Apartment buying, neighbour noise

2lazytogetup

Can anyone advise as what is to be expected or acceptable with neighbour noise in purpose built apartments.

Im looking to buy at moment. Can't tell from inspecting ceiling or wall quality on building insulation.

I've bad experience in the past and would love an apartment if l didn't get woken up neighbour phone alarm going off at 6am. Or waiting for neighbour above to walking around in their heels at 11pm before I can go to bed undisturbed.

reg114

2lazytogetup wrote: »

Can anyone advise as what is to be expected or acceptable with neighbour noise in purpose built apartments.

Im looking to buy at moment. Can't tell from inspecting ceiling or wall quality on building insulation.

I've bad experience in the past and would love an apartment if l didn't get woken up neighbour phone alarm going off at 6am. Or waiting for neighbour above to walking around in their heels at 11pm before I can go to bed undisturbed.

In my experience the apartment blocks built in the 80s / 90s were built better in terms of their ability to mitigate against noise transmission. I lived in one for several years and there were no incidences of being able to hear the neighbour's toilet flush etc as is often the case with apartments thrown up in the noughties onwards. So if you're worried about potential noise then buy in an older development.

CollyFlower

Ask some of the neighbors.

Wurley

Avoid apartments built in the last 10-15 years. I can hear everything from my neighbours above!!!!!!!!!! Its dreadful. Avoid at all costs

JimmyVik

There is noise in every apartment and Semi-D.
You get used to it as long as its not a band or a porn movie set living beside you.
People get too hung up on hearing the noise of a few cars or a few children running up and down stairs.
They end up getting so upset they cant get over it and reinforce it as a problem.
People have been living in semi-ds and apartments for many years. Noise filters out of your mind after a week or so.
You only notice it after that if you make yourself notice it. Anyone who has ever lived with a normal family will tell you this. If you couldnt get used to noise you would have killed you brothers and sisters before they even reached their teens
I would go so far as to say OP that any apartmnent you buy now the noise will bother you as you have heightened your sense to it even before you have decided where to buy.

seanino

I wouldn't agree with some of the comments above about apartment build quality depending on the decade. Ive lived in a few apartments some built in the 90s and some built in the noughties and the one in the noughties were very quiet. rarely heard anything from the neighbours and also never had any complaints about noise coming from my apartment. You'll more likely have more noise coming in from the outside depending on what you're near or if you face on to a courtyard with balconies etc. If the general finish is good then chances are they are well built.

riclad

my friend bought 2 brand new apartments both ground level, 12-14 years ago,rural town.
i spent 5 days there.
i heard nothing ,zero noise from neighbours to the right,left, above.
some noise in bedroom from the cars on the motorway 50 yards away.
no noise =no tv,music, games console ,literally ZERO noise.
i thinik it depends on the builder ,level of insulation in walls.
every building is different i think,
when it was built.
she bought apartment in echlin street dublin,
i never heard any noise there ,
when i visited about 16 years ago.
i think 2n lazy is worried about noise from neighbours in the building.

my advice is visit after 6pm,weekday,
i dont think theres in person viewing going on due to covid, unless you bid and your bid is accepted by the seller .

i don,t think theres any formal rules re noise unless you live in a local authority apartment.

i would avoid apartments built in the last 9 years in dublin.

dkav9

I live in a ground floor apt built in 2003. I can hear (almost) everything from one neighbor and a lot less from the other.

I used to live in an apt build in 2007, and I never heard a thing from my neighbours. I think i heard a faint text message sound once.

Short answer: ask the neighbors. I think a similar exercise is good due diligence to do with any house purchase

starbaby2003

JimmyVik wrote: »

There is noise in every apartment and Semi-D.
You get used to it as long as its not a band or a porn movie set living beside you.
People get too hung up on hearing the noise of a few cars or a few children running up and down stairs.
They end up getting so upset they cant get over it and reinforce it as a problem.
People have been living in semi-ds and apartments for many years. Noise filters out of your mind after a week or so.
You only notice it after that if you make yourself notice it. Anyone who has ever lived with a normal family will tell you this. If you couldnt get used to noise you would have killed you brothers and sisters before they even reached their teens
I would go so far as to say OP that any apartmnent you buy now the noise will bother you as you have heightened your sense to it even before you have decided where to buy.

