| Construction
The Verana Okanagan is built with a combination of concrete walls and ceilings as well as wood
frame construction. The ground floor level is constructed completely of concrete for the common walls,
with the interior framing being wood framing. The second, third and fourth floors are all double 2x4
walls, the common walls between suites are 2 full 2x4 walls with an inch of air space for sound barrier
and the corridor walls are double 2x4s offset on a 2x6 plate. The floor of the second floor is solid
concrete, the floors of the third and fourth floors are made of a 30" engineered truss system combined
with 1 ½" of concrete topping under the finish floor above and an "Iso Max" clip, a special sound
barrier clip. The Iso Max clip works by isolating the ceiling drywall from the engineered truss cord,
thereby stopping the sound waves from penetrating from one floor to the other.
Exterior
The Verana Okanagan is protected on the exterior of the building with acrylic stucco. We chose this
product due to its increased insulation value, durability, aesthetic appeal as well as resistance to
staining and cracking. It offers superior mold and mildew resistance, is water repellant and easily
maintained and repaired with consistency of shading. For our window selection, we chose
All Weather Windows 3550 HyDistinction
Series Casement style windows with "Sun Stop" Low E and Argon gas filled for superior insulating
values. The windows offer the convenience of PVC on the inside, no painting, colour consistency, and
the durability of aluminum cladding on the outside. Triple weather stripping offers superior protection
from wind and water infiltration.
Soundproofing
Here at The Verana Okanagan, soundproofing is a very large concern for us. For the common walls, we
chose to use two 2x4 wall systems with a ½" air barrier between. As you know, sound waves travel
through solid connections, therefore with the absence of solid paths for the sound to travel; there is
no transfer of sounds. For the floor systems, we used a 30" engineered truss system in combination with
1 ½" of concrete topping under the finish floor above and an "Iso Max" clip, a special sound
barrier clip. The Iso Max clip works by isolating the ceiling drywall from the engineered truss cord,
thereby stopping the sound waves from penetrating from one floor to the other.
Heating
The Verana Okanagan uses an air source heat pump as our primary heating source. Please visit the
following link to
BC Hydro's Power
Smart website for further details on how this system works. We also have a back up heat source, a
ceiling mounted high efficiency electric furnace mounted in the walk in closet areas in most of the
suites in our project.
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