When was this house built and likely noise?

[WaddleWaddleWaddle]

We've made an offer on a house and I'm suddenly petrified it's going to be noisy. We've had terrible issues in the past with noisy neighbours. We've only been able to view in the afternoon when people are probably at work so can't judge.

Our potential house is the darker one. I'm not sure when it was built? I think all the bedrooms ajoin which is worrying me!

Thanks in advance, a nervous FTB!

Looks Victorian. Will be less noisy than one with two neighbours.

As the halls are ajoining rather than the main reception room, you may hear people using the stairs but hopefully not the sound of their television.

Looks like a late victorian house, fairly robust construction, rather than a thin walled back-to-back type terrace.

Unless the next door is divisors into flats, I wouldn’t Be too worried

Our estate agent told us when the house was built, ask them. You will need this information to get a building insurance anyway. Not sure about the noise but older houses can sometimes be better and with thicker walls than new builds. What I would do: ask neighbours, they will tell you. As a bonus, you will know who your neighbours are :)

Ah, I was hoping It wasn't Victorian! We currently rent a Victorian house and we can't use the main bedroom as it's so loud. We can hear everything.

I think you’re currently unlucky, I couldn’t hear a thing in my Victorian Terrace. (Why there are capitals there, I do not know.)

An architect I met said to me that Victorian terrace houses have a double wall between each other so, as long as neither side do anything stupid like putting a long screw that touches the neighbour’s wall, you shouldn’t hear each other.

There may be an element of truth on that as I couldn’t hear my neighbours at all, until a day of heavy drilling when they put on some shelves in the bedroom next to mine. Since then I hear them walk, have conversations, etc. But never as bad as when I was living in a new build.

your front door is next to the neighbours'. this is called "Halls adjoining" and it is said that the noise of their herd of elephants galloping up and down the stairs will annoy you less because it will be heard mostly loudly on your own stairs, hall and landing.

in "universal plan" houses the kitchens and bathrooms will be at the back of the house and also adjoining. Only the small bedroom over the front door adjoins the neighbour's small bedroom.

All the rooms but one adjoin - the two windows there is one large room. The non adjoining room is the smallest so will be our sons room.

I've lived in two victorian terraces, one was completely silent from both sides, one I could hear conversations through the wall. Built within 5 years of each other in a similar area. Unfortunately I think it's luck of the draw.

I also worried about this, and am now in a 60s concrete property which is better. Detached obviously the best option if you can afford it...

Failing that, things we did to mitigate sound included carpet in the rooms to stop noise bouncing around, built in bookcase across the ajoining wall, built in cupboard across other ajoining wall.

Can't afford detached sadly! Thank you for reassuring posts. The place has absolutely bugger all storage so we will need to build some in anyway.

Built in furniture really deadens any sound, so definitely worth thinking about.

I was really noise adverse too due to dreadful neighbours.
I panicked like hell about my house and although I hear my neighbours they aren’t noisy.
It left me very anxious and unable to cope with noise for a long time. When we moved we had a new tv box and this one could record. It had a hard drive that would tick ever so quietly. Because our new house was so quiet and we were so anxious around noise we had to send it back.

What I’m trying to say is that I understand your worry. I have a friend who lives in a similar house. Her living room / dining room doesn’t join. The kitchen does. The main bedroom at the front does and the box room. The middle bedroom doesn’t. I’ve never heard her neighbours.