Depressed about new house

neverthoughtidbehere

So I'm in mid twenties, saved for four long years for a deposit on a house, had offered accepted on a lovely 2 bedroom terraced in a nice area. Been here 3 months and everything's perfect apart from one side of party wall is disastrously thin. The neighbours are just a quiet couple however I can hear every single internal door shut, footsteps and cupboards opening in the bedrooms, tv and voices, it's literally like there in my own home, which then makes me paranoid they can hear me. Wasn't expecting complete silence however hearing everyday noise is very unnerving and I don't think Il ever get used to it. Looked in loft and it's a single breeze block wall, a lot of noise comes through floor so sound proofing is pointless. I don't think il ever get used to it and i know il want to sell it in a few years ,just depressed knowing it's not worked out and could lose money when coming to se lling. Guess I posted this to be lifted up abit.

Jonboy_1984

It can be surprising what travels and how different neighbours lifestyles make a difference(having recently moved from a block of flats that had rental tenants in half the flats….)

You can get used to it over time.

The other option is to look at installing sound proofing on your side of the wall. One of my parents neighbours did this and it only took a couple of inches off the room, and it was amazing how loud he could have the music before you heard it. This was over 25 years ago so not sure on the brand/type etc unfortunately.

TripleH

It's perfectly normal to complete on the biggest purchase of your life and suddenly see the negatives for more than they are.

Did you live in a terrace house before? They can be quite enclosing if you're not used to them. Give it time you'll get used to the noise and be more comfortable in your own home.

There are also things you can do to help muffle the noise.

Exodi

I'd say this is part and parcel of living in a terraced house to be honest.

The last terraced house I lived in we could hear the neighbours having... fun... together. No doubt they could hear the same. Obviously very weird to think about but we both just lived our lives.

What is the issue if they can hear you? It's likely to be muffled anyway, are you able to make out exactly what they are talking about, or just that they are talking?

I wouldn't hope on the fact that moving into another terraced property would solve this issue. Do you have the money to move to a detatched house?

It all comes down to affordability and convenience.

Do you think you could make peace with the fact that you can hear them and they can hear you?

housebuyer143

No advice, but that's my worst nightmare. I lived in a semi before and luckily the soundproofing was excellent, but I'm so sensitive to noise, that this time when I moved I would only move into a detached because I was so worried about next door being noisy.

The problem is you can't tell how good the soundproofing is until you move in. My friend lives in a Victorian terrace and it's terrible literally hearing every word, but that equally my other friend lives in a new build and it's just as bad.

Are you able to insulate the walls to soundproof them? Maybe that will help? I know you think you won't, but eventually you'll get used to a lot of the sound.

Exodi

housebuyer143 said:

No advice, but that's my worst nightmare. I lived in a semi before and luckily the soundproofing was excellent, but I'm so sensitive to noise, that this time when I moved I would only move into a detached because I was so worried about next door being noisy.

Have you never lived in a flat then?

When I rented a flat, I could hear the people walking around above me and I had a single mum the living to the side of me.

So everyday was *stomp* *stomp* *stomp* "TYLER I SAID COME BACK HERE AND EAT YOUR DINNER... NO EAT YOUR DINNER OR YOU'RE GOING TO BED WITH NO PUDDING."

I moved from a flat into a semi detatched house and could regularly hear the neighbours having... fun, which was awkward and like something from a comedy.

I'm much happier in a detatched property - but this also seems like an obvious and out of touch statement - "this lamborghini gets me to work way faster, I don't know why everyone doesn't just buy lamborghinis"

FreeBear

TripleH said: There are also things you can do to help muffle the noise.

Noninvasive methods - Bookcases across the wall and filled with plenty of books. Soft furnishing hung on the wall (tapestries, rugs, etc).

More permanent solutions - Double/triple layers of sound blocking plasterboard over the top of dense insulation. Fitting of resilient bars between battens & wall..

Sound reduction & insulation is a complex subject that can often require the analysis and recommendations from an expert. Adding mass to a wall will offer scope for some reduction, but there is (nearly) always multiple paths for noise to get through. This is where you need an experienced eye to identify the weak points and come up with an acceptable solution.

neverthoughtidbehere

housebuyer143 said:

No advice, but that's my worst nightmare. I lived in a semi before and luckily the soundproofing was excellent, but I'm so sensitive to noise, that this time when I moved I would only move into a detached because I was so worried about next door being noisy.

The problem is you can't tell how good the soundproofing is until you move in. My friend lives in a Victorian terrace and it's terrible literally hearing every word, but that equally my other friend lives in a new build and it's just as bad.

Are you able to insulate the walls to soundproof them? Maybe that will help? I know you think you won't, but eventually you'll get used to a lot of the sound.

It really is a nightmare, this is a 60s house so thought it be decent, impact noise which annoys me more seems to travel through the floor and joists and airborne through wall. A really tricky soundproof case which could result in thousands of pounds spent for nothing.

Noneforit999

Older houses often had little soundproofing in the party walls, we are in a 60's built house and can hear our neighbours TV through the wall, although only when ours is not switched on.

There are things you can do to reduce the noise but ultimately they come at a cost and you will not know how much of an impact they are going to have until you actually spend the money,

We have large floor to ceiling wardrobes in our bedroom which cover the entire party wall and it make no difference to the noise from next door, fortunately we didn't buy them for that purpose but it was a little disappointing to discover they made no difference. 

You can buy soundproofing panels you can stick on the walls but again, how much difference this really makes won't be known until you do it.

I think you have to accept there will always be a level of noise from the party wall.

We had a 2015 new build before this and never heard our neighbours. 

neverthoughtidbehere

Exodi said:

I'd say this is part and parcel of living in a terraced house to be honest.

The last terraced house I lived in we could hear the neighbours having... fun... together. No doubt they could hear the same. Obviously very weird to think about but we both just lived our lives.

What is the issue if they can hear you? It's likely to be muffled anyway, are you able to make out exactly what they are talking about, or just that they are talking?

I wouldn't hope on the fact that moving into another terraced property would solve this issue. Do you have the money to move to a detatched house?

It all comes down to affordability and convenience.

Do you think you could make peace with the fact that you can hear them and they can hear you?

I'm already mentally stressed from it, could maybe learn to deal with It better overtime but I can't see a long-term future here, especially if I find a partner eventually . it's so bad it's not even muffled it's like 2 bedroom in same house. There older and the person who sold me was older as well so I imagine they got on with it but as I'm young i like my privacy 

GDB2222

You might find carpets help, if the sound is through the floor? What do you have right now?