Massive difference between one wall shared and being completely surrounded with potentially someone below and above you.
OP I lived in GCD built early 00’s and never heard a sound. It depends on the build as others have said. Another place I lived in, in Smithfield you could hear the TV, shower upstairs etc.

riclad

If you hear noise constantly from your neighbours and you think it's normal, I'm sorry for you
99 percent of the time I hear no noise at all .
The problem is see is theres no audio quality standard,
There's a ber standard for energy ratings
So right now you can buy a unit for 200k and you might hear noise rarely. Or you might hear phone conservation, random TV noise etc so it's Buyer beware,
It's up to you to check out the noise or lack of sound insulation
And you can have neighbours on all sides and above or below you if u live in an apartment

I see photos in ads apartment for sale ber rating etc
Size of rooms sq metres etc
No mention of sound insulation levels
And now alot of people are working from home
Online student zoom calls every day
I don't think there's any formal rules
Re noise except normal human consideration
Eg no loud music TV after 11pm
I lived in an apartment brand new build
I never heard any noise from any neighbour

musiknonstop

Apartment built in 2008. I know when my upstairs neighbours get up in the morning, go to bed at night, flush the toilet, constant stomping around and door slamming. I would never live in an apartment again.

riclad

I would not buy ANY apartment unless i could check is it quiet,
no Excessive noise from neighbours,
eg can i hear neighbours tv ,music,phone ringing,conversation,
i mean normal life noise , everyone makes noise ,
i don,t mean a bad neighbour who wants to annoy people by being loud

if cannot check this out,
i,ll look at different apartments or else just buy an old house .
its alot easier to install sound proofing in a house semi detaching ,
as you are only dealing with noise from one side .


builders save money by not installing basic minimum levels of sound
proofing ,
even though it costs millions to build 1 apartment block
imagine buying a 50k new car,
but the seats are hard to clean and uncomfortable because the
seat padding is cheap and low quality.

davo2001

It's simple, if you want to be guaranteed not to be subjected to someone elses noise then don't buy an appartment.

JimmyVik

davo2001 wrote: »

It's simple, if you want to be guaranteed not to be subjected to someone elses noise then don't buy an appartment.

Or a terraced house or a semi-d. At least not one that doesnt have 2ft thick walls anyway
I have yet to walk into a house attached to another where the noise doesnt travel. Some neighbors are quieter than others, but you wont now this until after you move in.

Jmc25

I've lived in three apartments and I agree that the sound insulation and build quality can vary massively between developments.

The first apartment I rented was built in 2001 and I never had any issues. I had neighbours above, below and on both sides and while I did hear noise it was really no different from living in a semi-detached house. Neighbours are annoying sometimes, other times you're annoying to your neighbours.

A few years later I rented an apartment built in the late 80s and it was exceptionally quiet. It was like living in a one off house in the country. My neighbours were mostly older and living on their own so that obviously played a part but generally the impression I got was that the sound insulation was excellent, even in the halls I could never hear voices/TVs from other units.

Having had pretty good experiences in rented apartments I bought one myself. I never thought it was possible for neighbours to have such a detrimental impact on my life until living there. The block was built (extremely badly) in 2003. It was timber frame as opposed to concrete like the other two which meant impact noise was a huge problem. I was on the ground floor and my upstairs neighbours were more like housemates than neighbours. I heard everything, every footstep, every time they closed a door, every time they ran a tap, flushed the toilet or had a shower. They had a child who ran around and jumped off furniture all day and night, way beyond the "quiet hours" specified in the house rules, and sometimes the impacts were so severe it made my walls vibrate and left impact damage on the plaster on my ceiling. Long story short, the management company knew of the poor build quality and didn't want to address it so basically ignored any noise complaints because the line between what was caused by residents being a nuisance and what was caused by poor construction and sound insulation was so blurred. The neighbours in question were undoubtedly a large part of the problem but that's for another thread.

Buying an apartment is a risk. I viewed that apartment three times, at different times of day and on different days of the week and never heard any noise. I asked my surveyor and he told me he didn't hear anything (presumably the problem neighbours were out). I never asked any of the neighbours before I bought but honestly had someone knocked on my door and asked me while I lived there I wouldn't have engaged as I had one eye on selling my own apartment when the time came. I guess if it's a neighbour who is renting they might be more forthcoming.

I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone so if you do choose to buy an apartment just make sure you take whatever due diligence you were planning on doing and multiply it by 10. Find out if the building is built with concrete or if it's timber frame (concrete much better in my experience), speak to a neighbour who is renting and has no skin in the game in terms of keeping these things swept under the rug, see if you can find any threads about the development online, find out who the developer is - what's written online about their other developments, are they still in business, do they own units in the block, are they in control of the management company?

