me that this was a straightforward job, which they could do in a week.

He promptly provided me with a quote and recommended an STC level that would meet my soundproofing needs. After reviewing both, I decided to pay an additional costs to raise the STC level even further. I was led to believe that this would ensure that the soundproofing would be more than adequate. In finalizing the deal I mentioned my concerns about the door allowing significant noise transfer and Brandon assured me this would be taken care of and was kind enough to offer a sound reducing door kit free of charge.

Work began and almost immediately, there were red flags. The ‘professionals’ that work for this company would often show up between 10-11am and were gone by 4 at the latest. The week estimate came and went and after countless no shows, ‘misunderstandings’ and late arrivals, to date; the door kit is not installed.

They also decided my brand new laminate flooring would be a good place to cut their rubber/insulation and left my basement flooring with multiple deep scratches and dents all over the place (see attached pictures). They also dry walled over two pot lights leaving the exposed wires in my ceiling. Regardless of the flooring replacement quotes provided to the company, the owner and myself are still in disagreement over appropriate compensation for this damage.

The main reason I chose this company was their sound proofing ‘guarantee’. Marcus (the owner) promised me a full report detailing the improved soundproofing and STC level reached. To date I have not received any such report outlining his findings.

The tenants report that they can hear my children crying, people talking when we have dinner parties and the dog whining and barking. Essentially, many of the noises I had made clear that I wanted to eliminate (or at least significantly reduce) from being transferred.

This is easily the most unprofessional company I have ever worked with. From workmanship to management it was truly a disappointing experience.

****UPDATE****
After posting this review I was notified by HomeStars that: "The company has contacted us about your review and they're disputing that you are one of their paying customers"

Doing this review after 8 months; I had a new commercial tenant moving in and wanted to have additional soundproofing between his business and the residential spaces above. Brendan came out to give me an estimate and Garrett came out the following week to do the install. I found Brendan to be very personable and professional and he offered great advice and tips. Garrett was wonderful and set to work to soundproof the exposed ductwork and vents. He called to let me know when he had completed everything and have had no issues or complaints from either businesses or tenants, so quite happy with this company.

We met Soquiet on homestars, and they truly deliver a one-stop experience.

After requesting their proposal for soundproofing, we were able to work with Soquiet as ‘consultants’ to our existing GC.

Extremely knowledgeable, they offered ideas that we (or our contractor) could not have imagined, and while working with a shoe-string budget they were 100% responsive, and even helped us procure materials to do the job ourselves.

Seriously, this is a company with heart, whose only goal is to help you gain the maximum sound-proofing - and who will offer you solutions that work in your budget.

I’d also like to mention, that in a pinch - Marcus helped deliver material ‘same-day’ so that we could keep on schedule - and not compromise the kitchen delivery and installation. It didn’t go without notice.

Thank you, Brandon, Marcus and Siobhan for the care you expressed and the professionalism you imparted.

Common Wall in 100-year-old Rowhouse
John Boyle
Purchased a beautiful century rowhouse in the east end. Great place to live all-in-all but the soundproofing in our bedroom and hall was terrible. I could literally hear word-for-word conversations from the neighbours.
I fished around for a few quotes. So Quiet Soundproofing was by far the most responsive. I really appreciated the professionalism they brought to the quoting process. Their sales guy was well dressed and articulate. He spent about 40 minutes with us listening to the problem and going over various solutions.
We received a very well laid out estimate with an email that described the work in detail. It was very good.
Start of work was delayed, but once the crew arrived things went well. I was impressed with how much care the workers took in terms of protecting our hardwood and stairs. They covered everything with Plastic and hard board. Definitely thoroughgoing.
The end results were exactly as described in the estimate. We hear the occasional bump in the night, but no more conversations. Needless to say, we’ve been sleeping soundly.
One other thing of note was the educational element of the work. Brendan and Marcus spent a lot of time explaining to us how soundproofing work is different from regular renovations and were great resources in terms of how sound travels through walls and ceilings.
I’m scoring them a 9 (rather than a 10) because of the minor delay in starting. Otherwise really good contractors.

Furnace in my condo is quite noisy and is located in living room. The furnace itself works correctly, it is just that's very poorly soundproof. I've been looking for 2 years for someone to deal with the problem. I had few professionals coming over and trying to solve the problem, all cost quite a lot of money and failed to fix the problem.

Then I came across Marcus and his So Quiet Soundproofing. They came in, did very accurate readings and identified the problem. Presented me with solution and cost. I did fair bit of studing how to solve the problem and, according to my research, their diagnosis was spot on.
Execution was just as good. They were coming over when my wife and I were at work so we weren't bothered by them working at all. They were leaving the condo in perfect condition despite the fact that the job was quite diry (cutting drywall, sanding and so on).

Final result was better than I could expect. The noise was cut by more than 50% which brings it from "annoying" to "great" :).

I could not recommend their service more.

We were planning on renting out our basement to help balance the mortgage. We have a young child and I was concerned about the sound of our daily activities interfering with the downstairs tenants.

