Capital Connections
Capital Connections Podcast
Capital Connections
EP #3 - Soundproofing Secrets with Mark Dubois
This episode highlights the transformative power of soundproofing in enhancing home serenity and overall quality of life. Mark Dubois of Acoustical Oasis shares insights on the benefits of customized acoustic solutions, dispelling myths around costliness and complexity.
• Discussing soundproofing benefits for well-being
• Addressing common misconceptions about noise control
• Understanding customizable solutions tailored to client needs
• Overcoming trust challenges as a contractor
• Emphasizing the use of eco-friendly materials
• Sharing personal insights into life outside work
• Explaining the impact of noise pollution on health
• Encouraging listeners to connect with Acoustical Oasis for consultations
Acoustical Oasis
Marc Dubois
Serving: Ottawa, Kingston and
the surrounding areas.
343-540-9838
info@acoutsicaloasis.ca
www.acousticaloasis.ca
This is the Capital Connections Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Samuel Lowe.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Capital Connections Podcast. Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Mark Dubois of Acoustical Oasis. How are you?
Speaker 3:doing Mark? Oh, I'm doing good, Sam. Thanks a lot for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, excellent. Well, thanks for joining us today. I thought maybe we could start with you know, can you share a bit of what you do at Acoustical Oasis?
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course. Well, here at Acoustical Oasis, what we like to do is we like to give our clients that peace of mind, that quiet from the local traffic, from their neighbors or even from the family inside the house, so they can concentrate on what they need to do, or do what they love, without disturbing anybody.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's very cool. So, from what I understand, it's like building in some sound attenuation into people's homes. Is that right?
Speaker 3:Yes, that's correct. We do STC measurements before and after, where this will measure the sound volume within the home, and the higher the number, the more peace and quiet you get. So it's very specific as to what needs to be done. It spells it all out for us.
Speaker 2:For sure, and I imagine from your end to accomplish that. Is that done through changing your drywall, putting up panels? How do you accomplish the goals? It's like it would make you a renovator of sorts as well. I presume right, or am I wrong in that?
Speaker 3:No, you are partially correct. While there are some bigger projects that need major renovations, there's quite a few jobs that you know what? It's just acoustical paneling, sound downpouring curtains. It all depends on the scale, really. But no, we can go. There's cost-effective ways. I can get the job done, whereas there's a big misconception where it has to be expensive, it has to be removing drywall, adding extra layers and stuff like that. There's a lot of. It all depends on the budget, really on what the clients want.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I guess the needs like if you took me through. Um, my wife often complains our our masters above our kitchen and we have hardwood floors and it just seems or at least I'm told when being the early riser. When I get up in the morning and I'm clanking my coffee cups, she, she hears it reverbing upstairs. So in a scenario like that, would you you be putting a sound dampener on the ceiling of the kitchen or what would be a strategy for that situation?
Speaker 3:Peace of mind for my wife. Well, we'd find out where the noise is coming from. Now, majority of the time it comes from the door, in between floors. It is a possibility, but we would find out where the original source is coming from and work from there. So if it is from the ceiling, then we would add an additional layer or we would look at ceiling around the door, and that cuts down on a lot of the costs and normally solves most of the problems.
Speaker 2:Well, mark, I think you just solved ours, because I live in a really old house and it has a staircase from the kitchen to our bedroom above. So it means there's a door on that staircase and I bet you that's exactly where it's coming from. What happens when you know the project means the scope involves a little bit of renovation. Is that something that you guys have the in-house capabilities of accomplishing?
Speaker 3:That we do. We like to be our one-stop shop. So if electrician or plumbers or hvacs involved, we all have our own guys that can take care of that.
Speaker 2:Um, we're all fully insured, we're yeah, we just yeah, actually, whenever it comes to like if there's drywall that's being done or painting is, uh, like you know, um saying one-stop shop. So you, you know, from the project beginning to the project end, you guys, uh, you know, have the means and you look after doing that. That's trades people as you need that's correct.
Speaker 3:Um, we yeah, we want to say the homeowner the most stress is possible. We, we like to tackle it all and even before the agreement, we do run through it with our clients being like this is what you're going to expect, we're going to take care of all these. In these steps, we like to keep the client involved as much as possible as to what's coming up. Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 2:So lay out the scope of work. No surprises for anybody. What inspired you to get into this business?
