Noise in Townhouses?

sarah_elton

So, we're after a detached family home (currently just fiance and I, plans to expand ). And have been registered with agents for several months now with no joy (the areas we're looking in are mostly modern builds). What is this obsession with building townhouses? Well, I suppose that's obvious - why fit 5 houses onto a piece of land when you can fit 15?

Anyway, I'm wondering whether we should at least give consideration to a townhouse. BUT, my big concern is noise. The ones we'd look at would be 5-10 years old I believe.

How have people found them? How much noise do you get from your neighbours? I always said I'd only have a semi if it was more than 100 years old since the walls were so good you can't hear anything.

We're looking for a family home. I don't want to have extra stress in the future because the baby's 3am screaming has me worried about waking the neighbours.

Also wondering if a house on three levels is practical with young kids?

carefullycautious

Personally I cant stand them. I have never understood why anyone would want to climb all those stairs to different levels. Also some look really ugly. An older semi/detached for me if younger.

beccad

sarah_elton wrote: »

How have people found them? How much noise do you get from your neighbours? I always said I'd only have a semi if it was more than 100 years old since the walls were so good you can't hear anything.

This is NOT necessarily the case with older properties. Maybe if you're buying a property made of stone or something similar, but not all older properties. We live in a Victorian property and we can hear our neighbours talking through the walls!

I've been in a few new properties recently (mainly ones friends have lived in) and i've not been able to hear a thing from the neighbours. I think the building regs are such now that you shouldn't be able to hear anything.

Unless you can afford/find a detached property, you're always going to take a risk that you might hear the neighbours if you buy a semi or terraced property.

sarah_elton

I'd much rather have detached. We can afford them, but in the areas we're looking (which are small due to transport requirements), there are just so few detached that they very rarely come to market even in good times. In this market, no-one's selling.

I've lived in a flat for the last five years so the thought of no adjoining neighbours is wonderful. It's a question of how patient we can be though as we're so far beyond being ready to move!

In the village where we're looking there's:

1) A 4-bed townhouse which has exactly the rooms we want. A large kitchen/breakfast room which I really want. Also has a separate dining room and two lounges (!). All rooms are good sizes and modern. It has more bathrooms than we'd know what to do with. But it's a townhouse and the garden literally isn't big enough to swing a cat in.

2) A 5-bed detached. On one of the best roads in the village (old established road, tree-lined, parallel to the High Street and a 2 minute walk to the shops). With a 100' west facing garden - we simply won't see such good outside space anywhere else and it would be fantastic for kids in the future. But, the house is a 1960s gable-end on property with a two storey flat roof extension on the side. Kerb appeal aside, the kitchen is tiny (12'x8' - barely bigger than the one in our 2 bed flat) and I wanted a proper family kitchen so that the kids can sit at the table while I sort their food etc. The master bedroom is much smaller than in the townhouse too. The house has one bathroom upstairs (no en-suites) and a shower room downstairs which you have to go through the kitchen and utility room to get to.

Polar opposites - one has the outside space I want but the house would be a huge compromise. One has the indoor space but is terraced and has terrible outside space. We're tempted to view both to (1) see if we could make them work and (2) try and work out whether the house or garden is our real priority.

As I mentioned before, we're hugely restricted when it comes to location (I see so many perfect houses outside our search area, but the journey to work would go from very long to ludicrous). So I know we'll have to make compromises on the house because there simply aren't many available. I just can't work out which compromises.

There are also 4-bed detached houses in the village which would be centre-ground for both indoor and outdoor space. But, no-one's moving out.

Doozergirl

We've lived in two. I've not heard anything from the neighbours at all - to be fair we probably made more noise than they did but they didn't complain to us. One did have a new baby and I didn't hear her crying.

It's fine with two kids - H preferred them in the house when they were upstairs and we were in the middle rather than us up on the top floor; he was happier that if someone broke in they'd reach us first.

Some of the layouts are distinctly odd and I would not choose one with an integrated garage as that is where you end up with the odd layouts - kitchen down away from everyone else or a ground floor bedroom with the others up on the top floor.

sarah_elton

Thanks doozer - the townhouse I just mentioned in my edited post above has an unusually good layout for a townhouse. Ground floor is bed 4 (which would be a study) and lounge 1. First floor is kitchen, dining room and lounge 2. Top floor is three bedrooms. I don't like the ones that have a bedroom and a lounge on the first floor. I just find it a little bit strange, though having lived in a flat all on one level I don't know why!

tizhimi

Goodness me what snobs! "climbing all those stairs" - lol - what's wrong - will your hip fall out of its socket?!

