Which property periods have the best sound proofing?

[AntiHop]

We live in a flat and we're looking to move to a house. I've read so many stories on here about people being able to hear their neighbours in their bedrooms. Children crying, arguments, having sex. I'm really nervous about moving to a house and sharing a bedroom wall with a neighbour just in case the sound proofing is bad. We don't share a bedroom wall with our neighbours in our flat.

What age of property has the best sound proofing in your experience?

[Maggy74653]

It's worth looking at the layout of the house. We lived in a new build, which generally you think are bad, however ours was a row of three and our house attached to the other house via the stairs, bathroom and kitchen, which is unusual. It meant we heard very little from the neighbours, apart from occasional running up and down stairs.

[NotCitrus]

Our 1980 maisonette was very well designed and each alternate one in the row staggered so on the whole bedrooms were over kitchens not living rooms, and next to bathrooms (so slight issue from extractor fans or radios in showers but not from othe bedrooms).
Now in Victorian-design semi and the stairwells are in the centre of the house so only 1 of 4 bedrooms is next to the other house.

I'd look at any house and see if a master bedroom can be placed not adjacent to a neighbour, and then it should be all right. My children sleep through anything (good when granny-flat tenant has a party, less so for fire alarms which most children sleep through!)

[scaryteacher]

Detached ones!

[witwootoodleoo]

My Georgian house is so well soundproofed that you can't call between rooms as the sound just doesn't travel

[dudsville]

I'm in a 1930's (detached) house. The internal walls are made of brick. If you're above the living room you can hear voices or the tv, but if you're int he next room over can't hear a thing. So I'd imagine that terraced houses of the same make would be great.

I moved out of 1860's terraced houses that were known for being poorly built. I heard everything, inside, next door, outside, in the next town.....

[Miniwookie]

I live in a 1920s semi. Brick walls between us and next door and we can hear them sneeze! Also terrible sound insulation between rooms. Unfortunate as I have 5 dc. I lived in a 10yo terraced townhousr before this and the sound insulation was great. Grew up in a 70s house where you could hear everything from next door. Best thing is to get a semi with the halls adjoining as a pp suggested.

[kernowgal]

Not 1950s ex-council if mine is anything to go by! I can hear them hammering up and down the steps, playing music (not particularly loudly), having conversations, hoovering... Our hallways adjoin but I'm convinced it's just a single-skin brick wall between us and it's hopeless.

Detached next time, no question. Or thick, solid walls (although this usually means damp in this neck of the woods).

[kernowgal]

Should add: the other walls are concrete and the sound just travels down them. I hear their music down my walls. Drives me mad.

[wonkylegs]

Sorry to burst bubbles about detached but you still need to be careful with these; new build ones can still have problems - my mums is detached and it's quite scary how much you can hear of the fairly average family next door. I suspect it's because although it's detached they are still fairly close (path width)and both houses are so poorly built.
Look at layout and construction, the more solid the build the better.
Our victorian semi is fab, we don't hear a thing from next door. I've also had a fab 1950's semi.
Our Edwardian terrace wasn't bad in most rooms but if you were in the hall/ on the stairs you could hear next door on the stairs (and that's where the teenagers liked to strop)

[BumWad]

1905 semi.

Stairs and hallway are joined.
Can hear walking along the hallway and talking but not when in living area. It's pretty loud sometimes

[Indaba]

Lived in Georgian terrace and victorian semi: both properties fab.....no noise at all. Got very very noisy noisy boys and current neighbours hadn't noticed elderly couple had moved out for 2 months!

[BackforGood]

Ours was built around 1895.
It's pretty soundproof, but that also comes with it being pretty wi-fi proof in various rooms.......

That said, our last house was built at end of 1960s, but they were on a small estate of self build houses - ie, the people who built them were also going to live in them. Excellent quality throughout

Agree with those who say it is more to do with the lay out though.
Plus, of course, being lucky with your neighbours.

[user1490828037]

Soundproofing = mass. The greater the mass the better the sound isolation / insulation.

Detached is better than semi is better than a flat however in crude terms older properties generally have greater sound insulation because the materials used were heaver. Modern properties however have to conform to Part E of the Building Regulations (sound) which regulates and measured sound insulation.

Once you have found a property speak to a building surveyor and take his/her advice.

Best of luck...

[AntiHop]

Thanks everyone that's really helpful.

[purplecollar]

In our 1960's detached bungalow (a bit ugly) I can't hear dh from the kitchen 5 feet away. It's very irritating when he's asking "do you want a cup of tea". But not nearly as irritating as the Victorian terrace we were in where we could hear pretty much every word from the neighbours. Our 1970's terrace, we could hear our ndn snoring at night, but we quite liked him so it didn't matter.

[Floggingmolly]

Edwardian here. Walls like cardboard...

[ImNotReallyReal]

My Victorian terrace was good. My current Edwardian townhouse has walls like paper.

My next house will be detached.

[SueGeneris]

Victorian semi here. Very good soundproofing but has the layout mentioned where the hallways/landings of the two houses are adjacent rather than bedrooms/living rooms.