Semi detached - advice on noise levels please 🙏

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

a house has come on to the market in the area I’m looking in - really good location, but it is semi detached.

i am quite noise sensitive so had wanted detached. We are in a semi at the moment which is fine, we had it soundproofed and we ar good friends with our neighbours. Also no small children next door!

the house I’m interested in is joined in at one end - just one bedroom wall, and the kitchen wall which is tiled and lined with cupboards.
how much noise do you think comes through the actual fabric of the house, rather than the adjoining walls?

the bedroom would be my sons who is at uni, also it would be easy enough to fit wardrobes along the adjoining wall.

thanks!

What era of house? I've lived in a 90's ish house where I could basically hear my neighbors sneeze and since then, two Victorian end terraces where you wouldn't know anyone was living next door. I guess it depends on the neighbors too, single old person or young family?

Yes, as the pp says, it very much depends on the type of house. I lived in a 1930s terrace and only heard the neighbours when the young son practised his tuba! However, I could hear the neighbours fart in a 1970s semi.

It really depends on the individual house. I used to live in a Victorian terrace and never heard a peep from either side, but I'm now in a 1940's ex LA semi and can hear a lot from my neighbours, who aren't particularly noisy. I can hear them plugging things in on the adjoining wall, occasionally their tv/music (not loudly, but audible), any raised voices and their dog when the post arrives. It doesn't bother me too much, but I think with noisier neighbours, it would be annoying.

I found the noise stressful in our 1970s semi. I could hear gaming noise (which they insisted wasn’t loud their side!) as a low rumble which I couldn’t tune out at all.

This will depends on the neighbours

In 1920’s and it’s fine. I’m also noise sensitive.

It might be ok because we have our living room where their downstairs office is and vice versa. Both have kitchen extensions that aren’t attached so main living space is just our noise. It’s worth seeing how next door’s house is configured

I think it comes down to two things.

The era of the build, how thick the dividing wall is between the property. Some more modern builds are flimsy.

And also the layout. I’m more interested in semis that have an entrance hallway, bathroom and stairs alongside the dividing wall, and main bedrooms separated and against the external side wall of the semi, giving a clear gap so the bedrooms of the adjoining properties aren’t against each other.

Having said that I’m in an 80s semi with my bedroom directly the other side of the wall from my neighbor and it’s no problem.

In our ‘70s semi we could hear our ndn snoring. In our 1940s semi I can hear baby crying, children fighting, the couple arguing. But not the tv. If they had a noisy dog it would bother me, but they don’t.

Thanks all,
it’s a Victorian house.
we lived in a Victorian terrace before and could hear everything! It was awful! Two up two down so cheaply built with one brick thick walls.