Sound insulation / noise transfer between houses

[Larches]

Hoping someone can advise on sound insulation between houses as we're looking to move this year. This seems a tricky aspect of house buying for light sleepers / shift workers / anyone who just likes a bit of peace and quiet. We can't really tell just from a viewing or two whether noise could be a problem, and obviously we can't necessarily rely on sellers or estate agents giving a completely frank answer on that.

For a good while now we've lived in detached properties and haven't had to worry about this, but most of the potential homes in the area we're looking at now are semi-detached or terraced. Construction varies so much though that one semi might be solidly built and sensibly laid out with little noise transfer, but another could be prety poor - I've read some horror stories from homeowners fed up with nuisance neighbours or even just normal day-to-day sounds being transmitted from one house to the next.

I'm thinking maybe one option would be to set aside a bit of cash in our house budget in case we need to get some form of soundproofing measures installed, but this is all new to me so it's hard to know what solutions might be the most effective and to figure out costs. No doubt a lot will depend on the individual house in question. I expect this can be tackled as a DIY job, but we'd want it doing properly so I would imagine it's more likely we'd get it done professionally.

Can anyone share there experiences on this or give some tips on the likely options and costs? From what I've found online, a lot depends on spec and I'm not really sure about that, so it would be good to hear people's real life experiences of getting soundproofing done (or maybe how you're getting on living without it). Thanks.

 

[blup]

Fix the timber battens to ceiling and floor, as fixing to wall will aid transmission of sound through wood. Dense insulation helps. A terrace/semi where the neighbours from hell reside will always be a nuisance. But a quiet terrace with respectful neighbours will be better than a detached property with neighbours intent on going full blast 24/7, so research carefully the area you are going to, there can be significant differences in the character of different parts of an apparently similar neighbourhood.

Blup

 

[Old Salt]

I live in a ‘60’s semi detached bungalow and the only time we hear our neighbours is when he’s laughing out loud. He can be loud, but all I want to do is find out what he’s watching on tv, cos its better than the sh1te I am watching.

 

[Larches]

Thanks @blup, it's a fair point that the neighbours make all the difference. Just so hard to assess that when buying, and even then we'd have no idea if/when we might get new neighbours, hence my focus on the construction side of things. We would get at least a level 2 but maybe level 3 survey done, so I wonder if this is something that could be assessed as part of that.

@Old Salt That's reassuring if you can't hear what it is he's actually watching on TV... you'll just have to ask!

 

[Diver Fred]

As part of the investigations check if the party wall is 4&1/2 (1 brick thick) , 9 (2 bricks) or 11 inch (with cavity). Best noise insulation is with a cavity party wall.
Our '80's house only has a 4&1/2 party wall...

 

[^woody^]

You'll be in for a shock. The worst properties will be up to the 50's, and the best from 2000's onwards.

Although a lot depends in what the occupants do and things like whether they have laminate flooring, kids or the telly and subwoofer on the party wall. .

Sound needs to be kept in not out, so you'll have no or limited success in keeping neighbour noise out.

 

[Dodgyrog]

Yup it's very difficult, nigh on impossible, to reduce sound from next door in a property that is already built, well without substantial alterations / cost. I'm only a keen DIY'er / jack of all trades on most aspects but I do get involved with recording studio builds and have project managed one with very high levels of sound isolation. Sorry but your "setting aside some cash for sound proofing" is not really an option as there is no simple way to address things that way - it's a complex process involving not just solid mass but also including airgaps, air tightness and cutting out flanking paths.

Best of luck with the home hunting, it really will be down to looking at each individual home and weighing up the variables, and hopefully getting a chance during viewing to see whether there are issues or not. But as mentioned above, it's the neighbours present and future that can make or break things.