Noise in Townhouses?

blued

Haven't read the whole thread but if you want and can afford a detached house then my advice is to be patient and wait for the right one to come along if you can. Anything else is just a compromise. I used to live in a terrace and could hear every time the neighbours had an argument, did some DIY etc. If we had friends round and music on they would call the police! Since moving to a detached house I have never heard a thing from any of the neighbours and never once had a complaint about us making noise from anyone.

I have a friend who has recently bought a semi-detached new build after saying that he would only move if it was to detached. He's convinced himself that because of the layout of the house there will be no problems hearing or making noise. He's yet to move in but I think he's going to find himself just as wary about making a noise as he is in his current place!

saveallmymoney

I've lived in a 90's townhouse for 12 years, i've never heard my neighbours and the amount of space i have for the price is far greater than a detached.

Lotus-eater

sarah_elton wrote: »

barnaby - all houses we're looking at have both a loft and a garage. We've filled the loft in our 2 bed flat lol.

This is the detached house in question:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-23399329.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E64214&pageNumber=2&fromSummary=true&backToListURL=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E64214%26index%3D10

We will never see a better location or garden in the village. Just not sure I can make myself love the house... I've never found that age/style of house jumps out at me.

Might be back to the waiting game, but nothing has come on in this area for weeks. *sigh*

The townhouse in question is this one:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25384385.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E64214&pageNumber=2&fromSummary=true&backToListURL=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E64214%26index%3D10

I want those rooms and dimensions (squarer rooms), in the detached house. :rolleyes:

Both houses have been on the market the best part of 18 months. Both are priced at around what the owners paid for them (coincedentally, both purchased in 2004). Our feel is both are over-priced, so may all be a non-starter if the owners won't drop their price.

In all honesty, to myself those two aren't even in the same league, I can't stand the townhouse.

tizhimi

Well its swings and roundabouts. Every house is different in terms of noise - every neighbour is different in terms of noise too.

pie81

If the 1960s house ticks all the boxes apart from the outside look of the place, why not consider a house facelift (if you google 1960s house facelift some articles come up about doing this). Rendering the front, poss changing some of the windows, that sort of thing - it's amazing what can be done. Ok it's more money and so has to be factored into your purchase budget (though doesn't have to be done immediately of course) BUT could mean you end up with a house you are really happy with in the end. Looks can be changed whereas the garden size and house location can't.

Jaybee5

Completely agree with some of the posters here, particularly 'Psst'. We had a townhouse from new (built 2002). Just sold up as our neighbours drove us mental with the noise. We could even here them peeing at night time when we were in bed. We fell out with them after we asked them numerous times not to jump down stairs etc. Awful - never again!!

gabyjane

Hi haven't read all replies so apologies if i repeat some bits!

we have a town house and i love it..and being biased i think it looks lovely from the outside too..levels are as so:

Walk into hall then up a set of stairs
1st floor: along hall to your left a toilet, sink etc, big cupboard next to that for storage (could fit tumble dryer in but don't! then kitchen, dining room kind of in middle..to the right is our lounge leading out onto the garden

2nd floor: 2 bedrooms and bathroom..

Integrated garage under house

We have honestly heard our neighbour next door a couple of times since we moved in and i think thats when they were doing some putting up of shelves and we heard a very slight knocking! the other side is detatched, none of us hear each other though!

As for the stairs comment i never really get that..my friend has a victorian house and they have to go up 3 levels to get to the last bedroom i find it exhausting!, the stairs are lethal and i would not like to use them every day..they too can hear the next door neighbours coughing etc!

New builds may get slated but i'm really not sure why with some!
Good luck with what you choose x

gabyjane

Sarah just seen the 2 links and not sure i personally like either..the prices too made me gasp!

The town house imo looks nicer, more modern less work etc (we have done nothing cosmetic really since being here 2 years..lovely!)..the rooms seem smallish though compared to ours and the cost is around £100k more eek!

the detatched nice as it is detatched..better garden as the other is tiny, again small rooms..lots of updating needed too.

pimento

Buy the house. The 100ft garden alone is worth it. I expect you could knock through the kitchen and dining room to make a fmaily room/kitchen without too much trouble.

The pokey little garden in that townhouse is a real put-off and what if next door is bought by someone with a teenage son with a drum kit?

They're not making any more land, so buy as much as you can afford.

missile

sarah_elton wrote: »

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?

AFIK the requirements for sound insulation between town houses is not as stringent as in flats. You might be better widening your search area. You could try a leaflet drop to entice someone who may be considering but not yet decided to sell their home.