Soundproofing Noisy Neighbours

beancounter1968

Hi
Forgive me as I probably sound like a moaner!

I have lived in my semi-detached house for over 20 years without any real issues until recently. The owners of the adjoining house no longer live there and have been renting it out to various tenants over the last few years. We have been reasonably lucky with neighbours until the latest people moved in. They are really nice people but have been blessed with what I can only describe as Satans child! the boy is two and I can honestly say he doesn't appear to have any sort of bed time routine. He runs around the house till around midnight and then we have an intense crying session as they try to get him to bed. He must be trying to sleep next to the wall which connects to our bedroom. It's really loud and is disturbing our sleep.
We all had kids once and I feel reluctant to have a word as I know they must be having a tough time and I would just compound their worries.

I am looking at the possibility of soundproofing the main wall and was wondering if there is a reliable method/system I could use to help me out.
Years ago I had fitted wardrobes in the bedroom and never had any noise issues - maybe I should have kept with them?

Any thoughts advice would be most welcome.

phoenix_w

As the parent of a similarly aged child who has some sleeping issues, I would be happy if you told me that my kid's affecting your sleep so we could move the cot/bed away from the party wall and put some furniture next to the wall to try and deaden the noise. If you don't say anything they can't try to make things better for you.

Your choices are to insulate the wall, place furniture in front of it, hang heavy fabrics or use a white noise machine/app. All of them have varying degrees of success.

FreddieFrugal

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4995305

If you read my posts on this thread I describe what me and my dad (correction: my dad and I) did to soundproof the party wall in my main bedroom. Problem at our house was a noisy teenager, playing guitar and 'singing' loudly at all hours.

Big improvement since then. Quietest room in the house

If you need more detail on any of it, I'm happy to give it. Also have pictures of the stages which I could host somewhere and give you a link to if that helps with understanding what we did.

FreddieFrugal

There you go, gives an idea of the stages and work involved

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3pihej7imog2qje/AAAwL1g72lpzHRntbjwatdqMa?dl=0


Here's the shopping list I had

3 of 415910523 Speedline 52mm Track - 3000mm Length @ £13.11
9 of 415910555 Speedline 50mm C Stud - 2400mm Length @ £36.36
2 of 163320030 Rockwool ProRox SL930 (Formerly RW3) Slab - 50mm x 1200mm x 600mm @ £32.02
2 of 163320060 Rockwool ProRox SL930 (Formerly RW3) Slab - 100mm x 600mm x 1200mm @ £32.54
4 of 740250148 Gyproc Soundbloc - 15mm x 1200mm x 2400mm @ £44.24
4 of 740250053 Gyproc Soundbloc - 12.5mm x 1200mm x 2400mm @ £40.16
11 of 415913810 Speedline Resilient Bar - 3000mm Length @ £50.82
4 of 740950805 Gyproc SoundCoat Plus - 25kg Bags @ £24.96
4 of 455010030 Speedline 4 Hour Fire Rated Acoustic Mastic - 310ml @ £10.44
1 of A82550002 Drywall Screws Self Drill BZP - 32mm (Box of 1000) @ £8.82
1 of A82550004 Self Drill Drywall Screw - Bzp Self Drill Drywall 3.5mm x 42mm @ £8.55
1 of A82750002 Wafer Head Needle Point Screw Bzp - Wafer Head Needle Point Screw 4.2mm x 13mm @ £9.89
1 of 170200180 25mm- Isover APR 1200 Acoustic Partition Roll - 25mm x 1200mm (Split 2 x 600mm) x 20m @ £39.20

Delivery £0.00
VAT @ 20% £70.22
Total £421.33

This calculator is handy for working out how much you'll need based on size of wall:
http://www.soundstop.co.uk/store/area_calculator.php?solution=WS4RESB

We did a 50mm wall to save space. That's what I set the calculator up for so hopefully all you need to do is go on that and put in your measurements. That website has good instructions on the process too, I think that's largely what we followed

It did take time, but was worth it. Bare in mind that before this I'd done nothing even remotely like it before and although Dad is an excellent general handyman, he hadn't done this sort of job before either. So it's well within the realms of a competent DIYer. Parts of the job so require two people with strong backs. Especially the lifting of the Soundcoat plasterboard. The 15mm stuff weighs 30KG which is. Huge amount when it's spread over a big awkward board, was very difficult to lift over the stairs, but we eventually got the knack for it. Luckily we started with those. So the 12.5mm ones felt like feather pillows in comparison (although still very heavy in reality)

We ordered from Insulation Express, price was best could find, got free delivery due to size of order, and the delivery was quick and well done. Order did come on two seperate shipments but arrived within a couple of hours of each other.

You must make sure that your windows are properly sealed to our seals were loose and that's where a big part of noise was coming from. Sound finds weakest point.

FreddieFrugal

beancounter1968 wrote: »

Hi
Forgive me as I probably sound like a moaner!

not at all! Excessive noise from neighbours, especially at night is incredibly stressful and can impact on everything. We considered moving having only just bought this, our first house, because it was so bad. It ruined it for us. Doing the soundproofing made such a huge difference though. Can cope until they leave!

beancounter1968

Thank you very much for all your advice. The DIY project looks pretty scary but the pictures are more than helpful in showing the extent of the work required - we may have an issue with laminate flooring but will certainly look into it.

Thanks once again

hubb

Kids don't go to bed like they used to. Like we had to. We were told and that was that. No debate. Everything is geared around the wants and needs of kids these days. That's why we now have the problems we have.

As for the noise, I find I get to sleep with my Mp3 player in my ears.

Johnhowell

We lived in rented property and the adjoining rented property were a nightmare. We tried the Noise Abatement officer - you may be lucky, ours we useless. We called the police at 2-3 o'clock in the morning - nothing. But they did send a couple of PCSOs around on a Sunday morning, who took the landlord details, spoke to the neighbour and then the landlord.

We reported them to the landlord when it started up again and I think the threat of eviction made them more considerate.

However, if you are a home owner any reporting to Police or Council will have to be divulged when trying to sell. Although, if reporting to the landlord would not have to be divulged - as it is private not public record...


As previously mentioned, it should be recommended that you ask them first, politely. Also, keep a diary of events.


Good luck,
John

wrightk

hubb wrote: »

Kids don't go to bed like they used to. Like we had to. We were told and that was that. No debate. Everything is geared around the wants and needs of kids these days. That's why we now have the problems we have.

As for the noise, I find I get to sleep with my Mp3 player in my ears.

Don't tar us all with the same brush! I have 3 under 5s, two with special needs.no matter what's going on they have a set time to go off,no ifs no buts

Grant79_2

Hi,I'm soundproofing a chimney breast wall with stud wall,rock wool,resilient bars then two layers of plasterboard but I don't know how I'm going to hang my TV on the wall and electric fire or what to do about electric sockets. Any info on this would be appreciated because I just don't know what to do, thanks

EllieJohn8

The sound proofing rubber sheets provide everything required to control and fight against the noise through the walls. This sound insulation isn’t just confined to studios, it can be used anywhere noise pollution is an issue, whether it’s the sound violation from the noisy neighbours or excessive noise generated by your own family members.