Bought a flat from hell. What now?

[LeonieLondon]

I changed name and posting here to get more advice. Sorry long post
I recently bought what I thought was my dream flat in Kensington. For the past 14 years i have worked hard and saved most of my money. finally got on a property ladder with my dp (soon to be dh). We were renting a very similar type of place for the past 3 years (a flat in a mansion block) and had a very good experience- no noise from neighbours, no disasters in the flat, no leaks, generally no problems.
Turns out my new dream flat in a ‘sought after and prestigious mansion block’ has got zero sound insulation, there are not only every day neighbour noises (tv, chatter, laughing) coming from right, left and below (we are top floor, i insisted on a top floor flat because i thought i wouldn’t hear the neighbours…)

• I can hear my neighbours boilers from every direction, imagine constant very loud amplified humming in your ear
• below neighbours are fans what seems to be drum and bass and i hear bass noise coming from their place every day
• said neighbours make my floor and walls shake when they walk- is this a structural fault? I can be sitting in my bed or on a sofa and it literally shakes
• i am pretty sure they can also hear us stomp even though we are quiet

-there is a gas meter in a cupboard of one of the bedrooms which makes a very loud ticking/clicking sound every 2 seconds, again so loud and amplified. It would be impossible to sleep there or work while heating is on or someone turns hot water on (never even noticed this when viewing, but having lived in a bedroom with a boiler cupboard in it i wouldn’t even suspect that would be a problem) I am not even THAT sensitive to noise but i feel i am spiralling into paranoia.

• the fucking helicopters?!?! There is a heliport in battersea over the other side of the river…

We are meant to be putting new floor with sound proofing but given that neighbours play drum and bass i think the sound will travel through walls and chimneys anyway?
I don’t want to be here, it’s a complete disaster. I am now paranoid about every sound and movement
Any advice please? Move? Wait? Do i even bother changing the floors, spending £15k+ on new floors only to discover no noise change?
I feel like this mansion block compared with the one i lived is so flimsy.
I feel no joy from buying anything new for the house- it shouldn’t be like this :(

How is your block managed? Sorry, you probably mentioned that already, but did you speak to the management firm/residents reps or whoever is in charge? They could ask your neighbours to do something about the noise, as as pp said, that should be against the lease terms and they might not even be aware of it. There are all kinds of 'bass traps' they could install. It might be even the easiest and cheapest way for you to fix the issue by covering the cost for something in their flat to stop the noise, like giving them a squishy mat for their sound bar as a 'neighbourly present'.

@Grida

I think it might be anxiety over buying a new place and spending so much money. I had the same thing when I bought a property(totally stressed about tube noise, neighbours etc.) I didn’t notice any noise when I was renting. I would give it 6months to a year before spending any money on soundproofing. I researched loads of sound proofing solutions and got people to quote but delayed going ahead with it. After a while I stopped noticing the noise and now I think it is pretty quiet and that it was largely a reaction to the stress of moving and parting with all that money.

I totally agree with this. I moved from a beautuful flat I'd not long completely refurbished to a delapidated house. I felt so much financial guilt, hated how the previous owners had left it, couldn't see an end to any of it and questioned what on earth I had been thinking! A couple of years on I've renovated most of it and it feels like home and I get why I moved. Don't ever punish yourself for being aspirational by moving - it's a quality to want to improve things and another to actually make it happen. I'd commit to a couple of years and see how you feel. Whatever happens it sounds like a great investment that will make you money if you sell. I've heard sound proofing doesn't always live up to expectations but simple things like curtains etc help.

If the jealous lot in this thread live in the suburbs it's no wonder people are moving into noisy flats in London to escape them looool. What a bunch of losers, bet they tell their mates to wear the shit top so they feel better about themselves. Bet they're the most active on their local Facebook neighbourhood watch group. Bet they complain about fireworks at Midnight on New Years Eve. Bet they do their kids homework so they don't look bad (Feel free to carry on the bants)...

Anyway, STFU and let me find out what soundproofing normal people recommend please LOL.
What soundproofing do you (non haters) recommend? I've looked into floating floors, mass loaded vinyl and a few others but it's hard to find reviews. Some of them are good for impact but not airborne noise or vice versa, some of them only suitable for timber or concrete etc soundproofing is overwhelming but having a look at the different systems is a must! I would love to hear what systems others have used.

Congratulations to the OP for buying your new beautiful property. Winter is a bitch in flats, summer won't be as bad and it's like the whole vibe changes. Read through multiple forums and ring a load of soundproofing stores to get an idea of what you might need and PLEASE update here or PM me when you get it done. I'm looking into soundproofing my first floor maisonette floor, so I'll do the same

Never invest in a yurt. No soundproofing. Nuff said.

