Mid terraced houses

Bubbletea21 · 07-03-2021 7:42pm #1

Hi there,

I'd like to hear honest opinions on living in a mid terraced house since we are thinking of going for it but because the reason why we are thinking of moving is the neighbours (we live in an apartment at the moment and our nextdoor neighbour is antisocial, upstairs and downstairs are incredibly loud), I'm kind of hesitant having neighbours on both sides.

Thanks in advance,
Bubbletea21

07-03-2021 10:37pm

I live in a mid terraced house. Neighbours on both sides have their pros and cons but we don't have any noise issues. It's generally a kind of noisy neighbourhood and to be honest I like that, I get a bit of comfort knowing people are around. No one's too loud anyway.

It's always a risk you'll need to take. If you were in a semi-detached you could still end up with neighbours from hell. If you were in a detached house you could still end up in boundary/parking disputes etc., or you could end up near some other detached house that's always being used as an AirBnB for stags/hens etc. There's always going to be people bordering your property, regardless of whether the walls meet on both sides.

If I'm honest though, I do wish we had side access to the garden, that's the only factor that really bothers me.

Princess Calla · 07-03-2021 10:53pm

Lived in midterraced house ,for most part it was ok.

Parking was the main issue ,but that was the neighbour tbh.

Bought an end of terrace with a driveway , nextdoor neighbour continually parks about a foot over the driveway entrance, I've to continually ask them to move the car. I don't drive that much so wouldn't be going out every day but it's a pain in the hole.

I wouldn't buy a house without a driveway though.

Neighbours can make or break it regardless of the style.

Floricwil · 08-03-2021 12:50am

I live in a mid terraced house. Prior to this I have lived in a semidetached house which is the house I grew up in. I did not realise the differences moving into mid terrace house would involve.

It is definitely noisier however I think a lot of that depends on (1) the level of construction of the house you buy (I think the sound installation in the house I’ve got is just generally bad) and (2) what your neighbours are like. I have neighbours on both sides of me and one side are definitely louder than the other.

The other thing to consider like someone mentioned above is parking. Outside of my house there is communal parking and no driveways. All the doors open onto the road. Growing up in a semidetached house, I never realised the value of having your own driveway. I always manage to get parking. However it isn’t the same as having your own designated space in your own garden.

Another thing to consider is proximity to your neighbours. In a semidetached house the front doors are usually further apart then with a terraced house. My door is literally right next to my neighbours. If we are coming in and going out at the same time we are literally right beside each other. This generally doesn’t cause a problem however I’ve found you tend to need to stop and engage in smalltalk seeing as you are literally standing right beside the other person. This Might not be an issue for you however it may be something you want to consider.

On the whole however, none of the above issues are major deal breakers for me. I don’t regret buying the house all living here. However if I was to move in the future, I would look to upgrade to a semidetached or detached house.

Noddy33 · 08-03-2021 9:50am

Bought my first house in my very early 30's which was an old previous council mid terrace house that was fully renovated and was delighted with my purchase at the time. I am very fortunate that the neighbours to either side of me are elderly and cause no noise disruptions and would like to think they would say the same about me!

The worst it gets for me is that one of my neighbours is deaf in one ear so when he has the tv on he has to have the sound up very loud and the noise can be heard through the walls in my house but thankfully never goes on too late. But it obviously have me conscious that if there were people to live next door to me who were not so considerate and engaged in some anti-social behaviour then the scenario for me could be very different and I would be extremely frustrated.

I have considered the option of sound proofing the walls but have never explored the option with regards getting a quote if anyone has any ideas on this kind of work in a 3 bed mid terrace house? When I take in to consideration that I most likely will look to upgrade my house in another 4/5 years and no noise issues with current neighbours then I dont know if it would be money well spent for me to get some noise proofing works done.

But my next house will be at minimum a end of terrace, semi-detached or ideally detached house and definitely wont be goin mid-terrace. If looking at a potentially mid terrace house I would recommend viewing the area at weekend just to see is there any activities going on that may cause annoyance. But my experience from living in mid-terrace house and it really is just stating the obvious..........but it all all really depends on what type of people and their circumstances your neighbours are living in the houses next door to you and how considerate they are.......... but do expect noise pollution unless all boundary walls are very well constructed and have some element of sound proofing

Rdwrer · 08-03-2021 10:01am

We live in a mid-terrace. The noise is fine. You hear shouting at times and doors slamming, but we have two loud kids ourselves, so it's a two-way street.

