new nextdoor and now new noise.

moneyistooshorttomention

As you can see - I have read the posts - so amended mine.:)

Doozergirl

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

As you can see - I have read the posts - so amended mine.:)

Would you be willing to let your neighbours in to take photos of your walls for their surveyor? I have a feeling you wouldn't.

If they're not going to let a surveyor in, they're not going to be employing builders again to satisfy the neighbour that, in their mind, likes to complain.

Regardless of what has happened, they won't have done anything that would result in the demand being on them to do anything about it. The advice from any surveyor is ultimately going to be for the OP to apply insulation to reduce the transference of sound, I imagine.

Hillwalker11

You have my sympathy. Many years ago we lived in a semi, bought in a beautiful rural area with stunning views. However our neighbours were a family with 3 teenage boys. You could hear everything, all day and half the night, very loud talking, music playing, loud television. I could tell every TV programme they watched and follow the plot!.
They were pleasant enough neighbours, it was just the way they lived, loudly. We had the wall between us soundproofed,but although it helped a bit the noise was still difficult to live with.
The biggest problem is you can never relax in your own home, you live on a knife edge, it is very very stressful.
We sold after two years and bought a detached house, we could never live in a semi again.
Unless you have lived with this sort of problem you cannot imagine the stress it evokes.
I have no solution for you apart from moving if that is a viable option.

-taff

I would imagine as you can hear the noise through either side of the chimeny breast, the person who lived there before probably had cupboards and/or fully stacked shelving built into the alcoves. The new owner rips them out, hey presto, more noise.

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Could be that your best next move is to go in for a look yourselves (considering that they won't let you in with a surveyor) and take clear photos of everywhere (largest size possible) and it may well be that a surveyor would be able to tell what has happened from looking at photos.

Stan Lee died this week, but even he didn't invent a surveyor with X ray eyes!

LandyAndy

Davesnave wrote: »

Stan Lee died this week, but even he didn't invent a surveyor with X ray eyes!

He just didn't have as vivid an imagination as 'money' . :cool:

xythus

thanks for all your replies (even if some are quite ignorant), it was just the new noise compared how it was is distinctly clearer even the smallest sound is now heard, I said we used to faintly hear the dog bark in the next room, no cupboards next to chimneys in nextdoor, no idea what has been done and doesn't look like we'll be getting to find out, soundproofing or moving time ......

somethingcorporate

We had similar problems. The previous neighbours were a bit noisy and smoked a lot of weed that came up through the old chimneys. The house was bought, turned into a HMO that was rented to builders who were quieter in general but the new setup meant we heard everthing as the new ensuites were right next to our bed (just on the otherside of a thin victorian wall).


We looked into proper sound proofing and it is very expensive so we just moved.

Davesnave

xythus wrote: »

thanks for all your replies (even if some are quite ignorant)

To me, the vast majority look like people trying to be helpful in one way or another. Some may have little practical knowledge, but it's an open forum where everyone is welcome to post. That's the modus operandi.

Regarding ignorance, the problem for you is not knowing who among this motley crew actually has building experience, or experience in attempting relevant tasks, like soundproofing. We have at least two very experienced builders here....However, I don't know anything about the person who thought the walls had been "thinned."

xythus

yes and they have been thanked, party wall notifiable work was, underpinning upto the edge of the party wall, cutting into party wall to insert beams for 2 new floors, a damp proof course, replacing all the old plasterwork digging out the entire ground floor to level of foundations etc.
I also do not believe that the walls have been thinned as it would have been quite obvious soundwise as we were home most of the time also probably dangerous as house needs underpinning. solicitor getting binned as some of you suggested, could have had the house soundproofed for the money spent on them.
What I was trying to accertain was if anyone else had this problem and what did they do.
I know it may seem that it is just the new noise we are not used to, but its now the clarity and being able to hear the slightest noise compared to the deaf old guys tv ( he used to apologise for it being loud) which we barely heard, now we know when they pick the remote up to change channel, I always want to just say I was listening to that, just to see what happens.
thanks for all your replies again, its good to hear other opinions.