Anyone live in a semi detached

[tink123]

Hi, we are looking at a semi detached built in 1970's. We live in 100 year old terrace at present, so walls are thick and we rarely hear the neighbours.

Does anyone live in a modern-ish semi? Is the noise really bad? Do you like living in a semi.

[laiyan]

my parents used to live in one we we were kikds. you can hear stuff, but you just have to ignore it

[tink123]

how quick are you to answer :) Thanks for that.

[belledechocchipcookie]

I live in one that was built in the 1980s, it's hell. I can hear the neighbours coughing/flushing the chain/closing their patio doors. It's especially annoying when they are arguing at 1am. I'd check that it has very good sound insulation before even considering it.

[WhollyGhost]

I live in a 1960s semi, I've never heard a sound from next door. I think it depends on the builder and style of house as much as anything.

[Jojocat]

Ours is around 1980 and we don't hear them talking but hear shower, dishwasher. Our neighbours are very quiet so we don't have many problems but I worry more that they hear us!

I think if I were buying a semi again I'd look for halls adjoining so that when you were in the sitting room you would be further from the neighbours and less likely to bother each other with noise.

On the positive side you get a lot of house for your money with houses built in 70s/80s. New build probably have more noise coming through, smaller rooms and smaller gardens. victorian houses have more character but are a lot more expensive to buy/maintain/heat.

[BehindLockNumberNine]

We live in a semi built in 1953. We can only hear our neighbours if they are in the room directly next to us and are having a heated discussion / laughing etc.
It was a bit of a shock to us, we had previously been in a victorian semi and heard much less of the neighbours.
However, the noise is the trade off - we have gained a lighter more spacious house, a driveway and a garage.
I am learning to ignore the noise (and it is far from excessive, just the normal noises of a nice family with two children).

[NightLark]

Late '50s / early '60s semi dweller here.

And yes, you can hear the neighbours through the walls. It's not as bad as the naff Edwardian terrace we had before this though. You could hear next door blowing their noses/farting/opening cupboards etc etc.

Here, my children now say 'Poor [next door's babygirl] crying again' at bedtime. And I loath the sound of their computer games on the telly they fixed to the party wall. Talking, laughing etc is no problem at all, but some noises are more tolerable than others. I would not buy a semi again out of choice unless it was halls-together or had VERY thick walls.

[Ormirian]

1930's semi. So older but same principle. We tend to only hear hammering type noises - ie DIY. I think they might hear a bit more from us though We are a high-volume family although I am working on it....

[LisMcA]

Mid 80's semi here. Only noise we get is from the stairs, our houses are mirror images of each other so I find it slightly better that they must hear us all the time too.

However, our old neighbours in the same house were a nightmare, parties, loud music, shouting at all hours. We also think they were supplying partaking in illeagal substances, quick call to the local rozzers sorted them out though :o. We live in a really nice area guv, honest! You can get alsorts everywhere.

[littlerats]

Ours is a 1950s semi. I never hear anything. Well, that's a lie, the one time I did hear something was when they were having a new boiler fitting and there was hammering on the party wall, but they had come around to tell me about this beforehand.
Previous house was a late 1980s end of terrace and I could hear next door ALL the time, everything they did. I could also sometimes hear the house once removed (the other side of the immediate neighbours) when they played music. It was horrid.
Totally depends on how well the house is constructed I reckon.

[Lorelai]

1960s semi - we can hear them moving around upstairs occasionally but not inrusively. We are much more noisy (3yr old and 6 month old) - after the baby was born I bumped into the woman and apologised for the crying etc and that I hoped it didn't disturb them, she said 'we can only hear her when we are awake' (she meant it in the sense of not waking them up!)

[Aworryingtrend]

Our last house was a a 1970s semi. The adjoining house belonged to an elderly couple so the only thing we ever heard was their tv turned up loud occasionally, but we would only hear this if our house was very quiet at the time ie no tv/music/talking at same time. I think key for me would be who the neighbours are. I would definitely live next to an elderly couple again but would think twice about young people (parties) or large families.

