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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

For those who live in a semi-detached house....

169 replies

Afternooninthepark · 17/08/2019 22:21

Do you/can you hear your neighbours very much?
I ask because we have lived in our semi for nearly 20 years. Our next door neighbour lived on his own and wasn’t there much. When he was at home he was very quiet and we would hardly hear him. Sadly, he died 2 years ago and the house has been empty ever since.
However, when his family come down and stay (the house has been up for sale the last 18 months and they stay from time to time) they make so, so much noise it drives me insane. They watch the tv at a really high volume, the seem to talk really loudly and have 2 dogs who yap all the time and they seem to stomp around the house, we definitely know when they are next door.
The house is now sold and our new neighbours (a couple in their 30’s, no children) are due to move in any time.
In all sense and purpose it has been like living in a detached house for the last 20 years and it’s going to take some time to get used to hearing people going about there every day.
Before that we both came from our childhood homes which were detached.
So I’m just wondering if you hear your neighbours much? Are they noisy or do you just get used to it?
Silly, I know but I’m getting quite anxious about having neighbours.

OP posts:
akmum18 · 17/08/2019 22:37

I can hear everything, it’s slowly making me lose the plot, I also have very loud neighbours with loud dogs and constant shouting and banging - would prefer it if it was general family and children noise but they are a middle aged couple with no children! I would always recommend detached in the middle of a field Grin

Original poster
Afternooninthepark · 17/08/2019 22:39

I’m saying all this but the poor couple will probably hear us more tbh! Ds is 14 and dd 11 and they currently love winding each other up, I’m forever breaking up squabbles etc. Yeah, so good luck new neighbours 😆

OP posts:
WalkAwaySugarbear · 17/08/2019 22:39

I know what you mean, when we moved in next door was vacant for 4yrs until someone moved in. A couple that had screaming matches and the young daughter that was so loud. After they moved out we don't hear a peep from our new neighbour's, their 2 small children are so quiet, I feel like we must be the annoying noisy neighbour's.

partofyoupoursoutofme · 17/08/2019 22:40

We live in a semi, family of 6 next door. We can hear them but only at particular times of the day. When all the teens are watching tv together we can hear them laughing and shouting at each other but can't make out actual words. It's nice because they are rarely negative, it's usually happy family noise which I will never mind tbh.

We moved here from a mid terrace, living next door to a person who was pretty abusive to their dc and it was horrendous. It really depends who the neighbours are imho.

GrimGirl · 17/08/2019 22:41

Early 1970s semi here. We hear everything. Even the rooms not attached to us. I can hear them running a bath, dog yapping, baby crying, toddler grizzling, tone of thier conversation (happy/arguing) hear them having sex both the bed going and other sounds and tbh I wouldn't class them as noisy shaggers, opening wardrobes snd rumaging around, guess which TV program they are watching, up and down stsirs, vacuum, washer, music.

It's fucking shit tbh.

Troels · 17/08/2019 22:42

Ours is a 70's semi and we have a family with three primary age children living attached to our house. We rarely hear them, unless they are in the garden.

Redshoeblueshoe · 17/08/2019 22:42

We never hear anything from next door, and they have a toddler

JellyfishAndShells · 17/08/2019 22:43

Depends on build type and date . My mother downsized from a detached after my father died, to a 70s built semi. Her hearing was going slightly so she wasn’t bothered about the normal life noises audible from the very nice neighbours, with small children , but as time went on, I urged her to either turn down the TV and radio or get a hearing aid : it must have been loud for them coming through the walls :/

I live in a Victorian terrace and the only thing I hear is when plugs are out in on the adjoining walls?

SerenDippitty · 17/08/2019 22:43

Yes. Often sounds like a herd of elephants on the stairs. Also they’ve knocked together their kitchen and dining room and I hear her heels clacking on the tiled floor because it’s more echoey in there. And they are all just loud.

Original poster
Afternooninthepark · 17/08/2019 22:43

God, I hope we won’t hear them having sex, both my kids rooms are next to the neighbours bedrooms, I’ll have to get them earplugs!

