Living with my neighbours!!!! HELP!!

SL2019

Hi Guys,

Hoping to get some help here. We bought a new house last year Semi -d and can hear absolutely everything next door from a toy, to a cry to a fork on a plate. It is driving us mad. Unfortunately and somehow it passed the sound test after having acoustic sound board fitted but we can STILL hear EVERYTHING. All over the house when we are upstairs we can still hear next door downstairs and vica versa.

Please any suggestions or advise would be much appreciated on next steps. There has to be something wrong but cannot understand how it passed the sound test!!!!!

Thanks

SL

SL2019

Any feedback at all will be appreciated

Cuddlesworth

What did you live in before living there?

What types of noise can you hear?
Talking?
TV?
Impacts, like foots steps, things moving etc.

Who put up acoustic board and why did they put it up? The estate builder or a third party? Who ran "acoustic" tests?

SL2019

Thank you for the reply.

I have rented maybe 7/8 all semi - d and terraced but never had the sound issue so we did not have unrealistic expectations of a semi - d property.

We can hear everything talking, whispering funnily enough we never really hear the TV, its more the voices than anything but all the voices kids, adults and plugs being plugged in. Things moving yes and toys but not footsteps.

We went to the builder and complained, they did a sound test on the property and it FAILED. So they came back in because there was NOTHING behind the plasterboard and the adjoining wall, they fitted gypsum plaster and an acoustic soundboard on our side and just plaster on the neighbours side.
Although we felt no difference at all, they sound tested again and this time it passed which was really surprising for both parties.

There also mould appearing on the skirting boards, but that may be a separate issue. The noise is driving us insane and not what we expected from a new house.

Thanks for your help

turbot

Whatever about the noise, be even more careful about the mould.

Look at some of the mold toxicity facebook groups to find out what happens if you breath in too many spores from certain kinds of molds for too long.

Wheres Me Jumper?

it's a few years since i bought a property tbh, but from the 'er sounds of it, it appears the house was poorly built and may not meet regulations.
i would have expected as much from a Celtic Tiger era build, but i honestly thought they had tightened things up since then.
When exactly was the property built?

you've paid good money and are entitled to better.
i would most definitely engage the services of a good solicitor, preferably a firm who have previous experience in dealing with these issues.
in the meantime keep a record of everything. create a "noise" diary. a simple blank diary will suffice. log all issues, problems etc.

has your next door neighbours complained? are they suffering like you are?
have you spoken to anyone else on your street/estate?

again log all such incidents/problems.

is the builder still building, or has he gone bust? is he a director of any other companies?

bleary

Who tested after the modifications? A friend of mine had similar issues with a new apartment years ago. She hired her own engineer and he specified the amendments ,no issues since.

Cuddlesworth

SL2019 wrote: »

Thank you for the reply.

I have rented maybe 7/8 all semi - d and terraced but never had the sound issue so we did not have unrealistic expectations of a semi - d property.

We can hear everything talking, whispering funnily enough we never really hear the TV, its more the voices than anything but all the voices kids, adults and plugs being plugged in. Things moving yes and toys but not footsteps.

We went to the builder and complained, they did a sound test on the property and it FAILED. So they came back in because there was NOTHING behind the plasterboard and the adjoining wall, they fitted gypsum plaster and an acoustic soundboard on our side and just plaster on the neighbours side.
Although we felt no difference at all, they sound tested again and this time it passed which was really surprising for both parties.

There also mould appearing on the skirting boards, but that may be a separate issue. The noise is driving us insane and not what we expected from a new house.

Thanks for your help

Is your house unique, have you asked other neighbours if they have the same issue?

Regardless of the answer, it would be worth your time finding a architect and engineer independent of the builder, I am not aware of the current regulations but not having a proper fire barrier between two adjoined dwellings seems like a huge screwup.

With nothing between the property's in the first place, its obvious they screwed up anyway and half assing the problem with people living there is pretty much standard policy for most lazy builders.

Get a good solicitor too, since your probably going to end up with the house being declared unlivable.

SL2019

@wheres my jumper

Property was only finished last June so not even a year yet but it has always been this way

We have kept diaries and even sent videos/recordings of the what we are hearing to the owner of the company but they are claiming it passed the sound test so they have fixed it ( which they haven't) there must be more can be done because that is def not right

Spoke to all the neighbours and none of them have any issues besides obviously the next door neighbour.

The builder is still trading and another few estates to go in behind ours we were phase one so I think we may have to go public next which we are reluctant to do but not sure how much we can take.. solicitor has been useless again stating it passed the second sound test

pwurple

Engage your engineer. The one you used to do the survey before purchasing.

