Noisey neighbours

[varley16]

Ive just moved house, i live in a semi detatched house, the good thing is the the lounge/bedrooms are on the opposite side of the house, so the stairs run up along the joining wall. But the walls must be very thin.

 

During the day, i done hear anything from them, and then from about 9 in the evening, there TV just seems louder and so is there mouths.

 

I would go ask them politly to shut it, but ive bought this house, me and the wife have moved into a bigger house as were planning for the future, so i dont want to confront them as we dont want to fall out with the neighbours, also with a nice 350z sat on the drive, i dont want my baby being hurt. the house itself is ok condition, but we are redecorating every room, not just paint, but stripping wall paper, replastering and making this a proper home. so if were going to do anythin, now is the time.

 

The stairway itself is 83cm wide, and goes up 8 steps, it then has a small landing before turning right and going up 4 steps at the same width, so without drawing pics the joining wall is the bottom hallway, the first part of the stairway, then the top landing area, the bathroom is also on the joining wall, aswell as the 3rd bedroom.

 

My question is about sound insulation, there must be something out there that will do the job, and not reduce the space up the stairs.

like i say though, we are replastering eventually, so if we have to strip back some plaster then i suppose we could do that.

 

thanks for any help.

[Ebized]

Could try turning your TV up even louder and wait for a complaint and say you had to do it because you couldn't hear yours because of theirs

 

More seriously, might be an idea to introduce yourselves and invite them in for a drink and at the right moment tell what you are planning to do (insulate the stairs) because party-wall does not seem very sound absorbent - and do they have any suggestions? Hoepfully they get the hint and are reasonable.

[Ekona]

Go and talk to them like a grown-up should be the first thing. They may not even realise that the walls are that thin.

 

 

My next door neighbours are a bit noisy (especially their dog!) but they take my parcels for me and don't complain when I crank the volume when watching a film once a week or so, so it evens itself out.

[varley16]

i would invite them for a drink, but there triple my age. i could be loud aswell, that sounds good.

[Ebized]

i would invite them for a drink, but there triple my age. i could be loud aswell, that sounds good.

 

Sounds like you might have to raise your voice for them to hear your invite

In which case drop a few leaflets through their letterbox about hearing aids

[Zugara]

We had exact same problem some years ago in another house, moved out after 6 months, just hated being in my home with the noise pollution from next door.

 

I could even hear him having a pee in his downstairs toilet.....Nice.

 

Had a chat to the guy, about the thin walls etc, all very nicely done, next thing, volume on TV is RIGHT up.

 

At that time I had a Marshall amp for a bass guitar 200watts output, Plumbed it into stereo and blasted Aerosmith through the adjoining wall over a weekend when we went away.

That sorted it out...... but it was never the same, always listening out for noise next door, I was never at ease living there after that.

 

Good luck, but it will eventually drive you outta your home unless you are very very easy going, but, somehow I don't think you are.

[EH 370z]

Call the police. They will hopefully get the message. I have had this too, it's not worth the stress if they want to be reasonable they should be in a position to appologise to you not the other way around

[Zugara]

Call the police. They will hopefully get the message. I have had this too, it's not worth the stress if they want to be reasonable they should be in a position to appologise to you not the other way around

 

Police, they aren't interested.

 

Been having Drifters around where I live for the last 18 months or so, 2am in the mornings, 6/7 skylines racing around a roundabout.

 

Call the cops every time, reply is usually,

 

We will send a car out when we can.

 

So you aint got any chance with noisy neighbours..

[magic84]

your always have this problem in semi / terrice house. ive got the same problem in my house and did when living at home with mum. you can hear the tv, the arguments and even when the turn the sockets on and off. its just somthing you will get used to, but also why im getting a detached next .

 

you can get sound proofing mat's/sheets but cant tell you where from sorry. as i saw it on a cowboy builds once when the kids playroom was under the main bedroom. worked a treat. plus it was really thin so they didnt lose any space.

[magic84]

here you go,

 

http://www.soundstop.co.uk/?gclid=CPq9w ... 4QodYiGAxA

[magic84]

here you go,

 

http://www.soundstop.co.uk/?gclid=CPq9w ... 4QodYiGAxA

[bronzee]

but we are redecorating every room, not just paint, but stripping wall paper, replastering and making this a proper home. so if were going to do anythin, now is the time.

 

My question is about sound insulation, there must be something out there that will do the job, and not reduce the space up the stairs.

like i say though, we are replastering eventually

Putting some insulation into the walls would be smart move, may even add value in the future.