OP posts:
SerenDippitty · 17/08/2019 22:44

1930s semi btw.

Twinklycandlelight · 17/08/2019 22:45

Happened to my mum, new neighbours very noisy.
Put up book shelves, they deaden the sound brilliantly.

looondonn · 17/08/2019 22:46

Yes sadly

Could hear everything
Strangely he used to get sick first thing every morning so usually at 6am that always woke me up

The wife was always shouting st her son to be quiet :/

They were lovely people for sure just the early morning wake up was pretty dreadful

WitsEnding · 17/08/2019 22:47

I live in a 1930s terrace. My neighbours both sides are quiet, I can just hear their TVs/music if it is loud and mine is off - perhaps once a month. Households include a teenager and visiting grandchildren of junior school age, all very well behaved.

DragonMamma · 17/08/2019 22:47

Up until 18 mo ago, we lived in a semi. Our NDN was an elderly woman. We could hear her TV (because she was as deaf as a post) and we couldn’t ever have it on the same channel as she clearly watched it on SD and we had HD so there was a slight timing issue as a result - so we’d hear her tv before ours caught up!

Other than that we didn’t hear much but I think that’s because she was just a bit frail and didnt make much noise.

Like you though OP, I had anxieties about her dying and a noisy lot moving in next door (I cannot stand noise) so we moved in to our current home, which is detached.

I didn’t realise just how anxious I was about noise until I wasn’t spending time anticipating it.

harrypotterfan1604 · 17/08/2019 22:48

My neighbour is a lunatic who screams at her child all the time so yeah we hear it. Because of her constant noise we don’t make a big effort to be quiet.
Before this house we lived in a mid terrace and barely heard our neighbours on either side at all

AliceAbsolum · 17/08/2019 22:49

Urgh yes. The child next door screams most evenings. It's upsetting.

Witchend · 17/08/2019 22:50

I used to be mid terrace and we could hear when the neighbours one side walked upstairs because our stairs creaked too, and we could hear the TV of our (rather deaf) neighbour the other side.
However I reckoned the latter was to our advantage as she could never hear us if she needed the TV that loud.

OrangeJustice · 17/08/2019 22:51

The most we hear of next door is the dogs tail thumping against the wall in waggy joy when the dad gets home from work. Makes me smile every day.

theSnuffster · 17/08/2019 22:51

We can hear lots through our walls. But that just means they can hear us too! Previous neighbours were very quiet.... so I was in for a shock the day after the current neighbours moved in when I heard the Mum tell her son to go get her some toilet roll because she'd had a poo! Lovely. It did become a problem when their toddler had her TV on loud each night until the early hours as it kept our DD awake.

CheshireChat · 17/08/2019 22:52

We've moved to a terraced property and I was dreading it, but it's actually ok.

Sure, I could hear next door when they had guests over, but they were perfectly considerate.

And the other side has a small, yappy dog that seems to hate us still, but it's made to shut up and probably walked quite a lot as well

We're probably the noisy ones!

TheCanyon · 17/08/2019 22:52

60s built concrete box semi. Only time I hear neighbours is if they have a workman in or the hoovers on. Can occasionally here the tv if the kids aren't home.

Bloody love them.

JellyfishAndShells · 17/08/2019 22:53

The most we hear of next door is the dogs tail thumping against the wall in waggy joy when the dad gets home from work. Makes me smile every day.

That would make me smile too !

Dippypippy1980 · 17/08/2019 22:54

I hear lots of noise from next door, and every word of every row. She does not like his mum at all😂.

They yell and sing and slam doors and explode up and down the stairs.

They have a baby now (whose conception I am am sure I heard🤢) so the yelling and singing and door slamming onto happens during the day.

BelgianWhistles · 17/08/2019 22:55

I live in a Victorian mid-terrace and can hardly hear a thing either side, but then both neighbours live alone. When they have guests round, you can hear them but it’s not unbearable.

I grew up in a post-war semi-detached with a large family next door and we never heard a thing from them. We were good friends with them so we knew they were a loud family- the walls must have been very good at absorbing sound!