CosmicFool

Try looking at getting an independent acoustic engineer. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link to a crowd but a quick Google search will throw up a few different companies.

Wheres Me Jumper?

SL2019 wrote: »

@wheres my jumper

Property was only finished last June so not even a year yet but it has always been this way

We have kept diaries and even sent videos/recordings of the what we are hearing to the owner of the company but they are claiming it passed the sound test so they have fixed it ( which they haven't) there must be more can be done because that is def not right

Spoke to all the neighbours and none of them have any issues besides obviously the next door neighbour.

The builder is still trading and another few estates to go in behind ours we were phase one so I think we may have to go public next which we are reluctant to do but not sure how much we can take.. solicitor has been useless again stating it passed the second sound test

either you have a real issue here, or you have super-sensitive hearing. i'm assuming it's the former.

if your Solc is not taking it seriously, then sack him/her and employ another. (make sure you get all the relevant paperwork first!).
i trust you employed a solc independent of the builder, and NOT one recommended by the builder or his selling agent. you wouldn't want any conflict of interests.

it's worth doing a bit of research before, so you get one with experience of these issues. as a previous poster said you'll also need an engineer, again one with experience in these matters.

Wheres Me Jumper?

if he has another estate ongoing, then that's good as he will want to resolve your issue first. i'm sure he wouldn't want you pulling up wearing a sandwich board and handing out leaflets when he's trying to sell the next phases of his development.
give him a reasonable opportunity to resolve your problem first before going down that route, but you might drop a hint and kinda laugh it off.

SL2019

@cuddlesworth

Unfortunately I seem to have picked the only house in the estate with this issue.

Ya someone else mentioned to me that if you can hear that much noise it would probably fail fire safety test if not the sound test so that may be my next step.

That is exactly it I think they have tried to put a bandage on a broken leg and there is a much bigger issue underlying.

I have a solicitor (my 2nd one) and he is saying that because it passed the 2nd sound test his hand is tied ( again as useless as the first) so that is why I find myself in this situation. I was wondering if someone else was in this situation and what the root cause actually turned out to me ie missing block work etc.

SL2019

@bleary I think that will have to be the next step. Get an engineer that specialises in sound maybe if there is such a thing

SL2019

@wheres my jumper

This has been on-going since we bought the house so I think we are getting closer unfortunately to making a public protest on the building site. Watch out Neil prendeville also

Cuddlesworth

SL2019 wrote: »

@cuddlesworth

Unfortunately I seem to have picked the only house in the estate with this issue.

Ya someone else mentioned to me that if you can hear that much noise it would probably fail fire safety test if not the sound test so that may be my next step.

That is exactly it I think they have tried to put a bandage on a broken leg and there is a much bigger issue underlying.

I have a solicitor (my 2nd one) and he is saying that because it passed the 2nd sound test his hand is tied ( again as useless as the first) so that is why I find myself in this situation. I was wondering if someone else was in this situation and what the root cause actually turned out to me ie missing block work etc.

Move away from sound as your issue. From your description, sound is a product of a problem with the party wall. Your estate will have planning permission and detailed drawings of how the houses were to be constructed. There is a not a snowballs chance in hell that it included only plasterboard with a cavity between two houses. And its really hard to fix something like that properly, so they didn't.

You need to engage a independent engineer with your neighbour, put some holes in those walls and get a full report based on the current building standards and the house designs in comparison to the wall that was put in. If you don't know any, talk to a local architect to get the name of one.

Then with your solicitor, follow through with the builder, the architect and the engineer who are responsible for signing off on your estate. If your solicitor isn't arsed helping, get another.

If there is a fire safety or planning problem, going to those authorities should be your last port of call right now.

SL2019

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Move away from sound as your issue. From your description, sound is a product of a problem with the party wall. Your estate will have planning permission and detailed drawings of how the houses were to be constructed. There is a not a snowballs chance in hell that it included only plasterboard with a cavity between two houses. And its really hard to fix something like that properly, so they didn't.

You need to engage a independent engineer with your neighbour, put some holes in those walls and get a full report based on the current building standards and the house designs in comparison to the wall that was put in. If you don't know any, talk to a local architect to get the name of one.

Then with your solicitor, follow through with the builder, the architect and the engineer who are responsible for signing off on your estate. If your solicitor isn't arsed helping, get another.

If there is a fire safety or planning problem, going to those authorities should be your last port of call right now.

Thanks very much for your advise Cuddlesworth, the next step will be to contact an independent engineer

TheBoyConor

All I would add to this is that you should not just appoint any ole engineer, make sure you get someone who is experienced in and preferably specialises in building defects and rehabilitation. Looking up structural engineers should be your first port of call. Also make sure they are a Chartered Engineer with either Engineers Ireland or in this case, preferably with IstructE. That way you are sure that who you are getting is competent, especially someone who is IstructE as that is no easy qualification to achieve. This will help you weed out the "quack" and under qualified engineers, as there are quite a few of those around.

