Soundproofing & Semi-ds

almostthere12

Hi all,

We are looking to buy out in Kildare, anywhere from Kildare town to Naas. While we would love to get a detached house realistically I think we will be going with a semi-d as the plan would be to move on again in 5 years or so.

Will probably spend max €400k but I am concerned with soundproofing as we have been burnt before when living in a semi-d.

Does anyone know of any particularly good developments for this that have been built in the area over the last 10 years? Likewise are there any ones to avoid?

Thanks

GingerLily

No advice on specific developments, but we're end of terrace new build, and our front doors and stairs share a wall and this is great for us, I can barely ever hear my neighbours inside the house!

I know some people prefer privacy with their front doors being further apart but definitely take note of what rooms are sharing the walls.

riclad

get the house surveyed by an expert,
is there good levels of sound insulation.
You cant tell by looking at a wall is it sound proof .is there air gaps between your wall and your neighbour.
people are expected now to look at a video.
if your bid is accepted you can visit the house in person.
houses from the 80,s ,90,s have different levels of insulation.
building regs change every few years.

Smee_Again

No specific advice for your question but I've a semi-d with the front doors next to each other and the halls adjacent and if buying a semi-d I'd make this a priority.

I rarely hear any noise from my neighbour but a friend lives a few doors down in another semi-d with the living spaces adjacent and he can hear a lot of noise from his neighbour.

PCros

Smee_Again wrote: »

No specific advice for your question but I've a semi-d with the front doors next to each other and the halls adjacent and if buying a semi-d I'd make this a priority.

I rarely hear any noise from my neighbour but a friend lives a few doors down in another semi-d with the living spaces adjacent and he can hear a lot of noise from his neighbour.

Doesn't work in all cases - a friend has this exact layout and next door don't have carpet on the stairs and all they can hear is people going up and down. I'm not sure how some of the stairs are designed in these houses.

almostthere12

Thanks for the comments, don't think we'll be viewing until the Autumn so hopefully will be able to go in person a lot earlier then and yeah having an engineer inspect and pay particular attention to this aspect makes sense.

Good advice as well on the layout, think i read somewhere that Irish people don't like having their front doors side by side but give me that any day over hearing their every move!!

almostthere12

Btw very few semi-ds have the living spaces not side by side, 1 out of 19 on Daft!!

PCros

almostthere12 wrote: »

Btw very few semi-ds have the living spaces not side by side, 1 out of 19 on Daft!!

They are indeed few and far between. Another aspect is to really check out the neighbours too if you are interested in a house. I know they could move the next day but its always good to get a vibe along with the area itself.

I know you got burnt with your last property but I do think people are 99% inherently good. Best of luck with your search.

almostthere12

PCros wrote: »

They are indeed few and far between. Another aspect is to really check out the neighbours too if you are interested in a house. I know they could move the next day but its always good to get a vibe along with the area itself.

I know you got burnt with your last property but I do think people are 99% inherently good. Best of luck with your search.

Will definitely be doing that as well.

There are some fine 4 bed semi-ds out there, it is a real shame that the effort isn't put into making them more livable from a sound perspective.

Yellow_Fern

almostthere12 wrote: »

Does anyone know of any particularly good developments for this that have been built in the area over the last 10 years? Likewise are there any ones to avoid?

Thanks

You could ask Cunas Soundproofing. Very helpful. Here are a few things that I have learned over the years is look for a development that has hard plaster on the party wall, as opposed to drywall. Also look for one that the joists are not running into the party wall. Also look for houses in which the party wall isn't a large part of the total perimeter. You could look in the attic and see how the party wall is built. You want to see a block on flat (ideally parged) or a cavity wall. This is something you could check in a show house. Lastly soundproofing is really complex, different kinds of walls can block different sounds and fixes can be very hard find even if you have the time and are willing to give up wall space.