Speak to the managing agent and ask if they get many noise complaints - they can't and won't answer that question directly but their reaction might give you an indication. Also ask the managing agent if they have had a full fire safety inspection in light of the defects being uncovered in developments all around the country - if not why not? Have there been many claims on the block insurance, if so are they related (eg if all water related is there problems with the block plumbing). Find out the sinking fund and what kind of maintantence work beyond the basics have been done in the last few years (painting, new carpets, general improvements - the more of this being done, the higher the likelihood that the management company is in good health and being run properly).

Sorry for the long post but I hope the takeaway here is don't get stung like I did.

riclad

The problem with apartments is you can have neighbours on all sides ,
above you , its not easy to know is the apartment you are buying ok to buy,
unless you visit it at 6pm, 8pm, evening time,
say you view it at 2pm,
your neighbours maybe gone out , at work,

buy a semi d , if there is noise it,ll come one one wall, one neighbour.

i never lived any place where i could even be slightly annoyed by any noise from anyone.
in my experience even an old terraced house, 50-100 years old
is better to live in in regard to low levels of sound,
than the average apartment .
if you live near a road you may hear some traffic noise at rush hour ,at a low level.
And that is normal.
eg i can hear ambulance sirens maybe once a month for 20 seconds.

Caranica

I have a duplex. Never any issue with noise on my left. New owner, weekend of drilling (presume new cabinets, kitchen etc) and now I hear everything. 16 years of peace and now none.

Management agent says it's not a management company issue though they've clearly disrupted whatever soundproofing was between the walls

riclad

In that case you should contact the managent and say my neighbour or someone working there has damaged the sound proofing and now I hear everything it must be fixed
Every apartment block has a management board to take care of
any issues with repairs security etc
Things break down and need fixing

ELM327

Am now 3 years living in my former investment apartment. Built in the early '00s.
We are on the first floor, with ground below us and second above. We also have a neighbor at the side - so bordered on 3 sides.

Noise is not an issue, there's the odd noise of a loud spin cycle if their machine has something on top of it but other that that nothing (cant hear sneezing, toilet etc as some others).

I initially bought this as an investment and not to live in - so I never even checked for sound levels before purchasing - but it seems fine touch wood.

jester77

Caranica wrote: »

I have a duplex. Never any issue with noise on my left. New owner, weekend of drilling (presume new cabinets, kitchen etc) and now I hear everything. 16 years of peace and now none.

Management agent says it's not a management company issue though they've clearly disrupted whatever soundproofing was between the walls

Maybe the noise is getting amplified. What do you hear?

My home office is on the other side of my sons bedroom and I recently had a custom solid wood fold down table built and hung on the wall. I have a mechanical keyboard that is by no means quiet, but the sound of it seems to travel through the table into the walls and it sounds louder in my sons room than in my office.

Wurley

riclad wrote: »

In that case you should contact the managent and say my neighbour or someone working there has damaged the sound proofing and now I hear everything it must be fixed
Every apartment block has a management board to take care of
any issues with repairs security etc
Things break down and need fixing

If it were only as easy as that. Most management companies don’t want to know and ignore these issues. From Personal experience. I had 7 years of peaceful bliss and the last two years I’ve moved in with a family of four. Management company doesn’t want to know. New owner did work and won’t acknowledge same.

Wurley

Caranica wrote: »

I have a duplex. Never any issue with noise on my left. New owner, weekend of drilling (presume new cabinets, kitchen etc) and now I hear everything. 16 years of peace and now none.

Management agent says it's not a management company issue though they've clearly disrupted whatever soundproofing was between the walls

Feel your pain. In a similar situation. Looking at legal avenue at this stage it’s got so bad!

Wurley

riclad wrote: »

In that case you should contact the managent and say my neighbour or someone working there has damaged the sound proofing and now I hear everything it must be fixed
Every apartment block has a management board to take care of
any issues with repairs security etc
Things break down and need fixing

If it were only as easy as that. Most management companies don’t want to know and ignore these issues. From Personal experience. I had 7 years of peaceful bliss and the last two years I’ve moved in with a family of four. Management company doesn’t want to know. New owner did work and won’t acknowledge same.

senordingdong

2lazytogetup wrote: »

Can anyone advise as what is to be expected or acceptable with neighbour noise in purpose built apartments.

Im looking to buy at moment. Can't tell from inspecting ceiling or wall quality on building insulation.