Fian

You have bought this place. It is your problem. You won't really have any recourse against the builder. You bought it as is, sound insulation as is. It is not like buying a consumer good in a shop where you can bring it back and expect a refund.

If your surveyor/solicitor were negligent you might potentially have some recourse against them, but it would be very difficult to prove that based on the fact that you can hear your neighbours.

You may be able to invest money in improving the sound insulation, but don't expect miracles.

Sorry I hope this doesn't come across as harsh, I understand how frustrating it can be if sound is coming though the party wall - a relative of mine considered moving out of her house for the same issue. I just think you will waste money if you start spending money to try to build a case for compensation here.

Fian

Fian wrote: »

You have bought this place. It is your problem. You won't really have any recourse against the builder. You bought it as is, sound insulation as is.

This is incorrect. If the house was not built to specs you have comeback.

q85dw7osi4lebg

Fian wrote: »

You have bought this place. It is your problem. You won't really have any recourse against the builder. You bought it as is, sound insulation as is. It is not like buying a consumer good in a shop where you can bring it back and expect a refund.

If your surveyor/solicitor were negligent you might potentially have some recourse against them, but it would be very difficult to prove that based on the fact that you can hear your neighbours.

You may be able to invest money in improving the sound insulation, but don't expect miracles.

Sorry I hope this doesn't come across as harsh, I understand how frustrating it can be if sound is coming though the party wall - a relative of mine considered moving out of her house for the same issue. I just think you will waste money if you start spending money to try to build a case for compensation here.

This is how rumours start :pac:

Ginger83

We had a semi d house built in 05/06. It was timberframe with only plasterboard between houses, chimney was built like a lego tower.

Had same issues.

PCros

Ginger83 wrote: »

We had a semi d house built in 05/06. It was timberframe with only plasterboard between houses, chimney was built like a lego tower.

Like no concrete between the houses? :eek:

So essentially like an apartment.

Wheres Me Jumper?

SL2019 wrote: »

@wheres my jumper

This has been on-going since we bought the house so I think we are getting closer unfortunately to making a public protest on the building site. Watch out Neil prendeville also

shocking that you have to go down that road to get what you paid for in the first place.
pay no heed to those who say you have no recourse. you have.

the builder is just hoping you'll go away. problem solved for him.

the house should have been built to spec, and if it wasn't it's his problem.
if he employed others and they did a lousy job, then he needs to take that up with them.

your contract is with the builder.

Ginger83

PCros wrote: »

Like no concrete between the houses? :eek:

So essentially like an apartment.

Yes exactly like that.

Marcusm

PCros wrote: »

Like no concrete between the houses? :eek:

So essentially like an apartment.

It would be a very odd apartment which did not have a solid wall (block, brick or concrete) separating it from adjacent apartment.

Ginger83

Marcusm wrote: »

It would be a very odd apartment which did not have a solid wall (block, brick or concrete) separating it from adjacent apartment.

This was a semi d

TheBoyConor

There are timber frame party wall designs that are able to meet the fire rating for a party wall. They are supposed to include sound insulation.

But imo, they will never be as good as a block wall.

pwurple

SL2019 wrote: »

@wheres my jumper

This has been on-going since we bought the house so I think we are getting closer unfortunately to making a public protest on the building site. Watch out Neil prendeville also

Why don't you just use the processes and protection already available to you?

A public protest without even starting the normal process is just going Wah Wah Wah.


Seriously.
Did you phone your engineer, and talk to him/her about it?

JimmyMW

SL2019 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Hoping to get some help here. We bought a new house last year Semi -d and can hear absolutely everything next door from a toy, to a cry to a fork on a plate. It is driving us mad. Unfortunately and somehow it passed the sound test after having acoustic sound board fitted but we can STILL hear EVERYTHING. All over the house when we are upstairs we can still hear next door downstairs and vica versa.

Please any suggestions or advise would be much appreciated on next steps. There has to be something wrong but cannot understand how it passed the sound test!!!!!

Thanks

SL

Do you know what the party wall build up is meant to be? its not really clear from your op or follow up posts.

Wheres Me Jumper?

pwurple wrote: »

Why don't you just use the processes and protection already available to you?

A public protest without even starting the normal process is just going Wah Wah Wah.


Seriously.
Did you phone your engineer, and talk to him/her about it?

i agree it's best to exhaust the avenues available to you, but i would also prepare to go public if you find yourself hitting a 'er block wall.

be prepared for a long drawn-out struggle.