 

Personally if you've just moved in and they seem approachable and friendly, have a nice chat to them. They may or may not realise, may also be a chance to get to know your neighbours. Also perhaps if they're getting on a bit, their hearing maybe waning, hence the loud volumes. Also handy to be friends with your neighbours, someone to keep an eye on your place whilst you're out.

[Ekona]

i would invite them for a drink, but there triple my age. i could be loud aswell, that sounds good.

So they're old, then? Maybe they're hard of hearing which is why the TV is on loud? That's hardly going to be grounds for a legal complaint of any kind. Any kind of retaliation by making more noise really isn't going to help matters.

 

GO AND TALK TO THEM LIKE A CIVILISED HUMAN BEING. If they're still arseholes after that than you can start thinking about other methods, but until you've done that then you're as bad as them.

[Ebized]

i would invite them for a drink, but there triple my age. i could be loud aswell, that sounds good.

So they're old, then? Maybe they're hard of hearing which is why the TV is on loud? That's hardly going to be grounds for a legal complaint of any kind. Any kind of retaliation by making more noise really isn't going to help matters.

 

GO AND TALK TO THEM LIKE A CIVILISED HUMAN BEING. If they're still arseholes after that than you can start thinking about other methods, but until you've done that then you're as bad as them.

 

+1 and bear in mind if you make a complaint to the police or other authorities you are legally required to devulge formal complaints during enquiries on property sale which might put off buyers, so best to try and resolve amicably.

 

When you revealed is was elderly neighbours that is a difficult one as it is bound to be a hearing issue for them and chances are they are removing hearing aids (if they wear them) for some respite. My father can't hear very well but what we have got him to do is have the subtitles running and no sound on the TV - and that has worked well (for him) and overcomes the potential complaints from neighbouring residents in the sheltered accommodation where he lives, on the advice of the staff there (in Oz).

[HaydnH]

Change your Wifi SSID to "ICanHearYouHavingSex" and see if they notice.

[varley16]

The bit where I said about being louder, was a joke, no need to take it seriously, and I wouldn't do that as that's just askin for trouble, personally I don't think it's the oldies as they have a son which is a little teenage fecker that needs more than a chat, so it's probably him. I would rather add insulation, then it's sorted, no being labelled a moaning git, no trouble with anyone, simple.

[EH 370z]

Change your Wifi SSID to "ICanHearYouHavingSex" and see if they notice.

[JetSet]

I was pretty lucky with my neighbours in the 5 years I lived in a semi. The first ones that lived there were a very quiet couple without any children and they both worked shifts, the only time they made much noise was at night funnily enough mainly when the husband was on nights . After a period of the house being empty another youngish couple moved in with 4 kids, all girls. The girls often made a racket when their parents were out and a on a few occasions I had to go around and sort out their arguments. Amazingly, I don't think I ever saw their dad in the two years they were there, he was a DJ and was out till all hours apparently.

 

 

Pete

[Watshot]

In this type of situation there are two variables to deal with, airbourne sound through cracks and gaps, which is unlikely, but worth checking (behind skirting boards, cracks around room perimeters etc.). Maybe they leave a window open, then you do the same in warmer weather and it's like you're in the room together.

 

However, it's more likely you're trying to deal with sound transmitting directly through the walls, and the only real way to deal with that is by increasing mass. It's likely that your party wall is only one brick or block thick, with plaster each side, and there's not a lot you can do without encroaching on some space in your property, and it might not make a huge amount of difference.

 

Things like staircases will have direct fixings to the wall so the sound when someone thumps upstairs will be amplified. The only way to minimize this kind of noise is to build a secondary wall on your side with a minimum amount of mechanical fixings to the original wall, but your own staircase is likely to mirror theirs, thereby negating the effect as it allows a route through your wall.

 

If you can't afford to lose any space, but were planning to re-plaster anyway, then it would be worth using acoustic plasterboard and maybe doubling up, making sure that the joins in each layer are offset. If you can lose a bit of space, add some pur type insulation (Celotex/Kingspan etc.) thereby increasing the mass. There are likely to be products on the market with fantastic claims, but to be honest they're not likely to produce much more of a result, and will certainly be stupidly expensive. Best of luck.

[pathfinder123]

We had this loud TV issue plus screaming kids early in the morning thru the walls in a semi where we used to live.

 

I bolted a couple of AR speakers to the party wall and played "War of the Worlds" at what we considered an appropriate volume and times.

 

The only thing these people understand is noise from others when it is most inconvenient to them.

 

They got the message...End of story... :kicking

 

S.

[Stoker11]

My council have a team that you can call out if you are having problems with neighbourhood noise etc.They will come and take sound measurements or just hear for themselves and if the noise is bad will speak to the persons.They can also confiscate any equipment that has been causing the problem.From the look of them they look like ex-police/military types!!