Semi detached houses and noise

[housesearching]

We are house hunting and where we want to buy there is much more choice and more square footage available to us if we consider semi detached. We were really adamant we wanted detached this time but due to our budget and location preferences we need to open our minds a bit!

So what are your experiences of semi detached? Is there an age of house where the walls are thick and less likely to hear anything? I have to admit I am irrationally irritated by normal considerate living noises hence the desire for detached. We have a new build semi atm and it's actually pretty good, our neighbours aren't very noisy and only really hear them if their music or TV is occasionally too loud. But I would really worry about the impact if we had less considerate neighbours.

So interested to hear other views, and if you have any advice on what to look out for (ie if a certain decade was notorious for thin walls!)

I live in a late 18th century terrace. Have never heard a peep. Previously lived in a new build semi. Could hear talking occasionally but not too bad.

1980s semi - can hear loud voices, tv, radio, kids crying...

The only thing that will deadening the sound is place, so detached.

I've lived in houses of various ages, I could always hear the neighbours if they were in the room next to the one I was in, mainly things like talking and laughing. It was probably most noticeable in the 90's build houses.
I live in a detached now and the silence was strange at first but I think I would find it hard to go back to a semi/terraced. It's nice not to worry about what people can hear!

1920's semi.
So quiet it feels like we have no neighbours. Don't see them, don't hear them. I've met them and they are lovely.
I adore living here.

We moved here from a good quality (compared to some) new build detached.

1950's semi. Ex council. Never heard a peep. 1920's semi bungalow. Still no peeps
1930s semi its my clients house where I clean I can hear EVERYTHING from their neighbours. Toilet flushing, TV. I'm glad I don't live there. It really depends on the construction methods.

Late 30s semi here.
I hear a drawer in the kitchen closing. Something being plugged in a socket in the bedroom.
Occasionally hear the dog barking but that's more if they are out and someone comes to the door so not middle of night issue.
Can also sometimes hear arguments but nothing juicy just raised voices.

Never again for me. I'm detached and even though I'd get more I'm going to be looking at detached houses only when I house hunt next year to buy (rentals I don't care)

I have a 70s house. We're joined by the stairs and the garage.

Never hear a sound.

Edwardian semi here, a door to door one. Hear very little, arguements only really and their landline phone (faintly).

Brother lives in a 1980s terrace and hears nothing at all.

We have an 1850’s barn conversion and we only hear our neighbours when they use the plug sockets next to the party wall in our bedroom.
I do hear their alarm in the morning but as it vibrates next to the shared wall.

Don't do it. No house size is worth it.

My 4 years of living in a semi when I met DH were the most miserable of my life. It was a late 70s/early 80s build, good sized house but the sound insulation was appalling. We had a lovely neighbour but she worked shifts in a care home leaving 2 teenagers at home alone most of the time. I was ready to kill the little bastards by the time our DD was 6 months old. Constant door banging, running up and down stairs, loud music until the early hours, they may as well have been sat in our living room as we could hear every conversation and people coming and going all at hours. It made me really unwell in the end as I just couldn't escape the noise.

Our revenge was to sell to a Landlord who was going to rent it out to students.

My last house the 2 houses were a mirror image of each other. Thats the worst set up! Living rooms next to each other and 2 big bedrooms next to their 2 big bedrooms. Was HELL. Solid houses but they were noisy types.

This time we are still semi-detached but its much better as they aren't mirrored. Their living room is next to my downstairs loo and their dining area is next to my kitchen. Upstairs is good too as main bedrooms not back to back.

1930's end terrace. My neighbour didnt realise i had had a baby until she saw me in the garden when he was 8 weeks old. Our bedrooms are next to each others and he screamed during nappy changes at the beginning.

I spoke to my neighbour before i bought, she is a single, retired woman with no pets or children.

I'm in a 1930s semi and don't hear anything! My neighbours claim not to hear anything but they've probs heard the screaming baby once or twice... or the odd argument

1930s semi and we heard a lot from next door - dog barking and TV. It was louder than normal because she had a hearing impairment.

We put sound insulating plasterboard up on every shared wall and the rubber type stuff in between. It still carries through the floorboards.

Sadly our old neighbour died and the house is on the market. Am worried about the noise from new neighbours. Plus DS has the loudest foot tread of any human so I worry that we will send any new neighbours round the bend in return.

1550s here and hear nothing but neighbour is elderly.

Last house was from 1900 and could hear a little but not much.

House before was from 1800 and walls very thin could hear everything.

I had one 1907 house where you could hear little (except for the occasions their two boys had a loony session and ran repeatedly up and down the stairs screaming, IRL this was deafening though so you would have heard it 3 doors away). Much bigger 1917 house, can hear everything through the walls including every word the husband next door sings and all the wife's phone conversations. My 30year old house was noisy too. A really large part of it is who you live next to and how their house is laid out (and if they have hobbies like trombone and opera singing🙄)

1970's- everything from next door could be heard!
2000's- fairly noisy but had a nobhead neighbour
2010's- newbuild, nothing! Pretty certain our neighbours are quiet people anyway but we don't hear a thing!

Semi-detached 1950's ex council, hear very little through the wall from the neighbours we're attached to. However the awful neighbours we're not attached to let their DC play recorder in the garden and yell at all hours in the summer, so lots of noise that way, which we'd still get if we were completely detached.

Used to live in a 70s house. We did loads of diy when we moved in. The neighbours said they couldn't hear us. We thought they were being polite but when they moved out the next people did loads of diy and we really couldn't hear them at all.

Surely it depends entirely on the construction, layout and how noisy your neighbours are, rather than age of property.

We've lived in two 60s LA flats. One we could hear absolutely everything on both sides (eg cutlery being put down on plates, etc) the other we could hardly hear anything at all. Same era, different construction.

We've been lucky and heard v little through 2 X 60s builds. However getting detached was really important to us for our next house as soon as we could afford it. It feels more private and secure, and we are more relaxed, knowing that our neighbours are unlikely to be disturbed by us.

I did have a horrific time in a Victorian or Edwardian terrace that was split into flats. I'd thought it was ok until the neighbours had a baby, and the baby's room was right next to my headboard.

We've lived in a few semis. Best for sound was the oldest built in 1932. The semi we had before that was build just after the war 1947 I think and sound did travel through.

Currently in a 1930's semi and can hear everything next door's kids do day and night. Last house was a new build and didn't hear a hairdryer, TV, music, conversation - anything! in four years.