I used to live in a detatched house and could still hear the neighbours. Unless you've got a field or two between you - you are still going to hear noise. Modern builds are better for sound and heat insulation, old houses creak and make their own noises let alone what you can hear from the neighbours.

beccad

sarah_elton wrote: »

I'd much rather have detached. We can afford them, but in the areas we're looking (which are small due to transport requirements), there are just so few detached that they very rarely come to market even in good times. In this market, no-one's selling.

I've lived in a flat for the last five years so the thought of no adjoining neighbours is wonderful. It's a question of how patient we can be though as we're so far beyond being ready to move!

In the village where we're looking there's:

1) A 4-bed townhouse which has exactly the rooms we want. A large kitchen/breakfast room which I really want. Also has a separate dining room and two lounges (!). All rooms are good sizes and modern. It has more bathrooms than we'd know what to do with. But it's a townhouse and the garden literally isn't big enough to swing a cat in.

2) A 5-bed detached. On one of the best roads in the village (old established road, tree-lined, parallel to the High Street and a 2 minute walk to the shops). With a 100' west facing garden - we simply won't see such good outside space anywhere else and it would be fantastic for kids in the future. But, the house is a 1960s gable-end on property with a two storey flat roof extension on the side. Kerb appeal aside, the kitchen is tiny (12'x8' - barely bigger than the one in our 2 bed flat) and I wanted a proper family kitchen so that the kids can sit at the table while I sort their food etc. The master bedroom is much smaller than in the townhouse too. The house has one bathroom upstairs (no en-suites) and a shower room downstairs which you have to go through the kitchen and utility room to get to.

Polar opposites - one has the outside space I want but the house would be a huge compromise. One has the indoor space but is terraced and has terrible outside space. We're tempted to view both to (1) see if we could make them work and (2) try and work out whether the house or garden is our real priority.

As I mentioned before, we're hugely restricted when it comes to location (I see so many perfect houses outside our search area, but the journey to work would go from very long to ludicrous). So I know we'll have to make compromises on the house because there simply aren't many available. I just can't work out which compromises.

There are also 4-bed detached houses in the village which would be centre-ground for both indoor and outdoor space. But, no-one's moving out.

Is there no opportunity for extending the kitchen or knocking through a wall somewhere? Just because it's that way now, it doesn't necessarily need to stay that way.

I know exactly how you feel about not having any neighbours - I'm desperate to move too!

Have you thought about doing a leaflet drop through the doors of all the houses that would be suitable, asking if they'd consider selling? Worth a try and you never know - with the HIPS these days people don't put their property on the market speculatively anymore, so there could be someone out there dithering about whether to sell or not

Lotus-eater

beccad wrote: »

This is NOT necessarily the case with older properties. Maybe if you're buying a property made of stone or something similar, but not all older properties. We live in a Victorian property and we can hear our neighbours talking through the walls!

Very true, we used to live in a 1930's terrace and could hear everything from next door and now live in a 1870 terrace and can hear everything as well

sarah_elton

Becca - we did a leaflet drop in the area we first looked in (which we're still looking at but have pretty much given up hope of anyone selling). Not done one yet in this new area.

The detached house does have potential to extend the ground floor out the back, or to knock the kitchen and dining room through. We probably wouldn't have the money to do anything straight away (we'd want to get the flat roof changed to a pitched roof all the way across at the same time) and then not sure we'd want to once rugrats come along?

carefullycautious

I think they are referring to me as I was the first to answer.

No Im not a snob just that when we viewed one some years ago I did not like the layout, in that, all I would be doing all day is walking up/down stairs to get to kitchen on GF and lounge leading to garden on first floor and up another flight to get to bedrooms. PHew makes me tired just thinking about it especially with small children to keep an eye on

I have also noticed that after some years they do start to look old/scruffy
Just dont like the look or layout. Nothing snobby about it I would rather put up with some noise from a terrace,semi.