Soundproofing party walls ......does it work?

[Tolkienista]

I've been living in bliss for the last 57 weeks......let me explain.
I live in a semi detached house, bought in 2019. My first neighbour was an elderly lady living with dementia, she frequently had her TV up at maximum volume for hours on end. Everything came through the wall, it was awful.
She hasn't lived there since the end of August 2022.

Fast forward to this week and the new neighbour has been using a company to renovate the house since Sept 5th. The thing which is worrying me most is this evening, he's in on his own doing some painting and has a radio on........it's coming straight through the wall loudly. What's it going to be like when he moves in with his three children and they have TVs and maybe a sound system on top.

I'm panicking and need anyone who's got professionals into sound proof party walls to share your experience, I think I'm going to need it....does it work? How expensive is it?
I really need to have a plan in my back pocket if I need it.

I’ve had soundproofing on the ceiling and it works

I think mine needs to be walls......but I appreciate your reply.

of course - but I meant it if works on ceilings you can probably take something from that! If you read into it in depth, ceilings have lowest likelihood of success, walls/floors seem to tend to work.

I've read many posts/reviews/websites on soundproofing a wall/floor/ceiling, which range from those who were pleased with the results to those who were not. I suppose a lot is determined by the structure of the property and what kind of noise you are wanting to diminish or block out, and your own expectations. I employed a professional soundproofing company to soundproof my party lounge wall. It was expensive, and that was back in 2019. The neighbour next door doesn't play loud music (they are renting while I'm an owner), so it hasn't been tested with that kind of airborne sound, but I can no longer hear the children or their parents (my house is end-terrace, built in 1970). Do thorough research before purchasing soundproofing would be my suggestion. On the other hand, you may not need to go down that route. As you are semi-detached, get to know your neighbour, and if any sounds are bothering you, let them know. I recently let my neighbour know that I was being bothered by a sound coming from their house - unsure what it was but it may have been something to do with the plumbing - and since then, I've never heard it.

Yes that's true @Rustedroot ......I honestly don't know anything about soundproofing but I acknowledge that you've been there and your knowledge of what worked for you is helpful and appreciated, thanks.

@MG1412 thanks for your detailed reply, much appreciated..... food for thought.
I went round last night about 8pm, the front door was open and the radio was in the front.room blasting out, he was in the kitchen/diner putting some cabinets together.
I asked him .politely could be turn his radio down as it was coming straight through the wall. He said yes.........I then offered to make him.a hot drink which he pounced on. Brought him.round a large mug of coffee and some biscuits.

Don't know what he thought, but if he came round to.me and said my tv was too loud, I'd turn it down in.a.heartbeat. After all we're neighbours and sharing a wall.

Sounds like you are dealing with this well. Good soundproofing does work. Possibly the walls have always been thin and the volume was less to do with the elderly lady? I do have a theory that people who are complaining about unreasonable neighbours often the issue isn't really the neighbours but the construction. Its not in building regs, can't see wall lining and loose some depth in room, its more expensive but buyers probably wouldn't pay so unless you are knowledgeable and building for yourself it doesn't happen. We are sound insulating our bedroom from the kitchen in our extension but we work in property so were lucky to consider it. Sounds like a great plan to improve your sound privacy

I had my ceiling soundproofed. It muffled the sound, but I was already so wound up by the noise and tuned into it, that it didn't really work. I know it's not the same as walls, but just adding my penneth worth anyway! I moved out in the end.

We had party wall soundproofing done. It helped a bit, but by then I was so sensitive to the noise (of our horrible neighbour shouting at her little kids and playing music really loud) that we moved anyway.

We put soundproof plaster board in our alcoves and it definitely made a bit of a difference but we can definitely hear them still.

My previous neighbor had a home theater system that felt like it was right in my living room. I ended up doing some research on the best insulation for soundproofing, and it made a huge difference. I had some acoustic panels installed in the walls and ceiling, and for the floor, we went with soundproofing underlayment. It wasn’t a cheap fix, but it was worth every penny. The difference was night and day—no more feeling like I was part of their movie nights! It’s a good idea to start exploring your options now, just in case.

The noise may be reduced once your neighbour has moved in and there is furniture, carpet and curtains to absorb the sound.