Speaker 3:Oh well, I've always been fascinated with it. My dad would talk about how he used to work at the Parliament Hill, doing all the rebuilds and working on the clock tower.
Speaker 2:And that's amazing.
Speaker 3:So it's like, oh, every time someone drives by, my dad did that. It's going to stand till the end of time. And that's what got me wanting to be in construction, where I'll build something and it'll last, where generations will drive by and be like, oh, my granddad did that, or my great granddad did that, and it's still there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's amazing. Any myths or misconceptions? You mentioned one that you know it doesn't have to be super expensive to do it. Is there anything else, any other nuggets of information to share with the listeners? Anything else? Any other?
Speaker 3:nuggets of information to share with the listeners. Well, it's very customizable, whereas you can get what you want and not have to think that, oh, the guy next door who's doing soundproofing will have the exact same thing. It's very moldable. We can create any vision without making it look tacky, like it's specifically sound.
Speaker 2:That's cool. Yeah, so like sound attenuation could be like a piece of art or fabric or like all sorts of different things, I guess, right.
Speaker 3:That's correct, and what's great about Canada is that we do produce a lot of it locally, and it's all recycled material, so it's great for the environment.
Speaker 2:It's improves the house value and it's all recycled material, so it's great for the environment. It's improves the house value, so it's just all around healthier. Yeah, that, yep, that's amazing. So a question here is like we all, throughout our journeys, face challenges of one sort of another. Can you describe anyone that you know you've rose above and above and you've come out on the other side and you'd say you're better for it?
Speaker 3:Well, early on, I would say that the biggest challenge is building that trust with clients. It's with so many different companies out there. It's hard to find that authentic, good, trust, genuine contractor that really just cares about you guys and not the end line, where you're not just a number, it's, yeah, just that pride in their work. And that was the hardest thing to do was trying to convey that to our clients, and now it's gotten a lot easier as we get older.
Speaker 2:It's like listen, we, we care about you, that's all we after meeting you mark, uh, you know, a couple of times, uh, there's an authenticity that comes across from you which which resonates and I could see where, uh, now that you're over that hurdle, that authenticity really, uh, really works no, it does, especially in ottawa, where word of mouth means the word, where respect still has incredible value. No question about that, yep, excellent. So, outside of work, how do you enjoy spending your time?
Speaker 3:Well, I enjoy spending it with my wife and kids, whether it's playing board games or their video games, watching their shows, or a lot of it's spending time outdoors doing hiking, lots of fishing, and during the summer, you'll always catch us on the river. It's just the best way to escape and get back to your roots out in the nature.
Speaker 2:I completely agree. So on the river, are you a fisherman?
Speaker 3:I am. We love our pike and our walleye.
Speaker 2:All right, yeah, I love pike and walleye, but I'm a bass guy Love it. What's one thing you wish our listeners knew about your business?
Speaker 3:Well, I'd really love people to know that soundproofing is an investment both in home value and in their well-being. Noise pollution can have a significant impact on their sleep, stress levels and the quality of life, so by addressing these noise issues, we can create a healthier and more enjoyable living and working environment for our clients. So it's so beneficial to have your house soundproofed, and you may not even realize it.
Speaker 2:I could just imagine a deep urban environment where there's lots of road noise. It could drive you batty early in the morning, and what a difference a good night's sleep would make. Excellent. Well, tell us, mark, how can listeners learn more about Acoustic Oasis?
Speaker 3:Or how do they contact you? Well, they can easily visit our website at acousticaloasisca to learn more about our services and view our blogs that discuss a lot about the soundproofing process. You can also contact us directly at 343-540-9838 or by email at info at acousticaloasisca, to schedule a free consult.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, Mark. It was a pleasure getting to know you today. Thanks for connecting with us and hope to see you out in the community soon.
Speaker 3:No, thank you so much, Sam. It was a great pleasure and I love what you do.
Speaker 2:Awesome, all the best.
Speaker 3:You too.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Capital Connections Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to CapitalConnectionsPodcastcom. That's CapitalConnectionsPodcastcom, or call 343-803-6268.