Moving from detached to a semi?

Orpheo

ftbfun wrote: »

i don't think the op is asking to borrow that chip on your shoulder.

.............
:a

loveGSDs

iv lived in semi's and terraced and think it all depends on who you're next door to.

iv had a lady in her 80's next to me who i almost never heard but also a family with young children who i heard all the time.

to be honest i think you might make more noise in a semi than your neighbour as you wont be used to being quiet and thinking about it, its certainly something iv noticed when having friends from detached houses stay at mine - they're so loud!! lol, shouting and slamming doors - but then they dont have to think about it normally so dont realise its an issue

id happily go with a semi if the house met all the other requirements

good luck with your move

xx

Gothicfairy

My last place was a terraced and I really would work hard not to end up like that again. The house was fine, garden great, location pretty perfect.
The neighbour on one side though would have driven me to murder in the end...We shared the living room / main bedroom wall and all I could hear was their TV /Stereo / and then the arguements / fights / drinking sessions / parties etc
Some weekends we got no sleep at all and there was nothing we could do..ie closed windows / doors etc but it came through the walls as well as from outside.
Also the bedroom smelt of fag smoke and neither of us smoke.

I do think you have to live within your means but there is nothing to stop you trying to find what you want within those means, maybe something that needs work ..

Good luck though with whatever you pick

atw_uss

Davesnave wrote: »

Beware barn conversions though....Other issues there, so choose carefully.;)

Thanks for all the helpful replies! Really useful and much appreciated. I guess I'm still erring towards detached and am not averse to doing a bit of DIY. That said, we viewed one that was advertised as needing "cosmetic modernisation" ... "gutting and then starting from scratch" was a more accurate description, even the walls were artexed!!!

The area we're looking at has mid-terraces going for £300K+, hence the interest in looking at semis (and it's not even home counties).

Re. the "beware barn conversions", please tell more ... there's one we've found that we really like (or are you referring to my previous thread?)

milliebear00001

Mazzawa wrote: »

I would say to check the thickness of the walls/standard of construction. In my experience, chunky victorian terraces and earlier, the ones that were well build and had 'drawing rooms', insulate the sound well as you have a good foot of stone between you and next door. However, the workers cottages style properties have quite thin brick walls in comparison so perhaps not so good at keeping the noise in the right property. I think you'll have to judge each house on its merits - I hate hearing my neighbours so understand exactly where you are coming from!

This has been exactly my experience of Victorian houses. One very thin walls where you could hear everything. The Victorian terrace I now live in has a hallway between each living room in the row, and is stone built with about a foot of stone between each house. I NEVER hear my neighbours.

Doshwaster

hazyjo wrote: »

My last property was a Victorian terrace house. Got far more noise through the walls than we do now in our 8 year old semi-detached townhouse.

That was my experince too. I moved from a Victorian terraced where I could hear everything on both sides (especially a bloody dog who would bark 20 hours a day!) to a 10 year old semi where I never hear a squeek from next door.

Davesnave

judith_sw wrote: »

The area we're looking at has mid-terraces going for £300K+, hence the interest in looking at semis (and it's not even home counties).

Re. the "beware barn conversions", please tell more ... there's one we've found that we really like (or are you referring to my previous thread?)

The area I moved from recently has medium sized Victorian terraced houses selling at £300k+ because people are willing to pay a premium price for the period features. I was never in any doubt that our 30s semi, with its large family space around and no parking issues, was much better value.

As others have said, comparing an artisan's 2 up 2 down with a substantial Victorian gentleman's residence is not helpful, nor is equating the latter with a 1980s semi built by Wimpey.

As regards barn conversions, I have to guard against making sweeping generalisations there too, but the first thing to remember is that these buildings were never intended for human habitation, so there are architectural constraints, which developers succeed in surmounting with various degrees of success. Often, there is trade-off between external appearance and internal functionality: e.g. upper rooms with conservation-style roof lights and no proper windows.

Beyond that, the configuration of the buildings can mean that outdoor space is at a premium, even when the barn has a 'paddock' a short distance away. There are often communal areas which the householders have to manage through a committee and pay towards, and restrictions on what individuals may do on their own plots. All this may make the barn-dwellers community quite rule-based and inward-looking, though this isn't always the case.

Like housing estates, each barn community has its own character, but it is normally harder to wander around one of particular interest at different times to assess this, without attracting attention! Of course, this can be seen as both good and bad too, depending on one's outlook.