Noise definitely fades with time.
I purchased my dream house and the A road 2 fields away was all I could hear, I wanted to cry at night it was terrible.
It fades without you even noticing it’s faded- hang in there x

Zombie thread @Micro1 — might be better to start a new one so more people see your query

@LemonJuiceFromConcentrate

Zombie thread *@Micro1* — might be better to start a new one so more people see your query

well, the last post from the OP is only 8 weeks ago, and she said she would update in a few weeks or months, so... not really a zombie.

Most noise doesnt fade over time.

also dont spend on floors, it will insulate your downstairs neighbours from you but not you from them, sadly.

It's a mansion flat in Kensington, sell it on and do more research before buying again.

Did you talk to your noisy neighbours, op? What did they say?

I hope things are better for you now and that you're getting used to the noise...

@LeonieLondon hoping things have improved? I’m moving into a new house in the summer and am totally paranoid about the noise. Fingers crossed things got better for you 🤞🏼

I found that soundproofing walls to be effective but if your neighbors play loud music soundproofing won't stop it because it seeps through air bricks etc.

I would ask the neighbors (especially the noisy ones) if they hear you or anything else? They might take the hint but I doubt it.

But really as there are other things that you cannot bear I would sell up and find a purpose built apartment block. My friend is in one in London and there is no noise at all.

Most noise doesnt fade over time.

I disagree with that. I once lived directly under a busy flight path near the airport (to the point the windows also rattled when a plane was coming/going). At first, it was incredibly noisey and was all you heard, it woke you up etc. Then after a while you genuinely didn’t notice it at all unless someone on the other end of the phone indicated they couldn’t hear you due to flight noise or you had guests over who were stunned and kept pointing it out. You just get used to it and it becomes background noise your brain filters out.

Should have added, several years after I moved out the Govnt put in double glazing for all houses under the flight path up to a certain distance away from airport so not sure what difference that made inside the house.

Sorry wrong thread

Your DP is unreasonable in refusing to consider outside Kensington. It's not that special or unique an area and comes off as weird and snobby.

Noise is a funny one, some noise you absolutely get used to and some you just know you can't. I suspect you'll get used to the boilers and the gas meter and the helicopters but maybe not the neighbours.

I lived for too long on a main road in London and my red line for our new place was absolutely no main roads. I did get used to it in terms of being able to sleep, but only with the window closed - which made summer annoying. The flipside is the old place (concrete, ex-council) had no neighbour noise whatsoever, so hearing other people's chatter and music was quite startling when we moved. But I think in London you need to put up with ordinary chatty noise and a reasonable amount of music too - after all I also play music and hope the neighbours are fine with it.

But it shouldn't be a big deal to pop round and ask nicely if they could lower the volume, especially at certain times. I would do that, then give yourself a chance to get acclimatised to the rest.

I'm honestly staggered that if you can afford a place like that you wouldn't want a house after experiencing lockdown not everyone wants a detatched identikit house in the suburbs with a garden

Could we have an update if you feel like it @LeonieLondon?

Noise like you've described is very upsetting and if it's in your home you feel like you can't escape and the matter amplifies in more ways than one. Some people have given you really good advice including waiting a while to see if you can get used to it.

I agree about the helicopter noise. It's not bad here at the moment because demonstration season hasn't truly started. But give it a month and the nicer weather...

I don't object to people gathering for demonstrations near my neighbourhood. I knew about the history before I moved here and had been on the odd march before. I'm proud that it's a traditional area of protest but I sometimes question the need for police helicopters to be hovering in a static position for eight hours or more. I suspect they might be operating on a "use it or lose it" approach to funding rather than operational need.

I can mostly ignore it but if I walk three minutes down the end of my street I can hear what people are upset about. Living in an expensive house isn't much consolation when you can't have the windows open or sit in the garden without shouting.

I am sympathetic but there are lots of comments on my local FB from envious people who don't live in the exact area of the "my diamond shoes are too tight" variety. My near-neighbours should ignore them and you should too.

This site has some good advice and practical solutions.
I haven't used this company myself when tackling my own noise issues but the site is comprehensive and helpful.

www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/

Become a fan of drumbeat and base and then they turn it off to go to bed turn yours on.

Yes, hope you are finding it easier now.

Didn't you notice any sounds when you were viewing?

Probably North Kensington in the hood 😂

@AldiCandlesArePerfectlyLovely

Noise definitely fades with time. I purchased my dream house and the A road 2 fields away was all I could hear, I wanted to cry at night it was terrible. It fades without you even noticing it’s faded- hang in there x

True that noise becomes less noticeable, we once lived next to a newspaper printers, our bedroom window was about 4 feet from their always open windows, it was on the Med. They printed 6 days a week from about 3am, except Sunday, after a couple of weeks it never bothered us or, eventually , our new baby. However if they missed a weekday for a public holiday we woke up at 3am because there was no noise!