[Honneybunny]

ours is a 1950s semim former local authority. very solidly built, and we don't usually hear anything from next door, even though it is a family with 4 children. most have left the parental home now, but even during their teenage years we did not usually hear a sound.

[MoreBeta]

We lived in a 1930s semi for a while. It was badly built because of the 1930s Depression. Basically power station cinder ash mixed with cement and no cavity wall. We never heard our next door neighbour apart from their TV if our house was totally silent. Lived in a 1990s terrace new build too and never heard noise.

[LakeFlyPie]

Our last house was a 1960s semi and the noise from neighbours was awful, sometimes like they were in the same room.
They very kindly maintained that they didn't hear DS1 as a baby (who was really colicky and cried a lot during 1st 4 months) - it can't have been true unless they were all very hard of hearing!

We now live in a 1930s semi and have a young family next door and we don't hear a thing.
2 chimneys with associated chimney breasts really help.

Definitely think it depends on the build quality and lay out of the house.

[mylovelymonster]

Our semi was built around 1972, and we love it. We can hear the hoover next door if it's very quiet, otherwise never hear anything from next door. We do have lovely neighbours tho. No stereos blasting.
The really good things about it are size of rooms, garden,driveway, garage, distance apart from other houses, leafy cul-de-sac - feeling of space and quiet spot which we couldn't get elsewhere for the money.

[AchtungBaby]

We live in a semi-detached house that was built in 1997 (IIRC). We rarely hear our neighbours (who have 1 child) at all.

[MyNameIsCaz]

We have a 1958 Maunders built semi and only hear next door if they are hammering diy etc, we used to be in a 1920s semi we could hear next doors conversations sometimes!

[sedgiebaby]

Mine is early 80's never hear them and they are LOUD in the garden is another matter.

[mistlethrush]

I would never get one with the bedrooms adjoining again - that was not good. But live in one now where the main living rooms are not adjoining - which is fine. And not had problems with other neighbours playing music loudly in the garden since the day I joined in (quite loudly)(it was a tune I wanted to sing along to, honest )

[tyler80]

We are just about to buy a 1950s semi (ex-local authority). The layout is such that there are only 2 rooms that share a wall with the neighbours so I don't expect to hear them very often.

At any rate, it's bound to be better than our current house (1920s) where every room bar the bathroom shares a wall, and those walls are thin enough that you can hear them scraping their plates after meals. This is all compounded by the fact that they spend half their lives screaming at each other.

So as others have said, I think it depends very much on the style, age and layout of the property.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

1960's semi. I'm noise (over)sensitive and I do find it a problem where I suspect others wouldnt. Was woken up last night by them laughing and generally enjoying life. I was very grumpy at the time but now its daytime feel more reasonable about it. Bit sad if they can't have a laugh without their neighbour being a mardy cow. thank goodness I didnt act out my feelings!

[Isthreetoomany]

1970s semi. The only thing we hear through the wall is the faint sound of their hoover.

[Sultanaofswing]

1950s semi. Right now I can hear the sound of next door's radio, in fact it's on 24 hours a day. But I don't mind - noise doesn't seem to bug me if I 'approve' of the activity. With previous neighbours there were (ahem) lifestyle differences leading to threats of legal action and stand up rows until they moved. That was in flats though, not a semi.

Yes, I like living in a semi. It feels very settled and family-friendly.

[Mandy21]

Agree completely that it depends on style / layout / builder of the house. I don't think (from my experience) you can say its better / worse in any type of house (apart from detached - obviously!)

1st floor flat - ex council (about 1960s) - could hear the elderly gentleman who lived below me snoring all night

1900s tiny end terrace (adjacent bedrooms / sitting room) - couldn't hear a thing

2000 brand new semi - lived next door to a family with 2 children and 2 massive dogs - never heard a thing

1960s semi detached - didn't hear anything

1900s end terrace / semi - could hear everything (and our baby monitor picked up everything that happened in the neighbour's new baby's bedroom (!!) for about a week until we worked out how to stop it)

1930s semi detached - can hear next door if they're singing (to their babies), shouting etc but generally its not instrusive