Aberdeen double upper noise

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Really appreciate any input here. We recently relocated to Aberdeen for work and are in a small rental house. We have young DC and need more space. Having spent a few months investigating areas, we have settled to buy in Rosemount. We can either afford a decent 4 bed double upper or a 3 bed house that will likely need a lot of modernising. I hadn't envisioned living in a flat again. Can anyone tell me how much noise I might expect from neighbours in a granite double upper from early 20th century?

Depends on the neighbours but not that much really. As you’re above you generally hear less noise than below. And if you sleep on the top floor you have a buffer floor.

I’d be more concerned about resale and value as any type of flat in Aberdeen is struggling atm.

We live in a similar property in Glasgow, which is lovely and quiet, but had noise issues in a previous last flat. A few things to look out for:

• upper flats have less noise than lower flats (footstep noise on wooden floors travels down)
• Assuming it is a granite Victorian property, when was the flat converted from a single house? If it was purpose built as flats, converted pre-1960s, they often used dense layer of acoustic separation between the floors. This really kills noise. 70s/80s/90s conversions can use much lighter construction and noise is more likely.
• windows - are these single or double glazed?
• Check for adjoining neighbours on the HMO register - larger flats with students/young people can lead to noise.
• Where are the bedrooms? As pp said if these are top floor and your living space separates these from the downstairs neighbour, this really helps.
• upper flats can be cosier in the winter as heat rises, and more secure.

Good luck!

I know the area well! I don’t think noise will be an issue as the double upper. You might worry more about the noise of your kids running about affecting the people below.

As a pp said it is tricky to sell double uppers, if that might be an issue.

If you’re considering somewhere that needs work, is it within the Rosemount conservation area? That might be an extra expense and add time.

Do you need to be in the city centre? Aberdeen is a buyers market and you’d get a lot more for your money looking a little further out.

If Rosemount is non-negotiable, I’d probably go for the house. Being in the city centre with young DC and no access to a private garden sounds like a bit of a nightmare. I appreciate you have said the house needs modernising however do not under estimate how costly Victorian properties can be to maintain.

We’re the bottom half of a double-upper and our neighbours upstairs only ever hear DP shouting at football - Aberdeen fan so often disappointed! We do hear their television at nights, and if they have family who have a large dog visit we can hear the dog bounding around. I imagine the sounds of young children going about their normal business would travel.

Our garden is split into two completely separate gardens which we really like, but the other properties in our road have a larger garden which is divided into areas and shared between both properties. I sat out with my neighbour having a glass of wine on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago when the weather was nice, and we had to move into her upstairs neighbour’s “area” once the sun shifted round. That was fine but might not be so great depending on the neighbours.

Oh, also - our previous upstairs neighbour had young kids and didn’t like the fact they couldn’t just step out into the garden. (Stairs and side door.) The current neighbours never hang out washing for much the same reason, whereas we use the garden much more.

Aberdeen is really easy to commute to from surrounding areas where you'd get more for your money so worth trying.

Regular trains between Inverurie (stopping at Kintore and Dyce also) to Aberdeen.

Lots commute from even further out like Huntly/Keith area to afford large houses. Depends on if you want less commute time or larger house

This thread inspired me to have a look at Aberdeen on Rightmove, erm, why is it so cheap?! Genuine question!

Down turn in the oil and gas industry.

Go for a house in that area if you can. Mileend and Ashley Road are both great schools and rosemoint in the catchment for grammar