1920s/'30s Semi, noise?

[jakesmith]

My DW and I have been thinking about moving slightly further out from London for a while now mainly as we live in an area that suffers from aircraft noise and also I get bothered in our flat by the general noise of the lift, upstairs neighbours clumping about, the people next door etc. nobody is being inconsiderate but the noises just bother me and I can't block them out in fact they bother me increasingly as I become more tune into them, I wish they didn't but it's subconscious.

We've been looking for a while in a suburban area and just got gazumped on a beautiful detached house. We've just found another but it is a 20's or 30's semi detached. It's quite big (1900 sq feet, 4 bedrooms) and none of the bedrooms or main living rooms are adjoining in fact it's halls adjoining. Also the master bedroom is in the loft and the neighbours haven't had a loft conversion. Even the loft is insulated from the neighbours side by the bathroom and hall.

Can anyone give me their thoughts and experiences on how well sound insulated these types of properties are, and opinions on whether this is a good idea or if we should wait for a smaller but detached house to come up? I'm really nervous that we might move in and it won't solve my problem. Obviously we will say hello to the neighbours when we view it again and try and get a feel from them I how well the properties are sound insulated, and whether they are quiet or noisy people!

Thanks!

As you have such sensitivity to noise, do not buy an attached house.

Jake, I am the same. Having lived in a 1920's terraced house, where I could hear the neighbour pulling her curtains, using the toilet, being sick etc, I also tuned into to their noise and became ill along with it. It took over my life. My next house was a detached and I swore I would never live adjoined again.

Twenty years later, following a move overseas, I am back in a semi and I could cry. Whilst we have a lovely neighbour, my anxiety over the noise developing to an intrusive level has come back. I am currently looking to move as I know it's the only thing that will take this feeling away.

I agree with deepfried, buy a detached if you can - although it is encouraging that only the hallways and non major bedrooms are adjoining.

we rented in a new build mid terrace town house for 2 years and it was torture, so i understand.

our tiny 30s semi has x2 bedrooms, dining room and living room adjoining. i can honestly say im never really disturbed and we love a quiet house (never have telly on, low radio or music for about an hour in the early evening ending by 9 pm when DD goes to bed), so i would definitely hear theirs- only can hear the husband talking loudly on the phone every so often and maybe sport noises on tv weeks apart.

we also have our bed on the opposite wall to the adjoining wall. that might help.

i really think you should wait though, too big a decision to have niggles with and you never really know until you live there for a while. we may have been lucky with our semi.

Our 1930s semi is fine too, even with adjoining lounges/bedrooms, but then it sounds like you (and no photo) may be way more sensitive. Do you know who the neighbours are? If it's an older couple like ours you could be fine. A young family might be more of an issue. Our neighbours probably hear us more than we hear them!

OP, this house sounds fine in itself, BUT remember the garden! surely in a semi yo uwill always here neighbours when they party or play radio or just talk in their garden, and if they have dc- you can imagine!
Definitely buy detached if you are lucky enough to be able tot afford it

We are selling our 1930s semi and buying detached. Our neighbours are generally quiet but the bedrooms are very bad for transmitting sound - we can hear them cough at night, hear the wardrobe door squeak when then open it, and hear them raise and lower their blinds. On the one and only occasion there was a squabble we could hear it word for word. Awful. I shudder to think what it would be like if they were noisy!! These 1930s places are often solid walls (ie, no cavity between double walls) and the only way to improve things would be to spend thousands on sound insul.

OP, if you can possibly buy detached, even if it means a wait for the right place, just do it and remove the possibility of party wall noise (and hassle) in the future.

Buy a detached if if you are sensitive to noise.

IME in older flats and terraces you do hear a lot of everyday noise from neighbours.

Buy a detached house it makes a massive difference and you don't have to tip toe around.

We've got a 30's semi and our lovely neighbours swore they couldn't hear us and our very shrill toddler. I believed them because we don't hear a peep out of them. One day my husband took said shrill toddler round theirs and I could hear her as clear as a bell, embarrassing!

As it sounds like you can afford a detached house, I think I'd focus on finding one rather than a semi.

