Neighbour noise from adjoining property. Semi Detached house

[JP1994]

Hi,

 

I am just looking for some advice and wanted to see if anyone had any success in soundproofing their house from neighbours in a Semi Detached house.

 

I am not the most savvy at Construction and Building work so I’ll try put as much detail as I can!

 

I have recently moved into a Semi detached property and am experiencing a lot of intrusive noise from our neighbours. Couple with 3 young kids who run around and scream like maniacs. Constantly hear them running up and down their stairs and on the landing.

 

 

Can also hear everything the family do in their kitchen as it backs onto our lounge. (Cupboards closing, appliances, switches/sockets being used). Can hear all of this clear as day as if it’s a hollow wall separating us.

 

Can also hear them walking up and down the stairs and slamming doors. (Hard to tell whether they are slamming and stomping or if it’s just poor insulation or work between the properties).

 

We have a breeze-block party wall with a layer of plasterboard on our side which I believe is Dot and Dab.
 

Downstairs we have a lounge and kitchen along the party wall with the stairs going up through the middle separating the two. Then upstairs we have our landing and two bedrooms along the party wall. So currently we are going to look at getting the lounge, bedrooms and landing done first and then potentially the kitchen in the future when we get a new kitchen!

 

I am in the process of looking for quotes for this. I want to get the best soundproofing possible on our party walls to block out noise this way. Does anyone know what the best soundproofing method would be to block out the noise coming from them stomping up the stairs and upstairs rooms, as this is the main contributor. Would it be a case of soundproofing under our upstairs floor boards between joists?

 

Want to get professionals in to sort this properly so am happy to pay for the best solution possible.

 

Just wanted to know if anyone has been in a similar situation before and had soundproofing installed and if had much joy? Any information would be appreciated! 

 

Thanks,

 

Jack 

[Ferdinand]

It's important to understand how the sound propagates, and what it is that you need to address most - which should form part of your Statement of Requirements..

 

Some will come through the wall, and other will come through the structure. Stairs creaking or water pipes water-piping, for example, is a very different thing to them practising the trombone.

 

The place to start is to list what the issues are, and which are most important to you. And the consult with someone who knows.

 

And there are also some types of noise that you may not mitigate easily without moving to a detached, or perhaps a differently built semi.

 

Other people will be along shortly.

 

It may be worth, once you have got your thoughts in order, a conversation with Building Control. One of their people may be willing to give you a few minutes and a few pointers.

 

F

[JP1994]

 

Thanks for the advice Ferdinand.

 

The main presumption would’ve beento soundproof the party walls. Which we will do anyway as sound is clearly coming through. However I get vibrations from thuds and bangs can travel through the structure via flanking noise. 

 

Like I said our living room backs onto their kitchen and we can hear switches and sockets as if they are in our own room. So I’m not sure if their are gaps in the brickwork or it’s just s**t insulation either side. Hopefully the soundproofer will be able to determine more.

 

Do you know what the best method would be to stop the impact noises coming from their upstairs? When the kids run around the landing we can hear this loudly all over our house. 
 

Will soundproofing under our floor boards between joists dampen these impact?
 

Like I said we are happy to pay for the best soundproofing available to help as much as possible. We’ve just moved and plan on living here long term.

 

The neighbours only took over in August from an elderly couple so it may be a blessing this has come to fruition now - rather than in a years time when we’ve had our own work done! 

Edited January 3, 2022 by JP1994

[Mr Punter]

@Moonshine does part E stuff and knows what works well.  @nod does lots of commercial jobs for clients that need to improve the sound attenuation.

 

You need to separate their side from yours and block any gaps where sound could travel through.  You may do well to get rid of the plasterboard on dabs so you can see the wall.  It could be that this needs to be repointed or plastered, and either some resilient bars added and some acoustic plasterboard or an independent metal stud wall built.  Look at whether your floor joists run into the party wall as these can transmit sound as well.  Sometimes even cutting the floor deck back so that it is not in contact with the wall can help too.

 

There is a lot to this and what seem minor details can make a large difference to the result.

[nod]

The main sound transfer in your home Will be both sets of stairs fixed to the party wall and then the floor joists It’s quite likely the floor and joists where put in in the same way as one detached dwelling 

 

There are ways of dramatically improving your soundproofing But it won’t come cheap 

[saveasteading]

To give us more background, what age is the house? Can you see if the floorboards run towards or parallel to the party wall?

[JP1994]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

To give us more background, what age is the house? Can you see if the floorboards run towards or parallel to the party wall?

The House is 34 years old. (Built 1988)

The ground floor is concrete. 

Upstairs the floorboards run towards the wall, so this would mean the joists run opposite, right? 
 

What would you think the best idea would be here?

[saveasteading]

1 minute ago, JP1994 said:

Upstairs the floorboards run towards the wall, so this would mean the joists run opposite, right? 

yes, so that is good, I think.

2 minutes ago, JP1994 said:

The House is 34 years old. (Built 1988)

You have effectively a solid wall between you so if you tap on your plasterboard it echoes out of theirs, and vice versa, so that gives an easy opportunity, with stud, insulation and the resilient bars mentioned above.

4 minutes ago, JP1994 said:

The ground floor is concrete. 

That also tends to allow an impact on one side to reflect to the other, and even through the wall.

It is easier to reduce this by cutting the noisy side, so that doesn't help.

 

But we are getting somewhere.