What should I do

[TheCoolestCucumber]

Ive posted about this before but just about my house .I live in a semi detached and walls are like paper I live near Coventry

I could afford to soundproof the whole house professionally but I bet it would be £10-15k job. Where I live detached houses are around £70-80k more which would probably be a mortgage increase of around £500 a month depending on term and I could afford but would be financially more difficult. With my semi detached after soundproofing I would have more money each month not having to pay a bigger mortgage.

Should I soundproof or push myself to go for a detached house?

I being unreasonable go for the detached
I not being unreasonable soundproof

Have you had someone from a soundproofing company do a survey and tell you what you can realistically expect?
In our case the joists ran between both houses, and noise travelled through them, not just the walls, so the money we spent soundproofing the wall was a total waste as it made no difference.

@Vroooooom yes (like then name!) and they reccomended I do both ceilings and walls but ive not had any work done yet

did you have just your wall done and the sound travelling through ceiling?

bump

Apart from the noise, do you like your house/street/area?

You have to put the sound issue aside as clearly an outlay of £15k or whatever for that is a better option than an extra £80k.

But what else would moving give you? Would you like a bigger house? Do you love your current house?

@MumbleBumbleAppleCrumble yes I like my house its just the soundproofing that is awful I think I can even hear my neighbours tap running its that bad if I sit in complete silence

Heard their microwave today

If you like where you live then it seems sensible not to move (and spend a lot more in the long run) to solve the one problem with the house. That said, someone else mentioned that their sound proofing didn’t solve the problem, so you need to get a proper idea of costs and whether the solution will work before you decide!

I'm just not sure spending 15k on soundproofing will see any return on investment if you come to sell. So if you plan to live there for many, many years to come then soundproof. If there is a chance of you selling in the short to medium term, go for the detached.

Agree with this.
If it’s not your ‘forever’ home then the improvement works should be viewed as an investment, and if no return on that then you need to decide how long you plan to be there anyway and how much you are willing to pay to delay moving.
But, it might be worth the investment in either case if the noise is so bad that you think it might put off potential buyers?

There will be sound anywhere you move, so how much are you trying to escape from? My noisiest neighbour is several houses along, they just live in their garden and like loud music. I live in a terrace and both houses next to me are a lot quieter. I don't really notice noises from things like aeroplanes and dogs, but my mum is always complaining, so depends how sensitive you are.

OP are you autistic?
Hyperacusis is highly prevalent in those of us on the autism spectrum (including me).

I personally wouldn't waste fifteen grand soundproofing your home. You're almost certainly going to have the same problem elsewhere.

Have you tried noise-cancelling headphones?

Link

im autistic and I hate sound

We soundproofed and it didn't make that much difference to be honest. If the houses share a chimney then it's most likely that the soundproofing won't be as effective as you would probably like it to be.

Ok good to know

The semi detached im in has 2 seperate chimneys but the living rooms and bedrooms are all right next to each other on the party wall

I'm also autistic and I'm the same.
The house I live in now doesn't have a party wall and we're in a tiny, remote village.
It's blissful.

yep just cant decide whether to soundproof or stretch for a detached

I would definitely say stretch for a detached! My dad spent £15k soundproofing his flat and it made hardly any difference. He ended up moving shortly afterwards to a detached place and lost that £15k as it doesn’t add value to the property. At least if you buy a more expensive property you have the asset.

Depends if you intend to stay there. Might be worth asking an estate agent if the cost would add to the value of your property….