I've lived in various semis and terraced and each one is different. I'm currently in a 1910 terraced house and barely hear the neighbours. But I spent a decade in a 1930s semi and could hear the adjoining neighbours cough and I never dared play music except in the kitchen which was on the outside wall. It didn't feel very private. I knew that any conversation we had in the rooms that adjoined the neighbours might be overheard as I could hear them talking.

going by friends' houses and places we have lived IME
houses pre 1920s are pretty good for sound insulation, 1930s and later aren't.

I would go detached if you are sensitive to noises and can afford it.

You sound like my DH, whereby you are concious of every noise.

We are in a detached now and would never contemplate moving back to an adjoined house.

surely in a semi yo uwill always here neighbours when they party or play radio or just talk in their garden

This would be the same in a detached house, unless it's in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours :)

My 1930s semi, rooms adjoining, semi is fine for noise. Obviously there i some but it is nowhere near as bad as the 1960s flat I used to have. If I were buying another house, it would be detached though.

We never hear our neighbours unless I'm being excessively quiet. Unfortunately they can hear us and our two small children. They're generally fine about it, but our adjoining walls are the living rooms and then the two main bedrooms. Next time we move, I want detached. I feel quite oppressed by the knowledge that they can hear pretty much everything we do.

Sorry, we are a thirties semi.

Also in a 30s semi, rooms adjoining, and not bothered by neighbour noise. Yeah, we can hear them when they have a screaming row, and the teenage son's drumming phase was a bit of a pain (lasted about a month) but they're generally considerate, and I guess I'm not hypersensitive to sounds. I certainly don't worry about privacy, and I am a very private person, but we are also a quiet household, so I'd be very surprised if our noise transmitted much to neighbours.

Costs about £1000 to sound insulate a wall. Might be an option.

Thanks for all the replies! We went to see the house but it was on far too busy a road, seems high risk if we'd be having kids cos u only have to open the door for a second and if one of them runs out it doesn't bear thinking about!

We spent £1500 soundproofing a wall in our flat and it wasn't worth it- only a slight reduction in noise as sound travels along joists, ceiling etc. I woulnt recomend that.

In my view you neec to view each house without following a 'rule' - we are in a 1930s semi. Can occasionally hear their children crying etc if our house is quiet.

1900s end terrace - could hear neighbours easily (in fact our bsby monitor somehow picked up their signal occasionally and ee could hear them singing lullabys totheir baby!)

1960s semi - never heard a peep snd they said the same about us (even though they had 2 dogs and we had new born twins).

1990s end mews - again never heard anything, they had 3 rowdy children and we were child free at the time so often had lie-ins at weekend etc those were the days

Sorry, got longwinded. Just wanted to say it really depends on the individual house rather than presuming that all 30s semis will be the same.

Just moved out of 1930,s house, I could hear Coronation Street theme music, phone ringing and alarm clock that had been left ringing and a ticking clock through the wall. If noise bothers you buy detached.

Re. Soundproofing and houses/flats. I'm hyper sensitive to noise and over the years I realise that it all depends on the neighbours!

I could have written this. I’ve been in a similar situation before. We ended up going for the attached house. The neighbours seemed nice and it was mostly attached at the hall, so I assumed all would be fine. It wasn’t. Not worth the risk in my opinion.

1930’s, we have wardrobes on the shared wall and our bed on the opposite side, we can still hear lots from neighbours (tv, music, singing, shouting). We’re on the look out for an affordable detached.

Depends on the house. I never hear my neighbours through the wall and assumed the house must be really soundproof. Then one week they went on hols and got some young relatives to house sit. Jesus christ, I could hear everything, they came back drunk and were shouting at 1am! I realised my neighbours must just be really quiet - I hope they never sell up 😅

I have lived in my 1930s house for 25 years - the noise is horrendous from my neighbour's,and I've had several neighbours over the years!I go through the same old nonsense when they have told me I bang my doors etc I have to tell them I hear when their alarm goes off in the morning,their loud conversations etc and they are shocked!The new ones, actually complained to the Environmental Health officer,I invited him over and he arrived when the neighbour was home with her husband and children!
Anyway,I was told they would receive a letter regarding the officer's findings!I put up with a lot of noise on a daily basis,and these new neighbours are so selfish,but now they now, what I have to put up with and yet they don't try to be considerate,so I have to sell up and move to a detached house!