Are modern mid/end terraces noisy?

jacko74

I lived in an 1980's built mid-terrace and it was dreadful, could clearly hear the neighbours tv even when it was at a reasonable volume, could even hear their microwave humming and pinging when it was being used!

jimbog

londonlydia wrote: »

and I heard the bedroom commentary (including 'move it to the left dear, now you're getting it!')!!!!

Perhaps they're just hanging up pictures?

scottishblondie

I live in a mid row townhouse built in 2012 and I don't have any issues day to day. If the neighbours have a party then I can hear the music a bit, but I think they've got it up pretty loud.

It's really down to the build quality, which will vary wildly - I'd do as going_nowhere_fast suggested, and test out the noise yourself if at all possible.

ethank

My current home is a newbuild, it was built last year. My next door neighbours who I have only heard crying once and that was because we were both in our gardens.

I literally cannot here nothing from next door. I'm an end terrace.

room512

We live in a midterrace built around 4 years ago and cannot hear much noise from either side. The only noise we do hear is people going downstairs occasionally and front doors shutting. I was pleasantly surprised as I expected it to be a problem.

JennGa

We live in an end of 2013 mid-terrace and we only hear the neighbours if they thunder up the stairs which doesn't happen very often. Otherwise we keep forgetting they are there!

gregpot2000

I’ve been in my 1975 terrace for a month now, I can never hear a peep out of the neighbour on the right, but the neighbour’s on the other side I hear everything; Coughing, sneezing, when they are on the phone (not just a mumble, I can actually hear the conversations a lot of the time), I hear them arguing, having a shower. Even having the a late night wee before bed last night!. The noises are so loud that you could actually mistake them for being in my house, for example when they are going upstairs, you could easily mistake it for someone using my stairs

I wonder if there is a difference in the walls between neighbours, or if the man on the right is just exceptionally quiet?

I’ve always lived with parents in semi-detached houses before this, and in both houses you literally couldn’t a thing. Even if they had loud music on you would probably struggle to hear it. This was in a 1960’s, and a 1930’s semi, so it is taking a lot of getting used to.

I worry a lot about noise I make as well and annoying them. I have a surround sound system and do watch the odd film now and then, I don’t have it very loud as such. But obviously it’s louder overall than if you just had telly speakers, but I do worry about annoying them.

Cisco001

Currently live in new build (2009) mid-terrace. Sound insulation is not really good. I can hear next door neighbour chatting in their bedroom.

You can't hear what exactly they are saying, but it is quite annoying when you try to sleep at 11pm, and they keep talking til 00:30

ClareTeaches

A few other things to consider with terraces (I grew up in an 80s end terrace, lived there until I left home, then lived in Victorian terraces for several years at uni and after) ...

It's not just the noise inside, it's the noise of having that many gardens (with that many people/families) close by in summer, when you're trying to have a quiet drink on the one sunny day of the year ( ), plus potentially being overlooked.

Then consider parking. This isn't automatically a problem with terraces, but it can be with dense housing, depending on how the road is set up, how big drives are (fitting 1 or 2 cars?), etc. With this being a new build, don't just think about what the roads look like now, also think about how they'll cope when every house on the street has 2 cars, and perhaps some with 3 when they have teenage children.

Finally, end terraces can be great or awful, depending on several factors. The one I grew up in wasn't in the best area and we had problems with children kicking footballs against the wall (the whole house would vibrate) - some would politely stop when asked, others would not (and as they got bigger, we'd sometimes get retaliation for asking). People would cut through our front garden to get to the close next to us (pushing their way through hedging in the process!). Our drive was at the end of the back garden, rather than in front, like the other houses - I know a lot of people like to be able to see their car from the window (our back windscreen did get smashed once). I also think, if I remember rightly, that end terraces are more at risk of cracking, etc?

On the other hand, end terraces sometimes end up with bigger plots, if the garden wraps around the side of the house, plus you only have one neighbouring wall.

I'm not saying that you should or shouldn't buy a terrace house, but you should consider the potential drawbacks and whether they all apply to you (like I said, we weren't in the best area, whereas your potential home might be in a better postcode!), as well as what risks and cons you're willing to accept for the pros you're getting with this property - from your first post, it sounds like it's ticking a lot of boxes!

It's a tough decision - good luck with your choice!

frisbeej

Cisco001 wrote: »

Currently live in new build (2009) mid-terrace. Sound insulation is not really good. I can hear next door neighbour chatting in their bedroom.

You can't hear what exactly they are saying, but it is quite annoying when you try to sleep at 11pm, and they keep talking til 00:30

My 2010 semi-detached is pretty impressive, can't hear any voices, TV or plumbing, can occasionally hear lumping around, I guess the young son jumping (or falling?) down the stairs but that's it.


I do have the benefit that there is an offset in height, my half is 3 feet higher. Compared to the 25 year old terraced house I was in before its so much better.