Brendan came by to investigate the situation. He was incredibly professional and transparent.

He also looks like Jon Snow from GOT ?

I was initially worried because there didn’t seem to be a way to address the problem without removing the ceiling we already have down in the basement… but I’m glad we went ahead with it.

The crew were efficient and very friendly. The whole thing took 4 days. They even referred us to a plaster person who was very inexpensive.

We haven’t rented the space yet, but my husband and I have taken turns making noise upstairs and the difference is unbelievable!

I’m very glad we chose them!

Thanks guys!

Shortly after the arrival of our second child, I realized that the walls of our nearly 100 year old house were paper thin. I was frantic to find a solution and came across SQSP online at about 5am!!! Brendan came to give us a quote and I was really optimistic about moving forward with the work.

On the plus side, everyone was very nice and professional to deal with. Unfortunately that’s really the end of the positives. The work ended up costing us 30% more than the original quote because the first sound test failed and more work was required. The job was supposed to be completed in 3 days but ended up taking about 6 weeks because small things needed to be fixed/done. However, the biggest disappointment was the work itself. I’d have no problem with the additional cost or time if the soundproofing actually worked. I would say we spent over $3,000 and got maybe a 25-30% sound reduction. Definitely not what I was hoping for - especially given the cost.

I contacted So Quiet Soundproofing on Dec 5/17 to soundproof the HVAC system in my condo. There is a constant buzz that two previous Heating/Cooling repair companies inspected and said there was nothing wrong. This noise was something they couldn’t eliminate. I was guaranteed by the So Quiet Soundproofing’s Director, Sales & Client Relations that they could soundproof the unit (they advertise this on their website). I sent them a couple of photos, they said “it looks like a pretty standard job”. I was quoted $1072 and asked to pay 50% up front. I agreed, but they ended up mistakenly charging the whole thing to my credit card. They did alert me right away, corrected the error, and reimbursing half of the fee back ($536).

Six booked appointments later, over two months and nothing has been soundproofed. The first two appointments (Dec 21 and Dec 28, over my Christmas holidays) were cancelled on me. The first because the technician had the flu and the second because the Managing Director's car wouldn’t start. The technician did arrive for the second appointment and took some photos, but he didn’t seem to have much knowledge or experience, which seems to be why the Managing Director was always required at the appointments.

The third appointment (Jan 2, showing up late) they (“tech” & MD) attempted to soundproof the unit by putting some sound absorbing materials in the HVAC system. I was told via email previously, "A project like this one will typically take about 4-6 hours." They were there for about an hour, tops and did not sound proof anything. I had to book another appointment for further inspection.

Again, it took me constantly chasing them down for the appointment & information and I had to take time off work. The 4th appointment (Jan 12th 2pm sharp) the “tech” arrived on time, but as I previously mentioned, he didn’t seem to be skilled at doing any actual soundproofing, so once he opened up the HVAC system (which took all of 5 mins), he then sat there reading his phone while we waited for the Managing Director who was 40 mins late. They did another inspection and said the noise was coming from one of the three fans in the unit and that they would arrange, on my behalf, the ordering of the replacement fan, booking the repairs with another company and overseeing the work done. Why this couldn’t have been assessed in the previous appointment confused and annoyed me. After the 40 min wait for the Managing Director, this appointment lasted 35mins. Again I took time off work for this.

A week later I get an email from the Managing Director saying they contacted the manufacturer and ordered the fan and would book an appointment with the recommended repair company. I had already paid $536, and I was now given a price of $436.80 plus delivery, for the fan, plus $150 per hour repair service and told it would take two hours. But So Quiet Soundproofing said they would waive *their* fee. This brought my total up to over $1312.10 (incidentally it would seem this is in violation of the Consumer Protection act which states that a company cannot bill over 10% of the original quoted price unless a new contract is signed and agreed upon). Thankfully he was wrong about the price of the fan which ended up being only $150, which they received from the manufacturer another week later.

The next appointment was booked for Thurs Feb 1 10am-12pm. I had to, again, chase them for info (the repair company name, the name of the manufacturer etc.). I took more time off work.

12pm passes and no repair technician showed up, so at 12:20pm I called the Managing Director. He said he would find out what happened. No one called me back. An hour later I called him again and the Managing Director told me they are having difficulty finding the HVAC repair tech they hired and that the So Quiet Soundproofing “tech” (the same one who previously visited) had been waiting on call for this repair person. Why the “tech” didn’t bother to let me know once the 10-12pm appointment was missed or alert the Managing Director, is still a mystery to me. The HVAC repair tech (from JPS Canada) was never found and I lost another day at work and nothing was fixed.

I then received a call from the So Quiet Soundproofing “tech” with an apology. I asked that the fan be left with my building concierge and I would deal with it from there. The “tech” said he would leave the fan at the concierge either that Thursday evening or Friday Feb 2. I also got a call back from the Managing Director, who was apologetic and insisted they wanted to right this wrong. I said I had no more time off work so a weekend appointment would have to be booked at their expense (an expense they didn’t confirm).

