Why are houses in the UK built like this?

[crazygirl0237]

I live in a semi detached and my soundproofing is terrible I can hear my neighbours cough

All the houses in my street are built where living rooms etc are next to each other and the front doors are on the outside.

Why are they not built the other way around it makes no sense!

Rant over

Yes, two layers of mass loaded vinyl and two layers of acoustic plasterboard. Very effective.

I’ve lived in two semis, both with that configuration. In the 1950s one we rarely heard a sound from the neighbours, other than occasional loud music from one of the teenagers when parents were out.

in the Victorian one we might as well all have been living in the same house. Every sound could be heard - boiler coming on, taps, their answerphone, tv, stairs etc. It was torture. After that we resolved never to live adjoining anyone again if we could avoid it.

1880 Victorian terrace. Seldom hear my neighbours either side

Following because we have a similar problem. Our neighbours sound like they are in our house. Bizarrely there is less noise pollution between rooms in our house than from the neighbours. I think the noise is due to their loft conversion or from the chimney. I did some research that suggested it could also be from the kitchen extension if rsj has been added. There's lots on Google about the cause but you'd need a noise expert to identify it properly. Our house is so bad it sounds like their loft conversion is in our roof.

I grew up in North London and most of the 3 bed houses have 2 really large doubles and a small box room. That I don’t understand.

My old house was 1940s ex Council and had 3 nice size double bedrooms and was built with really thick walls.

mine isn't new build it's from the 80s, there's no chimney, the kitchen has 3 doors so barely any cupboards/worktop, there's no ventilation in kitchen or bathroom, you can hear either side wee , the loft isn't usable, it was built as a council house not now so the idea is BE GRATEFUL 🤬🤬🤬🤬
the maintenance company are round here literally most days for the still-council homes which tells you how high maintenance they are

In our first house (1935 semi) we could hear the neighbours TV and we could hear them speaking. It was so unpleasant.

We now live in an end of terrace that was built in 1900.

The difference is like day and night, we never ever hear the neighbours.
I don't understand why it is like that, but I'm very happy about this.

I’m so glad I came back to this thread after being really confused yesterday by the doors are in the outside - people are doing diagrams and now it all makes sense.

I grew up in a 1950s council house and we never ever heard our neighbours.There were six of us kids in a three bed so I can’t say if the neighbours would have said the same about us.

People have changed as well. People are louder and less considerate. Children are allowed to scream all day. People work shifts. People work at home. Everyone wants open plan with hard floors.

I think it was to give some privacy. But I also think people are either just noisier now or care less or both.

I lived in terraced houses for decades and never heard my neighbors but I've had to move fairly recently because of noisy vile neighbors. I deliberately chose a halls together end terrace but I was living next door to a coke head who would scream throughout the night.

I had soundproofing in my favourite house and it was brilliant!

When we were house hunting my DH kept dismissing semi's that were "the wrong way round". It took me a while to figure out what he meant but yes, he meant the living rooms and master bedrooms sharing a wall. The more I think of it, the more stupid it seems.

I've seen a lot of new builds around here where they are attached across the back. The houses are double fronted and look bigger than they are. And they've STILL got the master bedroom sharing a bloody wall with the neighbours. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142113818

Same!

I agree, currently sat on the sofa listening to my neighbours kids running about and screaming 😢

Again, the problem isnt generally the layout, it is how poorly they are built.

fast, cheap materials, no soundproofing, and joining other houses, tiny rooms, bedrooms that dont fit full size beds, ridiculous bedroom size differences, no utility space as standard, no room for dryer in a county where is rains continually. Ive seen so many houses and apartments where there isnt a dining area. No thought at all to people have meals together. You have to buy more bedrooms that you need to get enough bedrooms that are useable and not a box room.

Most housing is not fit for purpose.

Retroffited sound proofing is incredibly complicated and expensive. It would be easier to just move if it bothers you so much.

I've just moved into a semi. I was hoping to buy a detached but couldn't afford it. Having read the thread, I've realised that my new house is the wrong way round as our living room, kitchen and bedrooms share a wall. It's a new build and I haven't heard a thing from next door. It's like being detached. My DD, on the other hand, briefly lived in an ex council house and could hear the neighbours as if they were in the same room. We could hear every word, sneeze and actively. The way the house is built is crucial to peaceful living.

There are specific sound proofing building regulations now. There weren’t for older houses.

I slightly understand the chimney stack thing but all the houses I have lived in for the last 40 years haven't had one

Our last house was a set of three all copies of each other with the door and staircase on the left as you enter, so yes staircase adjoining next doors living room. We heard very little of neighbours though not sure if they heard us

Only downside to this was we had a large area of land to the side of us which had the staircase been on the other side would of made an extension much easier

Chimneys.

Then for newer builds simply because that's the style that we are used to, due to chimneys.

In the early 2k's some new semi's were built in our village with the doors, halls & stairs in the centre and rooms on the outside.
Seemed very popular although it does mean you can never be certain if someone is coming to YOUR door until they actually ring the bell. Makes it easier for the postie though. 😁

My house is Victorian halls adjoining. It is great for sound proofing but it does mean that if you and your neighbour are coming and going at the same time you can’t help but have to talk to them. They’re about 2 feet away!

I can see why with the growth of the suburbs people wanted the illusion that their home was more of a private contained unit. The ideals of the new suburbs were personal space and privacy, moving away from areas where people lived on top of each other and knew each other’s business.

Ex council semi, built in 1930 here. Living room and kitchen adjoined, hall/stairs on the external side with a massive vaulted ceiling and sloped roof. Looks lovely, but is impossible to insulate or heat.

We recently has a detailed survey prior to extending and the surveyor explained the house was designed around the shared chimneys, which are also structural in quite an unusual way, making internal alterations difficult and expensive.

That probably explains why our council only built a handful of these, then went on to build a whole estate of more boxy, roomier houses elsewhere in the village. I still prefer my house though, as it looks like a little cottage and has lots of character compared to most social housing.

I grew up in this house and over the years we rarely heard our neighbours, (even when they had 5 children in a 3 bed house) until recently. New owners have completely renovated, replaced all the carpets with hard floors and all curtains with blinds. Now we hear their tv all the time (I think they have mounted it on the chimney breast) and can also hear voices, although not what is being said. It is really echoey. Thankfully they are not a noisy family.

Lived in a Victorian terrace for a while and we never heard any of our neighbours at all there.

We have adjoining living rooms but can't hear each other

build quality can make a lot of difference

Can I just state my appreciation for the thread bombing kangaroo 😆

It’s about build quality more than layout. We’re in a Victorian terrace and only hear the neighbours when they really shout (loud kids!)

even if you had halls adjoining rather than living rooms, you’d probably still have bedrooms next to each other so wouldn’t totally solve the issue

Yep, halls adjoining here too. early 60s solid build house thank God. I had walls knocked through recently and the builder went wow, good build, and the floorboards were perfect after 60 odd years, but I suppose lots of houses from various eras were also solidly built.

My late Dad always said they had proper foremen on building sites back then, none of this sub contracting out to various firms/trades. But I don't know much about how things were done back then.