Soundproofing without renovation?

ladyellyria

Hi all,

We live in a quiet area but we can hear our neighbour's TV and radio through our walls, which is getting quite annoying... But we've already put all the furniture in and so not looking to renovate any time soon. Was wondering if any of the acoustic tiles/hang a rug on the wall type of advice works? Has anyone got any experience with this? My main concern is that rugs/acoustic tiles obviously don't cover the whole wall, so not sure if they would have any effect on reducing the noise coming from the other side. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Doozergirl

Turn your TV up

jamesperrett

No - hanging something on the wall won't work. Depending upon how the sound is travelling through the wall you might get away with building a stud wall in front of the existing wall but, if the sound is being coupled through to the other walls, you may need to build a complete shell within the room.

Davesnave

As above, the cheapest option is a stud wall of a special design and it still won't be cheap. Many videos etc on the internet to explore.

It might still fail to cure the problem completely and you'll lose some space.

Before you do anything, try to find out how the neighbour has their TV arranged. They may have quite a powerful sound bar mounted on that wall, in which case buying your own might be one way to negotiate changes!

ashe

I think if you live in a terrace or semi you’re very lucky if you don’t hear some noise from next door. We lived in a 1979 build end of terrace and we could hear people cough, sneeze, talk etc. I think even if you build a stud wall and insulate it sound will travel through ceiling, sockets etc. We could hear every time a socket was plugged in so the insulation must have been weak there as strong sound carrying through at that point

ladyellyria

The TV sound definitely sound as if it's travelling through the walls -- it's muffled, but it also feels like it "spreads" through the walls, if that makes sense. We can't hear them talking or anything like that, but we can hear dog barks. It's the TV that's most annoying though.

I'm fairly certain I can tell where their TV is because the sound is louder from one side of the room. And they have the radio in the bedroom on sometimes and it's louder in the bedroom, and it travels down to the living room as well.

I'm not sure if they just have the TV/radio on very loud, or if the wall is just thin. I'm inclined to think the former because we don't hear any other general noise from them apart from the TV and the dog barking. I've tried to turn up my TV but I don't like my TV loud -- I'd be annoyed of the sound myself before they can hear it, probably!

EDIT: I think they also have some bass on because there is a distinct thump thump with the lower frequency sounds. As I don't have a bass sound stereo or anything like that, I'm not even sure if they can hear anything on our side, so probably think it's very well soundproofed so feel safe to turn everything on very loud. Frustrating.

ladyellyria

ashe wrote: »

I think if you live in a terrace or semi you’re very lucky if you don’t hear some noise from next door. We lived in a 1979 build end of terrace and we could hear people cough, sneeze, talk etc. I think even if you build a stud wall and insulate it sound will travel through ceiling, sockets etc. We could hear every time a socket was plugged in so the insulation must have been weak there as strong sound carrying through at that point

The reason the TV noise is annoying is precisely because how quiet everything else is -- we live in a fairly rural area, so it really stands out. I'm sure if this happened in a city centre/suburban location I wouldn't even notice it. Also, we've always lived next very quiet elderly neighbours and have never heard a peep from our previous neighbours. But our current neighbour is a young family (though it's the TV/radio that's the bothering point). Do you get used to hearing your neighbours? I wouldn't say the sound is unreasonably loud, but it is still grating especially in contrast to how quiet everything is without it!

Doozergirl

If they have their TV on the wall, then the sound will vibrate through the whole wall.

Fire_Fox

ladyellyria wrote: »

The TV sound definitely sound as if it's travelling through the walls -- it's muffled, but it also feels like it "spreads" through the walls, if that makes sense. We can't hear them talking or anything like that, but we can hear dog barks. It's the TV that's most annoying though.

I'm fairly certain I can tell where their TV is because the sound is louder from one side of the room. And they have the radio in the bedroom on sometimes and it's louder in the bedroom, and it travels down to the living room as well.

I'm not sure if they just have the TV/radio on very loud, or if the wall is just thin. I'm inclined to think the former because we don't hear any other general noise from them apart from the TV and the dog barking. I've tried to turn up my TV but I don't like my TV loud -- I'd be annoyed of the sound myself before they can hear it, probably!

EDIT: I think they also have some bass on because there is a distinct thump thump with the lower frequency sounds. As I don't have a bass sound stereo or anything like that, I'm not even sure if they can hear anything on our side, so probably think it's very well soundproofed so feel safe to turn everything on very loud. Frustrating.

Talk to your new neighbours insteas of being annoyed and frustrated.

Davesnave

Doozergirl wrote: »

If they have their TV on the wall, then the sound will vibrate through the whole wall.

Many flat screens are too large to fit on furniture, or don't look good there, so they go on the wall; often the one which adjoins the neighbours. The set up with furniture in a semi typically follows a hearth-focused pattern, even with a fireplace long gone, so it may be hard to locate the screen anywhere else.


So, with the TV stuck on the wall, the whole thing becomes a sounding board. Add a sound bar + a bass bin on a wooden floor and there's a recipe for something a bit of special plasterboard and some acoustic padding won't eliminate. The sound will be travelling into other parts of the structure too.


Having said that, we have our sound bar on the wall, and in the kitchen behind there's little apparent bleed-through. The box is decoupled from the wall by basic rubber pads, but it's probably the low volume we generally use that matters most.


This is a tricky one. I agree that getting to know the neighbours well would be vital to success, but even then, changing their behaviour and furnishing arrangements would be a very big ask.


City or countryside has nothing to do with it, in the sense that either can be noisy or quiet. We used to live in a semi in a small residential enclave a mile from the city centre where it was typically quieter than here in the countryside. Producing food is not quiet; even the food itself can be noisy!

Debsy1000

I have a young family next door to me and have driven demented with the noise , banging , kids screaming, them shouting , kids jumping off furniture, dogs barking . Have to wear earplugs in bed and sometimes in the day time ! I had a stud wall installed in one bedroom and two layers of gyproc soundproof boarding with acoustic glue between - made no difference. I have run out of ideas and patience! To be honest it’s affecting my quality of life as I feel like I’m living thier life ! Any suggestions? Before anyone says speak to them , tried that , met with ‘oh we know we are noisy because of the kids ‘ , and arrogance from the guy who thinks he’s some sort of hard man . No consideration, entitled millennials types. My house I can do what I like . ��