Soundproofing-David Wilson semi detached

YoungBlueEyes

Not a DW home, but my last house was a new-ish build end terrace, about a decade old. The stairs and bathrooms were together so it was lovely and quiet. We're in a 60's semi now that's a mirror image, and it is not lovely and quiet. I would've thought this older house would have thicker walls, and maybe it does, but I suspect layout makes the bigger difference. 

stevoh

So the stairs are together but bathrooms aren’t. In each bedroom there’s a fitted wardrobe running along dividing wall in each house. I guess this layout will help?

katkatmachine

We’ve been living in our end terraced new build for over two years now, the only time I heard our neighbours next door was when they were drilling something on the wall when we first moved in. Other than that we don’t hear anything from them at all. So I guess the soundproofing of our house is really good, or they must be really quiet. Idk. Lol. 

goater78

I’m in a bellway semi where the lounges and master bedroom share a wall. Sound proofing is very good and I can’t really hear them. Previously lived in a 1900 terrace and sound proofing was awful. 

YoungBlueEyes

stevoh said:

So the stairs are together but bathrooms aren’t. In each bedroom there’s a fitted wardrobe running along dividing wall in each house. I guess this layout will help?

I would think so yeah. We both had fitted wardrobes on the party wall and I'd say they did a great job. Keeping them full of clothes/stuff will be good for insulation too

ArbitraryRandom

stevoh said:

So the stairs are together but bathrooms aren’t. In each bedroom there’s a fitted wardrobe running along dividing wall in each house. I guess this layout will help?

That's something that again depends on the actual house. Sometimes having the stairs on the adjoining wall is great as they act as insulation/an air gap from noise travelling to living areas.

In other houses (perhaps more open plan arrangements?) it's awful as it does almost the opposite acting as a sound box that transmits the noise (which probably also depends on if the neighbours have teenagers or elephants living with them...) 

Really the best option is to view the house and see if you can hear the neighbours (or as this is in a development and next door might be empty, maybe ask if you can view both houses and ask a friend/partner to trot up and down the stairs while you're listening out).  

Noneforit999

YoungBlueEyes said:

Not a DW home, but my last house was a new-ish build end terrace, about a decade old. The stairs and bathrooms were together so it was lovely and quiet. We're in a 60's semi now that's a mirror image, and it is not lovely and quiet. I would've thought this older house would have thicker walls, and maybe it does, but I suspect layout makes the bigger difference. 

Could have written this myself.

Went from a 2015 new build where we heard the neighbours maybe twice in 7 years to a 60s build where I can hear what the neighbour is watching on TV if I turn ours down.

I could be wrong but I think the cavity on the party wall on new builds needs to be insulated under modern building regs and the cavity is wider than it used to be (i.e. wider than something from 50 years ago). In new builds, the insulation is done in the envelope of the building, i.e. they pack insulation in the cavity walls and then don't need it between the rooms.

Our 60s house has no insulation in the party wall and the cavity is not very big. As others have said, it also depends on the layout and probably who the neighbours are.

If your lounge and master bedroom is on the party wall both sides and your neighbours have young children, its going to be louder than if the stairs and bathroom are on the party wall and your neighbours are in their 70s with no kids at home. 

YoungBlueEyes

The only way to see what this house is like is to test it out. I like @ArbitraryRandom's idea - view both houses if possible. Then your friend can go next door and clatter the cupboard doors about, trot up and down the stairs, speak about as loud as a telly might be. That'll give you a good notion of how it might be to live there. 

molenpad

I had a DW home, a three story townhouse. I thought the soundproofing was pretty much ok until new neighbours moved in next door. They weren't overly noisy or offensive, just generally noisier and less considerate than the last family. All general household noise and nothing too dramatic. I'm sure they could hear the same from our side.

I know one issue we had in those houses were the sounds of integrated kitchen appliances reverberating through the walls - dishwasher droning, washer spinning, microwave bleeping. As a row of 4 houses we talked about it and got DW back a few times to look into it, but it seemed to be one of those things.

I could never hear the TV or the talking really, just general thumps, bumps and raised voices on occasion. 

ReadingTim

rigolith said:

This is the sort of thing that developers should be required to specify.

But specify what, exactly?  

Read any review of noise cancelling headphones and it's clear that certain sounds, pitches and frequencies are cancelled more effectively than others. Some sounds (and associated vibrations) travel more effectively than others, as I'm sure everyone appreciates.  

All any material could do would be to state that it offers a noise reduction of a set number of decibels, perhaps within a certain frequency range, but that's of limited value if the sound they're trying to deaden is too loud in the first place.  Which in turn leads to the question of what is 'too noisy'?  Different people have different views on that, which means you're trying to objectively quantify something which is inherently subjective.