On Friday Feb 9th, finally another appointment was booked for Sunday Feb 11th 11am-1pm. Again I had to request to get the repair company info. In the confirmation email, the Managing Director mistakenly confirmed that I had received the replacement fan. I had not, the “tech” never dropped it off like he promised. Clearly he didn’t communicate this to the Managing Director and clearly no one from So Quiet Soundproofing was going to be attending this appointment to oversee the work as promised. He assured me that the “tech” would deliver the fan that Friday afternoon. 8pm Friday rolls around and no fan arrived. I emailed the Managing Director alerting him of this. He assured me the “tech” would deliver it on Sat. Feb 10th. Saturday evening arrives, but no fan, I emailed again. Sunday morning at 10:30am I emailed to ask where the fan was. The Managing Director assured me he was pursuing this and said he was worried the “tech” had had an accident as it was unlike him not to be in touch.

By this point, I felt stupid for allowing this to go on. I was confident nothing had happened to the “tech” and I was right. At 12:30pm I received an apologetic email from the Director of Sales & Client Relations saying they had found the “tech” and he would be delivering the fan in the next two hours and would I be available for the appointment from 2-5pm. I did not trust the “tech” would arrive with the fan (why would I) and I had plans so I said no. And then I emailed again to quickly say I would no longer be doing business with their company. About an hour later I received an apologetic email from the Managing Director which stated, in part “With humble apologies, we are going to discuss your account tomorrow, and offer you something in compensation for all of your trouble.” I didn't hear from them for a week. I had to chase them down for a response. They have not offered any compensation at this time.

I did receive an email from my building concierge at 6:56am Monday Feb 12th letting me know I had a package. The fan. See the attached pic below. It arrived with no box, no invoice, no receipt. Just a dodgy sticky note stuck to it with my name spelt wrong.

I needed to soundproof a shared wall in my loft. They came in, did a great job with great communication. There was a couple of small hiccups but they were all addressed quickly and professionally.

With a new baby on the way, my wife and I decided we needed to do something about the hollow, reverberant wall separating the nursery from our toddler's room. The only thing worse than one kid awake and screaming is two...

We found So Quiet after looking at online reviews and making a couple of calls. So Quiet sent out Brendan to review the site/project requirements promptly, and he put together a detailed and comprehensive proposal within a couple of days. The price was fair, and he accommodated our need for a quick turnaround on the project.

Brendan remained our point person on the project all the way through completion - he was consistently polite, professional and upfront. I appreciated having him as a single point of accountability from the beginning to the end of the project.

The scope of the work was removal of the drywall from two walls, filling of the cavity with acoustic insulation, and then the application of two layers of 5/8" acoustic drywall and reconstruction of the trim. The work took 6 business days and involved four individuals other than Brendan. One guy did the demo and insulation; he returned with a second guy to do the drywalling; a third guy did the mudding, taping, sanding and trim; and a fourth removed all the project waste. All were friendly and polite. The demo and drywalling guys were meticulously tidy, the mudding/taping/sanding guy less so, but not terrible. I probably did 10-15 minutes of clean up in the hall and on the stairs each evening after he worked.

The one hiccup in the project came on day 5, a Friday they had targeted as completion day. We had emphasized how useful it be for us if we could have the space ready for the weekend so that we could do our painting and furniture set-up work. Brendan had stated he was confident that the project could be completed by then, but it was too tight for his workers. They rushed the details at the end, and then told Brendan they had finished. When I came home to check it out, it was clear that there was still work to do. The old baseboard had been reinstalled messily - chips and cracks, blobs of caulking, and even a sharp nail sticking out. Damage on adjacent walls from the construction had not been fully filled and sanded. Clean-up was far from done as well.

When I communicated this to Brendan, to his credit he did not try to defend the work. He simply said "that is not a finished condition" and said that they would rectify things on Monday. He came personally to ensure that things came together with the appropriate level of finish. They patched the remaining rough spots on the walls, and completely replaced the baseboards and quarter rounds with new materials. The work looked good. So we lost the weekend as an opportunity for us to do our own work, but the work ended up being done right with the extra day - a worthwhile trade-off.

They cleaned up relatively well - "contractor clean" is certainly not the same as "tidy home clean", and I had to spend a full evening sucking up plaster dust, mopping floors, and hosing down the porch to get things back to normal, but this is pretty much par for the course with construction work in my experience.

Cleaning up let me perform a good sound test however: I brush-vacuumed the plaster dust off of the walls for a good half hour while my daughter slept in the next room and she didn't budge! My wife and I also tried out our best baby wail impressions while the other one of was on the other side of the wall. It was audible, but only very faintly. This was a huge improvement - before, the wall might as well have been made of paper.

So, all in all, we were pleased. Good service, fair price, good finished product, and most importantly, the soundproofing seems effective!