My biggest grievance is no side entrance to the back garden. we have to bring the bins and lawnmower through the house, which is frustrating, especially when it's wet. A lot of the other neighbours leave the bins out the front now because of it, and I think it looks awful.

For the most part though, living in a mid-terrace is the same as a semi-detached.

Caranica · 08-03-2021 10:54am

You'd be swapping noise above and below for noise left and right. Can't see how that would be an improvement.

awec · 08-03-2021 11:09am

A lot of the issues here are not actually issues with terraced houses, just specific houses. Like the lack of driveways / front doors right beside each other, this can happen for semi-D as well.

The main one is that anything you want to get from the front of your house to the back, or vice versa, has to go through the house. If construction isn't great you may have noise issues on 2 sides rather than 1 side.

jethrothe2nd · 08-03-2021 1:18pm

There is really little that bothers me about living in a terraced house. It can occasionally be a pain bringing stuff through the house, but you get used to that very quickly.

We've not had any major construction work done, but we have had the garden done and a shed installed. Neither was an issue. Our neighbours who are end of terrace have been very kind in allowing us/contractors to use their side passage to access our house when needed (removing a fence panel)

No real issues with noise from either side and both have kids. I won't say we don't hear anything but it is nothing that is disruptive. Security, whilst always something to consider is less of an issue as there is no easy access.

riclad · 08-03-2021 3:38pm

i live in a terraced house ,i cannot hear any noise from either side,
old houses have thick stone walls .
i was was buying an apartment i would view it in the morning,
evening just to check noise levels.
the problem is most terraced houses, just have on street parking.
apartments vary greatly re levels of sound insulation .
you can have a beautiful hi tech apartment with very low levels of sound insulation.

Bubbletea21 · 10-03-2021 12:11am

Thanks everyone for the comments!

catrionanic · 10-03-2021 3:08am

Our first house was midterrace. It was a nightmare. We could hear everything from both sides - coughing, light switching on and off, dogs, talking, even the couple on one side having sex.

We had a baby and we were so conscious of him crying during the night because we knew the neighbours would be woken up. One night, they banged on our front door at 4am because he was crying.

Any fight or disagreement that we had, we knew the neighbours could hear it. We couldnt play loud music and my husband would avoid playing his guitar in the mornings or evenings.

Also taking the bins through the house all the time was a really nuisance. And on-street parking was a real stress.

We have since moved to a detached house and it made life much easier.

Victor · 10-03-2021 3:21am

The thing with your own house is that you can add sound insulation.

10-03-2021 3:48am

It depends a lot on the house, in my experience. Newer houses have it worse than older ones.

Older houses seem to have it better. But this is true of Semi-D houses, too. Ideally what you want is to look at the layout of the houses. Builders with common sense will lay all the houses out the same, so the front doors/stairs are all on the same side. Meaning no one's bedrooms are adjoining. Unfortunately, most Semi-Ds tend to do a mirror-image thing, which is woeful, and all the bedrooms adjoin. A mid-terrace can be a bit of a wildcard in this regard, so you should keep an eye on that.

I've lived for a long time in an 80s council, all block build (semi D) and our rooms are on the outer-side of the house, meaning silence. I lived recently in a 2010-ish build semi D that did it the other way, and the staircases are at the outer-side, meaning all bedrooms are adjoining. I could hear sex if it was particularly active, the baby cries, doors slamming etc. but it was never too bad.

The problem is it can vary from estate to estate. I was in a vacant house a couple of weeks ago and it was the worst I'd ever heard. I could hear a child walking around the room in the house next door, which was ridiculous.

There's no consistency, but if you're looking at older houses, chances are you'll be somewhat alright.

Galwayhurl · 10-03-2021 11:51am

Floricwil wrote: »

I live in a mid terraced house. Prior to this I have lived in a semidetached house which is the house I grew up in. I did not realise the differences moving into mid terrace house would involve.

It is definitely noisier however I think a lot of that depends on (1) the level of construction of the house you buy (I think the sound installation in the house I’ve got is just generally bad) and (2) what your neighbours are like. I have neighbours on both sides of me and one side are definitely louder than the other.

