Built In Patio Speakers

Patio Speakers Marty

Ceiling speakers are often installed inside the home but when our client was custom building their family lake house they wanted ceiling speakers installed into the sloped ceiling on the covered veranda on the front of the home.

Installing speakers in a ceiling covered with aluminum soffit can create many challenges. First off the aluminum can vibrate and buzz with the movement of the speakers. Next the speakers must be weatherproof and able to withstand the harsh climate changes we have in Alberta. Lastly the speaker grills must be able to handle UV exposure and not rust or fade in the sun.

We choose Proficient in-ceiling speakers with magnetic zero bezel grilles to blend in with the soffit and adjacent LED pot lights. Custom speakers boxes were built and installed into the framing during construction. The speaker boxes provide a solid, rigid mounting surface for the speakers.  Before the speakers are installed we insert insulation into each speaker box to tighten the bass response and isolate vibrations.

Our client streams music from Amazon, Apple and Pandora but his favorite source is Spotify. Sonos amps were selected to power the patio speakers and easily integrate the patio speakers with the rest of the speakers in the home.  The Sonos amplifiers can be controlled by App or Voice controlled with Alexa or Google Assistants. 

The final installation looks fantastic and sounds great. The speakers blend in beautifully with the soffit and don’t detract from the front view of the home.   At Ion we love hiding technology so it blends in with decor and is easy to operate and control.

Garage Break-Ins Are on the Rise

Garage break-ins are on the rise and one of the easiest ways thieves gain entry is using the keypad on the outside of the garage door.


If you have an exterior keypad on your garage door make sure you have a difficult code to guess or disconnect it from your door opener.

Never leave your garage overhead door open when cutting the grass or not in the garage. Never leave your garage door button in your vehicle parked outside. Always close your garage overhead door and Lock your car door and garage man door.

An alarm system is the best way to warn you of an attempted break-in and protect your family and property.

Another way to enhance the security of the garage door is to integrate the garage door with the alarm system so you can monitor the status of the door and open and close it using the Ion Smart Security App on your phone. Integrating the garage door with the security SYSTEM is SMART and you won’t even need the exterior garage keypad anymore … simply open and close the garage door using the App on your phone, tablet or even apple watch.

Another good way to increase the security of your garage is to add video cameras to the inside and outside of your garage. This way you can see whats happening on the inside and outside of your garage anytime.

If you want even tougher security Add a SMART Switch to turn off the power to the garage door opener when you ARM your Alarm system and turn on the power when you DISARM the Alarm system

If you’re going on a vacation turn off the power to your garage door opener or unplug it.

Don’t be a victim, garage break-ins are happening in your neighbourhood right now so lock your doors and take measures to protect yourself before something bad happens.