What is my party wall made from and why is it sh*t

Dixon1995

1955 semi detached.

Every downstairs wall in my house is brick. Good old solid nourishment. The party wall is made from what looks like the same colour as brick, but they are hallow as someone has hidden a connector block in one.

I tapped the brick wall with a hammer and chisel, no loud noise. I tapped the party wall, it sounds like a massive bang from a tiny little tap. Anyway heres some pics.

Solid Brick wall

https://imgur.com/GWa7hfN


Party wall


https://imgur.com/lK7wfTY


Probably done to save costs im sure

Doozergirl

You want to see what it looks like stripped entirely of plaster. You'd wonder what you've bought.

Looking at a £3.5 million house in Central London, the party walls really are made up of all sorts of random spoil, thrown in any which way. Broken bits of brick, stones, anything.

I've seen it all on a regular basis, but when you do see it, you'd beg to differ with people who say that old houses were built better. They weren't. They can have lovely outward facing details, but behind the plaster? Meh.

ceredigion

Sounds like Hollow Clay Bricks

Dixon1995

Doozergirl wrote: »

You want to see what it looks like stripped entirely of plaster. You'd wonder what you've bought.

Looking at a £3.5 million house in Central London, the party walls really are made up of all sorts of random spoil, thrown in any which way. Broken bits of brick, stones, anything.

I've seen it all on a regular basis, but when you do see it, you'd beg to differ with people who say that old houses were built better. They weren't. They can have lovely outward facing details, but behind the plaster? Meh.

The only solace I have is that it didn't cost insane amounts like that london house you mention. It comes to something when something as important as a party wall where you don't want to hear next door, is built so poorly. I have a a load of solid bricks what about putting a course up against the party wall? Any improvement to noise?

Dixon1995

ceredigion wrote: »

Sounds like Hollow Clay Bricks

Yeah that actually looks a bit like it, but the lines are parralel, like they have been laid sideways? Pretty turd for a party wall.

Section106

Dixon1995 wrote: »

The only solace I have is that it didn't cost insane amounts like that london house you mention. It comes to something when something as important as a party wall where you don't want to hear next door, is built so poorly. I have a a load of solid bricks what about putting a course up against the party wall? Any improvement to noise?

Dixon1995 wrote: »

Yeah that actually looks a bit like it, but the lines are parralel, like they have been laid sideways? Pretty turd for a party wall.

Hollow extruded clay bricks have better thermal and acoustic insulating properties than solid clay bricks.

Rather than being 'turd', they are better in that situation than your preferred alternative. Modern aerated concrete blocks work on the same principle - creating air voids within the masonry unit helps to reduce the passage of sound and heat.

Solid is not always better.

Making your wall thicker by adding an additional layer of bricks would help to reduce sound transmission further (although marginally) but unless supported on new foundations would risk causing your floor(s) to collapse. And obviously would make your rooms slightly smaller and therefore reduce the value of your property.

Dixon1995

Section106 wrote: »

Hollow extruded clay bricks have better thermal and acoustic insulating properties than solid clay bricks.

Rather than being 'turd', they are better in that situation than your preferred alternative. Modern aerated concrete blocks work on the same principle - creating air voids within the masonry unit helps to reduce the passage of sound and heat.

Solid is not always better.

Making your wall thicker by adding an additional layer of bricks would help to reduce sound transmission further (although marginally) but unless supported on new foundations would risk causing your floor(s) to collapse. And obviously would make your rooms slightly smaller and therefore reduce the value of your property.

Unfortunately they aren't modern in my home as its 1955 build. They can't be that good as you say they are as the impact noise and airbourne noise is disgraceful. Bang your elbow on it and theres a massive echo, not on the brick walls. My dad has a solid party wall in he's home and there is no noise from the neighbour.

Modern ones probably are better. Im not doing anything to the walls except wallpapering.

Section106

Dixon1995 wrote: »

Unfortunately they aren't modern in my home as its 1955 build.

In 1955 they would have been modern.

They can't be that good as you say they are as the impact noise and airbourne noise is disgraceful.

Organisations like the Building Research Establishment carried out experiments over the years that have demonstrated bricks and blocks containing air voids have better thermal and acoustic insulating properties than solid bricks and blocks. Whoever specified them for building your house would have done so because they read the literature published at the time explaining their superior qualities in comparison to traditional bricks.

Hollow extruded clay bricks became popular in the 1950's and 60's for that reason. They ceased to be popular in the UK only because aerated concrete blocks are better still. Elsewhere in the world they continue to be commonly used.

Bang your elbow on it and theres a massive echo, not on the brick walls. My dad has a solid party wall in he's home and there is no noise from the neighbour.

An echo happens because sound is being reflected back in the direction it came from. The more sound energy which is reflected back, the less there is to pass through the wall and out from the other side. That is a basic principle of sound insulation.

The amount of sound which passes through a wall varies greatly depending on the type of construction, the materials used, and the type of sound involved (frequency). It is quite rare and unusual for a solid wall to have better sound insulation properties than a cavity wall. Or perhaps your dad is lucky to have neighbours who don't make very much noise.

Dixon1995

Section106 wrote: »

In 1955 they would have been modern.

Organisations like the Building Research Establishment carried out experiments over the years that have demonstrated bricks and blocks containing air voids have better thermal and acoustic insulating properties than solid bricks and blocks. Whoever specified them for building your house would have done so because they read the literature published at the time explaining their superior qualities in comparison to traditional bricks.

Hollow extruded clay bricks became popular in the 1950's and 60's for that reason. They ceased to be popular in the UK only because aerated concrete blocks are better still. Elsewhere in the world they continue to be commonly used.

An echo happens because sound is being reflected back in the direction it came from. The more sound energy which is reflected back, the less there is to pass through the wall and out from the other side. That is a basic principle of sound insulation.

The amount of sound which passes through a wall varies greatly depending on the type of construction, the materials used, and the type of sound involved (frequency). It is quite rare and unusual for a solid wall to have better sound insulation properties than a cavity wall. Or perhaps your dad is lucky to have neighbours who don't make very much noise.

You seem to know more than me on the subject. It's only the party wall which has these hallowed out bricks you speak off, and with it being the only wall where you can tap it gently and it makes a huge bang, that is what I based my opinion on. Sound transfer is made worse in my property as our front rooms are together and the ceiling joists run into their house, you can hear them walking about, that is amplified through the hallowed bricks imo.

He has had noisy neighbours who have booted the walls and you can barely hear it yet in mine you can hear it from the farthest room in the house. We know he's is solid brick as we had the walls back to brick at one point.

I understand where you are coming from. I'm not thinking straight due to the noise pollution skewing my view of the situation. Thanks for the information.

stuart45

Have a read of this. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468870/ADE_LOCKED.pdf
Go to page 20

bearshare

Traditional walls are usually conducted of two leaves of brick/block with a cavity between. The cavity provides additional sound insulation, and fire resistance. That isprobably what your father has.

I wonder if you have a single wall of hollow bricks? Although better at sound insulating than one of solid brick, it would not be as good as two leaves of brick plus cavity.