The other thing to consider like someone mentioned above is parking. Outside of my house there is communal parking and no driveways. All the doors open onto the road. Growing up in a semidetached house, I never realised the value of having your own driveway. I always manage to get parking. However it isn’t the same as having your own designated space in your own garden.

Another thing to consider is proximity to your neighbours. In a semidetached house the front doors are usually further apart then with a terraced house. My door is literally right next to my neighbours. If we are coming in and going out at the same time we are literally right beside each other. This generally doesn’t cause a problem however I’ve found you tend to need to stop and engage in smalltalk seeing as you are literally standing right beside the other person. This Might not be an issue for you however it may be something you want to consider.

On the whole however, none of the above issues are major deal breakers for me. I don’t regret buying the house all living here. However if I was to move in the future, I would look to upgrade to a semidetached or detached house.

You see, I'd rather that because if having to chat to my neighbour briefly means that my sitting room and main front bedroom are far from the neighbour's, then it's worth it. The tv can be blasted and the sexy time can be loud as the houses are joined at the hallwayss and not the at the sitting rooms/bedrooms.

i.e. This
https://www.daft.ie/new-home-for-sale/eastmount-chapel-road-delgany-co-wicklow/2838088

is better than

this
https://www.daft.ie/new-home-for-sale/barnhall-meadows-leixlip-co-kildare/1398811

Interested Observer · 10-03-2021 12:08pm

Galwayhurl wrote: »

You see, I'd rather that because if having to chat to my neighbour briefly means that my sitting room and main front bedroom are far from the neighbour's, then it's worth it. The tv can be blasted and the sexy time can be loud as the houses are joined at the hallwayss and not the at the sitting rooms/bedrooms.

i.e. This
https://www.daft.ie/new-home-for-sale/eastmount-chapel-road-delgany-co-wicklow/2838088

is better than

this
https://www.daft.ie/new-home-for-sale/barnhall-meadows-leixlip-co-kildare/1398811

Definitely. I'm mid-terrace, we're stairs-to-stairs with the neighbour on the right and room-to-room with the neighbour on the left. Our front door is right beside the neighbour on the right and miles away from the neighbour on the left. We can hear absolutely nothing from the neighbour on the right and plenty from the neighbour on the left.

Bubbletea21 · 10-03-2021 12:27pm

catrionanic wrote: »

Our first house was midterrace. It was a nightmare. We could hear everything from both sides - coughing, light switching on and off, dogs, talking, even the couple on one side having sex.

We had a baby and we were so conscious of him crying during the night because we knew the neighbours would be woken up. One night, they banged on our front door at 4am because he was crying.

Any fight or disagreement that we had, we knew the neighbours could hear it. We couldnt play loud music and my husband would avoid playing his guitar in the mornings or evenings.

Also taking the bins through the house all the time was a really nuisance. And on-street parking was a real stress.

We have since moved to a detached house and it made life much easier.

This sounds very similar to our situation actually (we live in an apartment atm). So my husband and I are worried that we might end up having the same issue.

Sadly detached houses are out of our price range tho.

On top of having very loud neighbours upstairs and downstairs, our new nextdoor neighbours smoke weed and cigarettes inside their unit so the corridor between us has a horrible smell. It gives me a headache every time I leave the apartment.

So we are desparate to find a place ASAP but don't want to end up in the same situation...

Bubbletea21 · 10-03-2021 12:31pm

Galwayhurl wrote: »

You see, I'd rather that because if having to chat to my neighbour briefly means that my sitting room and main front bedroom are far from the neighbour's, then it's worth it. The tv can be blasted and the sexy time can be loud as the houses are joined at the hallwayss and not the at the sitting rooms/bedrooms.

This is an interesting point. I didn't realise.

v0ldeMort · 10-03-2021 12:33pm

It really depends on the house! I live in a terraced house currently, built in late 2000's & noise levels are not an issue. The odd time I would hear something, usually the teenager next door letting a roar at his brother. But I would think that is at full volume! Definitley don't hear everyday stuff. The front doors are not close together. There is a very neat bricked bin store for the bins, so no bringing through the house.
My parents 1980's semi-d sound proofing is shocking, you can hear next doors tv if the house is quiet. So it does not always mean that older is better.

bullpost · 10-03-2021 12:35pm

Rdwrer wrote: »

We live in a mid-terrace. The noise is fine. You hear shouting at times and doors slamming, but we have two loud kids ourselves, so it's a two-way street.

