Excessive noise in house

macman2010

Hello,
Has anybody had a similar problem that they might be able to advise me on.
I recently purchased a home and the sound insulation between myself and my neighbours house is very poor. I can hear baby's crying, toilet flushing, and muted conversations.

There is a building standard (document E i think) relating to minimum noise levels between homes.
Are the builders legally obliged to fix the problem if it is proved that they do not meeting the minimum standards.

The house is still under the 10 year home bond guarantee.
Has anybody come up with this problem in the past.

Feedback much appreciated.

godtabh

macman2010 wrote: »

Hello,
Has anybody had a similar problem that they might be able to advise me on.
I recently purchased a home and the sound insulation between myself and my neighbours house is very poor. I can hear baby's crying, toilet flushing, and muted conversations.

There is a building standard (document E i think) relating to minimum noise levels between homes.
Are the builders legally obliged to fix the problem if it is proved that they do not meeting the minimum standards.

The house is still under the 10 year home bond guarantee.
Has anybody come up with this problem in the past.

Feedback much appreciated.

home bond is for structural issues only.

You can get an acoustic assessment carried out and go from there. Even if you can hear next door it could well be within the limits. Unfortunately its part of living in a community like estates/apartment blocks
.

dudara

Moved to Accomodation & Property

dudara

Victor

Some noise will always travel. That said, I only hear my neighbour if they are using their power shower late in the evening,w hen there isn't much ambient noise.

Davy

Have you actually moved in with all your stuff, or just standing in the empty shell? Tend to notice a lot more that way imo.

Its probably gaps in the mortar between the blocks, and the sound is getting right thru to the back of the slab. You could take off the slabs and put a sand and cement render on the wall to make sure everything is perfectly sealed, then use sound board on top of that. Final word tho, its costly, and the developer wouldn't go to this trouble.

macman2010

thanks for the feedback,
yea house fully furnished but you are probably right about the gaps in the mortar tho. I looked in the attic and there is a lot of gaps in the mortar between the blocks.
I might do what you suggest in the attic first, perhaps the noise is flanking through the attic and into the upstairs (which is where it is worst) it might dampen the noise a bit.

Its a disgrace that builders can get away with work like that.
Another end product of the so called celtic tiger.

IMO the builder has to take responsibility and i would rather pay a solicitor than pay for remedial work in the house.

sultan12

All the builder has to do is comply with the building regulations, The architects and engeneers certify the house / building upon completion. However the building regulations which cover sound insulation are not stern enough in many peoples view. How can you say it is a disgrace when the builder is complying with regulation. Also senior counsel in the courts are paid circa €5,000.00 per day. The various tribunals in this country have made many solicitors and barristers millionaires, so you could pay a solicitor who will be happy to take your money, the outcome will be pointless if as i suspect your house conforms to the regulations. Perhaps your money would be better spent on improving your sound insulation yourself.

bobbysands81

sultan12 wrote: »

All the builder has to do is comply with the building regulations, The architects and engeneers certify the house / building upon completion. However the building regulations which cover sound insulation are not stern enough in many peoples view. How can you say it is a disgrace when the builder is complying with regulation. Also senior counsel in the courts are paid circa €5,000.00 per day. The various tribunals in this country have made many solicitors and barristers millionaires, so you could pay a solicitor who will be happy to take your money, the outcome will be pointless if as i suspect your house conforms to the regulations. Perhaps your money would be better spent on improving your sound insulation yourself.

First post and you rake up a 6 month old thread - seems a bit odd to me.

A unit might be certified by the time it's finished but not every unit is tested as you seem to think it is. Builders are meant to comply with regs... but you might be surprised to hear that they don't always do so (no slight meant on responsible builders). I know of many many cases where regs are not complied with, as most people don't know their rights then many builders get away with this. One of the beauties of this forum is that it informs people of their rights and people can get casual advice on what to do.

Read through threads on here plenty of folk have the exact same problem as the OP though you are correct in saying that the Regs are nowhere near stringent enough in relation to the transference of sound between units.

The OP could go about this his/herself without getting solicitors involved whatsoever, I know of people who have done this and have had very successful outcomes.