Taylor Wimpy soundproofing

nickyg2000

I'm in the process of buying a 2.5 year old Taylor wimpy 3 story town house. We are moving from a flat because we are sick of the nosie above, walking,talking, doors closing etc. I went to speak to the neighbour and she said she can only hear people going up and down the stairs but nothing eles not the sellers newborn or other noises.

I wonder why you can hear people going up the stairs and nothing eles. Its a brick and block home btw. would anyone be worried??

staffie1

Because different sounds travel through different materials at different sound frequencies.
The sound of footfall going up the stairs (impact noise) is different in frequency to a baby crying (airbourne noise), and depending on the way the property is constructed and the density of materials between the properties (above/below/side-to-side) combined with how quiet / noisy whoever in the neighbouring property is, will determine what, if anything you can hear. It's impossible to predict.

In addition, the lady next door who you spoke to may be less sensitive to noise, may be out 12 hrs a day.

There is bound to be an element of noise. I moved from a modern semi detached because of neighbour noise, into an other semi 1930's (so solidly built I thought!) and now can hear, talking, coughing, kettle boiling, chopping veg on a chopping board, etc. and I hate it. I will have to be detached when I move on as I'm over-sensitive to noise now. But at the time it's the risk I took.

nickyg2000

I heard 1930s are particurly bad for noise. We went for an old cottage but heard noise on a later veiwing. Detached is the only way forward we just cant afford it !!

nickyg2000

btw what was worse noise-wise 1930's or semi? were your halls ajoining in the newbuild?

staffie1

Hmmm.. the modern semi and this 1930s semi are probably about the same in terms of level of noise heard. It's just different noise. In the modern semi I heard music, doors slamming, banging and bumping upstairs (they had laminate flooring in the bedrooms) - so mostly impact noise.

In the 1930s semi I hear next door coughing, talking (although the bloke next door has a particularly loud voice anyway because I think he's a bit deaf). Can sometimes hear cupboard doors closing that are on the dividing wall. The hallways are opposite sides, so the 2 main living rooms and bedrooms are together. It's just normal day to day living noise. It's not a huge problem but I just hate being able to hear normal conversations. I live on my own so tend to be quiet unless I have the radio or tv on, so I probably notice it more. The thing is, I really like 1930s semis - so much character attention to detail.
I will move again though in the near future though. Detached preferably but of course I probably couldn't afford it.

nickyg2000

Thanks for the info, This semi has stairs and halls facing the neighbour so I hope that helps. Its so crap that you just dont know what your in for until the day you move in... The fact its a 50 year old lady nextdoor means its not a party house at least. But it sounds like its more impact and clatttering noises in a newbuild, less mass but a caverty lacking in 1930s builds to stop most airborne noise.

Either way it HAS to be better than my flat. Its just floorboards and platerboard above. Creaky floor boards, pounding footsteps, slaming doors. If the phone in the flat above rings or vibrates I think its my phone, its basically like a house share.

ManuelG

nickyg2000 wrote: »

But it sounds like its more impact and clatttering noises in a newbuild, less mass but a caverty lacking in 1930s builds to stop most airborne noise.

My house isrelatively new, and I tend to hear the doors opening and closing, the washing machine(?) vibrating... and the dog yapping.

But *never* heard the people who live there.

I kind of hope that's the soundproofing, as I can cope with the type of noise I hear. What I really really don't want is, as next door's rented, someone moving in who just loves their Romanian Rap Music at 3am!

nickyg2000

When you sya you hear doors opening and closing do you mean slaming? and how loud is this noise? is it muted? or sound like its in the same house?

nickyg2000

the washing machine(?) vibrating...

Thats not the washing machibe :-s

ManuelG

Muted. It's the front door really, when they come in, and sometimes the back door rather than the ones in the house. Strangely, it's a terrace of three and I think I can hear the other end one when *they* come in too!

tbh it doesn't bother me, it lets me know when they're in if nothing else!

Every now and again it sounds like they move their furniture around too, which is slightly confusing and God knows what they're actually doing but... I'm a light/nervous sleeper, and in a year here I haven't been woken once by next door making a racket.

But I am concerned it might just be he and his girlfriend are quiet as doormice... bar the dog! And I never noticed the dog until he apologised about the noise it made, and promptly drew my attention to it!

GoldenShadow

I have lived in two 1930's semis. In both I could hear a plug being pushed into or pulled out of the joining wall, but nothing else noise wise. Our neighbour fell down the stairs and was shouting for help and we hadn't heard her, luckily she managed to make it to a phone.

My friend lives in a Taylor Wimpey albeit a mid terrace. Its awful. You can hear both neighbour's TVs through lounge walls and can hear one of the neighbour's washing machines when its on a spin cycle, but I think their washer must be pretty pants for the sound to travel as much as it does.