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Party wall woes - please help!

2 replies

Sunflower07 · 06/05/2023 16:23

Can anybody else hear their neighbours in a semi or terrace word for word? They're not talking loudly or shouting, just normal conversation. They swear they cannot hear me or my dog when she barks, but I can hear them sooo clearly!

Could it be because their house is echoey due to their downstairs being open plan, wooden floors, high ceilings and no curtains? Mine is not open plan and I have curtains.

There's a chimney on the party wall? (We both have log burners but I could hear them just the same before either of us got our log burners).
I don't hear a thing upstairs (unless the kids are having a tantrum but it's very muffled which I feel is normal for a semi).

The houses were built in 1920s if that helps.

Has anybody had soundproofing in this situation? I'm reluctant to get it done in case it is the chimney. Would a builder be likely to know if the wall or chimney if they came out and listened?

Please help me, and thanks!

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IAmNotOkay · 06/05/2023 18:10

We bought a 1910 semi. I’d lived in similar as a teen and never heard a thing from neighbours so thought it would be great. However, In the house we bought we could watch tv with our volume muted and hear the dialogue word for word from next door. We spent £££ stripping plaster off, putting insulated plaster board up and replastering. It made no difference as sound travels through joists, not just through walls. we moved. (Sadly to somewhere worse but that’s a whole other story) open plan and wooden floors will certainly make the sound travel more (like our next more modern house!) but, sadly, you can’t dictate how people have their home.

Sunflower07 · 06/05/2023 19:22

Thanks for your reply and sorry you've experienced the same (and worse!).

Our floors downstairs are solid on concrete, with bitumen and then parquet, so would the sound still travel through the floors?

If I can't fix it then I'll have to move eventually too!

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