I've bad experience in the past and would love an apartment if l didn't get woken up neighbour phone alarm going off at 6am. Or waiting for neighbour above to walking around in their heels at 11pm before I can go to bed undisturbed.

Don't buy an apartment.
There are too many pitfalls that seem unique to this country.

kravmaga

TQUOTE=2lazytogetup;116509012]Can anyone advise as what is to be expected or acceptable with neighbour noise in purpose built apartments.

Im looking to buy at moment. Can't tell from inspecting ceiling or wall quality on building insulation.

I've bad experience in the past and would love an apartment if l didn't get woken up neighbour phone alarm going off at 6am. Or waiting for neighbour above to walking around in their heels at 11pm before I can go to bed undisturbed.[/QUOTE]

OP, whatever you do don't buy a ground floor apartment, always buy a top floor or duplex, been there, done that, learned from the experience.

Most Celtic tiger apartment builds have little or no insulation. Have you a link to the apartment complex, name or builder you are considering?

Try and buy an end of terrace or corner apartment in a block, I would go for a duplex.

You need to do your homework, mgt fees? parking? BER cert, check out the location in the day and at night.

SimonTemplar

I rented an apartment for a year in the IFSC. Worst sound insulation ever. I could literally hear a baby crying in the room directly below my bedroom (very annoying when trying to have a lie in on a weekend), and I could hear my neighbor above me peeing.

TBH, I'd be gutted if I had actually bought it. Thankfully it was only a rental.

We have that BER rating for energy efficiency. They should bring in a similar requirement for sound insulation.

Wurley

SimonTemplar wrote: »

I rented an apartment for a year in the IFSC. Worst sound insulation ever. I could literally hear a baby crying in the room directly below my bedroom (very annoying when trying to have a lie in on a weekend), and I could hear my neighbor above me peeing.

TBH, I'd be gutted if I had actually bought it. Thankfully it was only a rental.


We have that BER rating for energy efficiency. They should bring in a similar requirement for sound insulation.

Totally agree. If only they would do that esp with all the apartments that are being built at the moment and families moving into them. It should be regulated!

dennyk

I live in an apartment block build around 2000 (renting now, but made an offer to buy the place from the landlord, so we'll see how that goes). It's quiet as the grave; about the only thing you can hear from another unit is if someone is walking around on hardwood in hard shoes, drops something on the floor, or is drilling or hammering on the walls. Never hear voices or music or anything else except the slightest bit filtering in from outside through the vents sometimes (or the windows when they're open, of course). The walls and subfloors between units are all concrete and seem to be very thick. I've lived in multi-unit buildings for the past couple decades and this is by far the quietest I've ever experienced (though in fairness the others were cheap apartments and condos in the US, so they were basically made of sawdust and glue).

In any multi-unit building there will be some noise from time to time, but that's true for any neighbourhood as well. It's impossible to escape it entirely unless you buy a place way out in the middle of nowhere, and even then there's no guarantee.

senordingdong

SimonTemplar wrote: »

I rented an apartment for a year in the IFSC. Worst sound insulation ever. I could literally hear a baby crying in the room directly below my bedroom (very annoying when trying to have a lie in on a weekend), and I could hear my neighbor above me peeing.

TBH, I'd be gutted if I had actually bought it. Thankfully it was only a rental.

We have that BER rating for energy efficiency. They should bring in a similar requirement for sound insulation.

I rented a celtic tiger house and had a similar issue. Insulation was up to spec, it just turns out that the spec is low here.

Pussyhands

JimmyVik wrote: »

There is noise in every apartment and Semi-D.
You get used to it as long as its not a band or a porn movie set living beside you.
People get too hung up on hearing the noise of a few cars or a few children running up and down stairs.
They end up getting so upset they cant get over it and reinforce it as a problem.
People have been living in semi-ds and apartments for many years. Noise filters out of your mind after a week or so.
You only notice it after that if you make yourself notice it. Anyone who has ever lived with a normal family will tell you this. If you couldnt get used to noise you would have killed you brothers and sisters before they even reached their teens
I would go so far as to say OP that any apartmnent you buy now the noise will bother you as you have heightened your sense to it even before you have decided where to buy.

I live in a semi D and can hear the neighbours. Would it be the same thing in an apartment or worse?

i also live in a small apartment block. There’s a family with two children just underneath me and we hear nothing, unless they keep their window open i too. Even then it’s not much. Nothing from the neighbours either. Nobody above me. Built 1998. Concrete.