Sound from neighbours in semi-detached and terraced houses

[Kosmin]

How do these compare to detached houses, in your experience?

We are in a newer building semi and we don't hear our neighbours at all. The attached side died t have many adjoined rooms as the stairs are at the core - I think that helps.

1900s terrace - one side we can hear neighbours TV, that's not too bad. the other side is a now rental property and we have had some appalling people there over the years. Noise is bad enough, but open your front door, or back door, and you can enjoy the early morning ciggie that your neihbours are kind enough to share with you. I hate this house, but can't afford to move, so it's tough

70s semi, rarely hear the neighbours unless they run up the stairs.

Victorian terrace previously- it was like they lived in our house.

In my current house, the houses mirror each other. Their living room is next to mine and still rarely hear anything.

I grew up in a detached.
I have lived 11 years in a semi and before that in a terrace.

Terrace - you definitely did get some noise but not as much as you'd think

Semi - it is just a single lady living next door. I think I can count on two hands the number of times I've heard something through the walls in 11 years. And most of those times it was a grandchild having a meltdown.

obv depends on how thick/well insulated your walls are.

Well compared to detached, definitely worse! Our 10 year old semi was mostly ok, we could hear them if the TV was on really loud, but that was mostly it. Detached is a luxury I will never take for granted.

Semi detached built in 2010 - heard the neighbours having sex once in 15 months and nothing else.

Victorian terraced maisonette - hear nothing from the downstairs neighbour and occasional noise from either side (mostly floorboard creaking when they walk up the stairs and the washing machine). Neither bother me.

If you can't stand other people's normal noise you have to go detached.

I live in a terraced house bulit around 1900. I have a house of multiple occupnacy 1 side and 2 flats the other

I can hear neighbours doorbell and sometimes when they go up and down the stairs but that's about it unless they're doing something unuslly noisey

@IslaPineappple

Worse!

😂 spot on @IslaPineappple

Seriously OP, it depends on neighbours. We are always the noisy ones and have never been bothered but I'm constantly worrying that we're bothering other people. I'd love a detached house.

Totally depends on the house. We also live in a 50s semi here - cast concrete. Really solid. We don't hear anything - heard the jubilation when England scored but I suspect that may have come through the windows too! Occasionally hear very faint music when their teen is alone at home and turns it right up. Neighbour says she can hear DH when he sneezes (I'm not surprised, they are off the scale!), and she notices if she's in bed awake when we walk up the loft stairs which are located on to the wall adjoining her bedroom.
I would not hesitate to move to another house of this construction.

I am in a 1900 terrace. Barely hear anything either side. Sometimes heat their telly if on loud, or piano sometimes on one side, the rare occasional party -student/young professional house share. Nothing too bad. Other side is a young family. Hear the occasional raised voice and violin practice. All fine.

I am in a Victorian terrace and it’s ok as my neighbours are pretty considerate. But it would be rather unpleasant if they were not as the walls are pretty thin.

In the future, when I am no longer tied to my current London location, I definitely want to move to a detached house, with no neighbours too close…

Victorian semi, hardly hear anything!

I live top floor of a a Victorian terraced house converted into flats. The front door slamming whenever someone comes or goes or gets a delivery is the most regular and jarring sound, it goes right through me.

Can hear phone calls and conversations from the flat below. Also a lot of noise comes through windows of the rooms that look out onto the side return and the neighbouring house.

Also, next door have a dog that barks whenever it's in the garden, which if course it often is. They let it out first thing (6.45am-7.15am) and it usually wakes me up because my bedroom is at the back and I sleep with the window partially open.

I want to suggest to them that they re-home it, but that might be taken as a bit passive aggressive!!

Of course I'm noisy myself I'm sure but I don't notice MY noiseness, only other people's.

Victorian mid terraces 3 - heard nothing in one of them, in another you could hear the neighbours fart and in another could hear the neighbour chopping veg next door in their kitchen.
1930s semi - nothing
1960s semi (2) - could hear neighbours talking.
1970s semi - nothing
1990s semi - sounded like neighbours were in the room with us.

All of the above, plus numerous rental flats where the neighbours all seemed to wear clogs and gallop around all day, I'd never willingly live in anything attached again if I could afford anything detached.

I'd say if noise bothers you, then try to get detached if you can.

I think it depends on your neighbors. I had always lived in Victorian or 1920s terraces and some were converted into flats. Never heard anything and no one complained about us.

Our last house was 1930s end terrace with halls joined so in theory you should only hear movement in the kitchen. Instead it was the neighbor being so so loud twice a week and waking us up in the early hours for hours.

In the apartment we have good soundproofing because it's new so we hear movement but rarely hear noise.

I'm only looking at detached. I cannot bear others noise at all now.

So much depends on what the neighbours are like, something over which (normally) you have no control. Even in a detached in summer with windows open we used to get cigarette smoke and loud voices in the room the other end of the house from their garden. I think my best was halls adjoining semi...only really heard them if happened to be in the hall at the same time. Mid terrace...awful TVs back to back.

Our semi detached was built in 1999 and the walls are amazing. Have never heard a peep from next door, and we've had different neighbours who have had babies, parties etc. Only time I hear them is when we're in the garden.

I don't hear anything in my new build semi. If they're drilling or hammering on the adjoining wall, I'll hear that but I never hear anything else.

Lived in a 1970s terraced house, new neighbours moved in and put their piano alongside our lounge wall. Caused a lot of upset we could never get away from her 7yr olds practicing. Drove us demented and they were absolute arseholes about it.

Moved to a detached and we've never been happier only noise is kids in summer but nothing awful. Would never live in anything other than detached now.

We could hear our neighbours young daughter having tantrums and playing ball in the hallway.
I'm sure we made some noise too!
You don't have to suffer though there are plenty of effective ways to reduce noise. I have just helped my FIL install some insulation boards on his adjoining wall. It has.made a big difference.
This site has some good info on solutions.

www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/

Live in a 1930's semi, can only hear people walking up the stairs if I happen to be walking up the stairs the same time, and my dd can occasionally hear next doors small child having a tantrum as their bedrooms share a wall. Other than that, nothing. I suppose it helps that most of our living rooms and bedrooms are on the opposite side as the adjoining house. I once lived in a terrace and we could hear EVERYTHING

Late 1980s 2 bed semi. House was adjoined hallway to hallway, lounge to lounge and main bedroom to main bedroom. Heard a lot of noise:

Conversations (especially deep voices)
Phone ringing
Sneezing
Loud yawning
Creaking floorboards
All DIY noise
Dog barking
Front door slamming

Strangely never heard the TV. The conversation noise was probably most annoying day to day. Just this constant permeating low pitch mumbling sound with the occasional clear word and laughing. It was worse when the neighbour was on the phone and would just talk constantly.

Now live in a detached and hear nothing. Occasional garden door slamming sound when neighbour accesses their garage. Bliss.

We're semi-detached and have never heard a peep from our neighbours indoors - not a cough or loud TV or even barking dog (they do have one). 1950s house; we listended very carefully for noise when we did our 2 viewings.

I am in a brand new 3-bed semi. Was just chatting to neighbours yesterday and they share my amazement that neither of us can hear the other at all - particularly the TVs which are back-to-back. I have been turning down the loud adverts out of consideration for them - turns out they have been doing the same. We have decided not to bother as the sound insulation is so brilliant.

There are sound tests that have to be done on new properties and I knew from the paperwork on this house that it was well above the limit.

Good heat insulation too.

So - it depends on the house - but if you buy one built since the legislation on new builds it should be fine.