Semi-detached or terraced noise

[JL642]

Hello! I was lucky enough to grow up in a (small) detached house as a child.

As an adult I’ve bought two properties - one a 1900s terrace and one a 1930s terrace. Both properties we can hear the neighbours, although luckily in the bedrooms we can’t! (I think because the wardrobes are on the party wall).

Is it normal to always be able to hear your neighbours in any semi-detached/terraced, are are there certain period properties with thicker joining walls?

Interested to see if this is a general problem for most of the population!

I'm in a new build semi (8 years old) and I never hear my neighbours unless they're drilling into the wall. That's literally the only time I hear any noise from next door.

Can hear a little from one side, I think as living rooms are next to each other and chimney between us. It’s not intrusive though just something you get used to. Terrace approx 1910-1920

I could hear next door in a semi 1929 built. For this reason I will never buy a semi with living rooms adjoined again. Detached or hallways joined for me

Yes. I lived in a Victorian terrace and that was horrendous for noise. It’s why I moved in the end. You could literally hear the neighbours’ every footstep. I am in a small modern house now which is slightly better but I can still hear the tv through the wall and I hear the neighbours sneeze.

Depends on the build/walls, the layout, the flooring, the neighbour.

It can be the thinnest walls with the quietest neighbour and you wont hear anything. It can be thick walls with laminate flooring and noisey neighbours and you will hear everything.

Yes you can hear a neighbour in most semis i have known. Unfortunately there are no guarentees of not getting a herd of elephants living next door.

I think it depends on who you have living next door. My in-laws lived in a quiet mid terrace house until next door neighbours had children, they could hear baby cry, then when child was older you could hear them running up and down stairs. We are in a semi detached house but have an adult family next door, like us. I’m sure they must hear our dog barking, although they say they don’t. Their adult son is autistic and has occasional meltdowns, we hear every word.

I'm in a semi detached built around 1920. We didn't hear a thing from the old man next door when we moved in. After he died a couple came with three primary school age children, wow, is it noisy. It's got better since they built their extension (that was a nightmare) but we still hear the children running up and down the stairs and running around upstairs and we hear when they run taps and go to the loo. I hate it and I hope that we are at last about to move away.

We can't hear our neighbours (except if it's quiet you hear their grandfather clock) in our Victorian Semi it has thick walls and we back chimney breasts so it's even thicker for the two walls. We mainly hear them in the garden.

We had an Edwardian terrace before this and we could hear the neighbours that were staircase / staircase but the ones on the other side not at all.

1930’s end of terrace.

Had lovely neighbours.

Now we have a drug taking, weed stinking, nhs worker, who consistently screams the most foul language at her two kids, i’ve ever heard. She hates them, wishes they were dead, screams get out of her house, go live with their dad.

I will never have a party wall again.

Edwardian semi detached here and we hardly hear a peep out of our neighbours. They are a couple in their fifties though so not exactly partying hard.

They probably hate us, however, as we have a tantrumming toddler, a crying baby and a piano! I do try and keep it down and they still smile and say hello in the street so hopefully it's ok.

Edwardian semi here too, no noise.

1950's terrace. I can hear one side when they watch eastenders and when they flick the plug socket switches in their kitchen. They other side are usually very quiet, but there was one night when they were watching something very funny and I could hear howls if laughter. That's not a bad thing though. The loudest neighbours are actually a few houses along and have screaming matches in the garden in summer. Being detached wouldn't make that any quieter.

I'm in a 1900 terrace and only occasionally hear the neighbours' dog barking .faintly or if they're doing work to the house. Otherwise nothing.

These must be very well-built houses as there are children on both sides and no noise.

1950 semi with a neighbour with a toddler.
I can only hear very little noise from bedroom at night but won't last long. I can accept.

Late 60s terrace. Can hear doors closing, stairs in use, washing macines, shower, raised voices, instrument playing, babies crying. Dont hear people sitting quietly watching tv or just having normal conversations. Have generally been lucky with neighbours except one who would do an evening shift then practice piano at 2am.

Victorian mid terrace. Almost never hear a thing, despite one side having a baby, the other side a baby and a 15 year old.

PS, I am not deaf 🙂.

All very interesting thanks! I don’t mind hearing the neighbours kids, it was the lads in our old place who enjoyed late night parties that was less enjoyable! Sounds like it’s part of living in an attached property!

We were in a Victorian terrace - on the side we were hall to hall heard nothing till the owners moved out and the new owner started renovating. But even that wasn't too bad to be honest.

On the other side lounge to lounge - very rarely heard their dog bark.

The back yards were a different matter, the neighbours squeezed a hot tub into theirs and had raucous parties and kids screaming and it was all very loud. It's why we moved.

Now in a big Edwardian semi - very thick walls and don't hear a thing at all.

Victorian terrace here

One side - older teen kids, dog, have never heard a thing.
Other side - was flats, never heard a thing. Now a family with 3 young kids. Hear plenty! although to be fair it’s mainly going up and down stairs and a bit of kids shouting at bedtime. Nothing terrible.

The people behind us - no shared walls - make far more noise.

So yes I think it’s more to do with who lives there. And whether your schedules align. For example I’d never hear the bedtime noise mentioned above if I weren’t doing my own kids’ bedtimes at the same time.

I live in a Victorian Mid terrace and hate it, made a huge mistake and will be moving asap. It is very very quiet but I have had my neighbours twice complain about my teenage son making noise. Once on a Saturday lunch time because he was talking loudly with his mates on his computer and this weekend gone when he had friends over and they were making noise past midnight. I never hear a peep from them but I am on edge all the time. They happily told me they fell out with the previous owners as they had small DC who would wake early and they would bang and shout 'shut the fuck up' through the walls and popped open a bottle of champagne when they moved out. They are mid 50s and have never had dc so have no tolerance for dc it would seem. I would also only live in a detached or a house with a hallway separating us as I just cannot relax here.

Victorian mid terrace here and paper-thin walls. If you have a cough, next door know about it! I think we’re very lucky with our neighbours though, everyone is generally aware and considerate. Although I did feel it added a bit of pressure back when I was tearing my hair out with a non-sleeping baby. I had several bad experiences renting flat conversions when I was younger though. Thin walls I can take, but living below a thin uninsulated floor was no fun at all.

I'm in an eight year old end of terrace with five children under eleven attached to my house. I never hear a thing. When I had a Victorian mid terraced house, there was a lot of noise through the walls.

I'm in a Victorian mid-terrace which I bought specifically after living in a newer property. Assumed it would be solid with much thicker walls but that doesnt appear to be the case at all.

It does depend on the neighbours though - one side we never hear unless they have visitors, the other I could tell you at any time of day or night exactly who's there and what they're doing 🙄

We are in a 1930's semi. We can hear our neighbours. Fortunately though they aren't noisy and our layouts mean the front doors are together so main party walls are hallway, dining room and spare room

Same in our 60s end of terrace. Though thankfully we've never had loud neighbours.

We can hear muffled voices if it's very quiet in our house.