New houses are very poorly built!

MoneySaverForever

Hi everyone, I know I'm very lucky to be living in a new build house as a council tenant so please don't think I don't appreciate it but there are a few things that really annoy me, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. I'm very grateful to be able to live here but I think I actually prefer the older houses because they have bigger rooms, seem to be better made and the walls aren't paper thin either! The council wanted lots of tenants to move from old and "rundown" housing into these properties and I took them up on their offer but the thing is I can hear everything... and yes, I mean everything that my neighbours do in the house above and through the walls on either side too.

My pet hate is how the neighbours above are quiet all day and then they come alive at night banging at all hours which keeps waking me up and I find it hard to get back to sleep, very ill right now and I definitely need my sleep because I get tired easily. The neighbours above also vacuum every day and it's like a bomb going off above me as it's SO INCREDIBLY loud that my lights shake in the walls as it shudders above me... and this goes on for at least an hour... daily. They play music that's so loud I can't hear myself think and I can hear it in every room of the house which doesn't help either. The neighbours each side of me also seem to argue quite a lot and hold heated debates and I hear their televisions and other private things that I don't want to hear either and it's really made me think that these new houses aren't built for quality but instead for quantity and to get as many people into as little a space as possible.

I don't have any gardens here and the whole place is one big concrete jungle with no space to relax and get away from it all in the area close to me. The last thing I'd want is to cause problems with my neighbours but if I can hear them then surely they can hear each other and me? On a side note, it's strange to see how these new houses start to rot and look very bad after just a few years whereas the old houses are still standing and look as good as ever. I'd give anything for a day without noise and hearing a whole soaps worth of drama in my own home, surely that's not too much to ask?

There, rant over xxx

dreavi

Make an equal amount of noise and see if they complain, then if they do say oh I'm sorry I was just trying to drown you guys out, y'see I can hear all your lovemaking and I cant sleep. Oh and she's clearly faking it

Then close the door.

Might work, don't know if you don't try

lizziem_2

Have you complained to the council/housing association/their landlord? Have you gone to the neighbours' and politely asked them to try and be quieter? They might not even realise they are disturbing you, people have very different tolerances to noise.

Have you tried ear plugs?

Even in cities there are parks and green spaces, 'secret' gardens etc. Try googling around for a city guide and find somewhere local where you can relax.

Idiophreak

I really don't think you should tar all new build properties with the same brush, based on your experience of one.

I live in a new build flat and couldn't be happier with it - the rooms are really big and spacious (and seem even larger as there are no radiators in the way - underfloor heating). It costs next to nothing to heat, as the insulation's so good and it is amazingly quiet.

If our neighbours open or close doors, we can hear a very quiet "clunk", but that's it...Never heard a peep out of them apart from that.
Before they moved in, we borrowed the keys from the builder and went to see how noisy we could be before we were being inconsiderate - the answer was, frankly, incredibly noisy. We can have our TV on near maximum volume, hoover, stamp about, put on the blender, etc etc - you can't hear it at all. If we turn the bass up on the hifi and whack up the volume, you can hear a dull bassline through the walls - but you have to have it seriously loud before it's an issue.

In contrast to this, I used to live in some older terraced houses at uni and got woken up every day by the sound of the TV next door, babies crying and so on. I guess the conclusion is that there were some badly built homes back then and there are some badly built homes now - but they're not all the same.

Kei

I live in a new build and I am really pleased with it, although I am lucky as my house was built on 'Duchy of Cornwall' land so they had to be built to a certain standard. Although the internal walls are all plasterboard we have managed to hang pictures, mirrors and a bathroom cabinet with no trouble, its just having the right tools for the job. As for the noise level, thats absolutely fine. I agree though that old houses are even less noisy due to the thickness of the walls.

When I moved out of home I moved from my mums Edwardian house to this 8yr old one, and I cannot believe how much warmer it is. My mums house is so drafty because of the old windows so it costs her a fortune to heat. Then there is the amount of maintenence she has just to keep things in good condition. (like painting window frames), also when you go to decorate a room, you open up a can of worms, like finding flaky walls, woodoworm in the floorboards, even damp or rot!

Also with the garden thing we went to look at loads of old houses before we bought this one, there were hardly any with a garden worth having, because there were things like the neighbours had access through the garden (foot or vehicle!) or the garden was actually situated behind somone elses house, and you had someone elses garden directly behind your house, or in the worst case the garden was across the road! It is so weird how they used to divide up the land.

Although I love the character of old houses, I think there are compromises to be made each way. I say count yourself lucky that it is low maintenance and that you have a new homes warranty!

mountainofdebt

OH doesn't call new builds shake and bakes for nothing.

pinkshoes

Not ALL new builds are like this! I also lived in a new build flat, and it was brilliantly insulated (both between floors, and between walls) with nice big rooms! I've also lived in older terraces where you could hear the neighbours wee!

Did you not go and look at the accommodation that they were offering before agreeing to swap?!

MoneySaverForever

pinkshoes wrote: »

Not ALL new builds are like this! I also lived in a new build flat, and it was brilliantly insulated (both between floors, and between walls) with nice big rooms! I've also lived in older terraces where you could hear the neighbours wee!

Did you not go and look at the accommodation that they were offering before agreeing to swap?!

Hi there pinkshoes, yes, I did get to look at the accomodation but it was before anybody moved in and so I wasn't able to know for sure if I'd hear the other neighbours or not. I wish you well in you new home xxx

TheSaint_2

A lot of new builds are rubbish as far as sound insulation goes. They tend to be very well insulated as far as heating goes though due to the regs. I guess it just depends on the developer, most people I know that live in new builds live in houses that I would not dream of buying due to poor construction. The odd one or two are the exception to that rule (usually the really well off ones!)

scarlet55

i moved into a new build apartment with a lovely balcony that ran the entire length with brilliant views overlooking a river.......i thought i was in heaven untill the rest of my neighbours moved in.......the chap downstairs wud have his balcony doors open at night and play his music....the couple above had a wooden floor and she always wore heels so you can imagine the noise.....you could hear people banging the doors late at night......but the worst was a young couple whose door faced mine on the landing...i could hear them making love most nights (her especially, sounded like a banshee lol) even with my tv on........i happily gave up my river view to be back in a house..:)