My biggest grievance is no side entrance to the back garden. we have to bring the bins and lawnmower through the house, which is frustrating, especially when it's wet. A lot of the other neighbours leave the bins out the front now because of it, and I think it looks awful.

For the most part though, living in a mid-terrace is the same as a semi-detached.

Yep I'm same. One thing is a lot of builders etc. will put you to bottom of their list if you are mid-terrace so can be harder to get work done. And some places wont even bring stuff through the house because of insurance issues - We've just had such an issue as we were thinking about getting a greenhouse.

Princess Calla · 10-03-2021 12:55pm

It really depends on the design.

My midterraced house had backdoor access. So bins , oil delivery etc all came through the back gate. The only thing that came through the house was the lawnmower which didn't have to , could always walk it around the block.

The design was door window ,door window etc so the double bedrooms bordered nextdoors bathroom, stairs and box bedroom.

Plus there are plenty of semi-ds that due to extensions now are terraced and were built that the back garden backs onto neighbours on the next road back garden so everything needs to come through those houses too.....

I think each individual house needs to be taken on its own merits as there's no standard style build for each type.

Bubbletea21 · 10-03-2021 7:50pm

v0ldeMort wrote: »

It really depends on the house! I live in a terraced house currently, built in late 2000's & noise levels are not an issue. The odd time I would hear something, usually the teenager next door letting a roar at his brother. But I would think that is at full volume! Definitley don't hear everyday stuff. The front doors are not close together. There is a very neat bricked bin store for the bins, so no bringing through the house.
My parents 1980's semi-d sound proofing is shocking, you can hear next doors tv if the house is quiet. So it does not always mean that older is better.

I wish someone could come over to our apartment so I can show someone else how much we can hear lol... We can hear anything and everything. Well they are super loud but I believe there's little soundproofing done to this apartment.

catrionanic · 10-03-2021 8:24pm

It really is a bit of a gamble when it comes to knowing how noisy a house would be. Our house was built around 1900 and ridiculously noisy. I swear there was only one brick between us and the neighbours.

Perhaps you could knock on the doors of several other houses in the development and ask whether they hear much noise?

clio96 · 11-03-2021 3:06am

I live in a mid terrace house, I can hear everything from my neighbours conversations, when they’re in the kitchen , had issues with loud music at night honestly I’d avoid, for me personally I’d never go for a mid terrace again but maybe I got unlucky

mines brick wall on my side and plastered on neighbours if that make a difference probably poorly insulated it’s an old house

ebayissues · 11-03-2021 4:22am

I've lived in three mid terrace houses. One built in 1900, the other 2 are ex-council houses.

The first ex-council house was renovated. However I still heard by neighbors especially in my room and their rooms were opposite mine.

The house I'm living atm also a mid terrace, I can hear my neighbors on both sides especially the ones to my right. I dint hear their TV but could hear when they laugh. When I'm in my room, I can hear them.

I can also hear the neighbour's to my left when they're outside the house, it's as if they're in front of my house.

There a couple of things I'm doing to rectify it, when changing the floors sealing any holes that sound travels through and add sound insulation.

dpham178 · 11-03-2021 11:19am

We've moved in our mid terrace (new build) last month. We don't hear any noises from our neighbors both sides, not sure whether it is because of the timber material and the new building techniques or because our neighbors are not noisy types. But yeah it's really quiet.

11-03-2021 1:14pm

live in a mid terrace, sound proofing very good, don't hear the neighbour's at all.
We have our own driveway, the only hassle is taking the bikes through the house, the area to the front is paved, and front doors staggered, and houses at an angle to one another.

11-03-2021 2:56pm

Totally depends on the house, and what you want and what suits your needs.

My house is mid-terrace. I can hear literally nothing from one side. On the other, I have had an issue with music lately, but I think this is down to my neigbour being home for lockdown, as I haven't had any other issue with noise in the last 24 years I've been living here. Bins are not a big deal, they go out about once a month each and its a straight run from back door to front door.

I also like the added security of mid-terrace. I would not buy anywhere that didn't have its own driveway.

riclad · 11-03-2021 4:58pm

My experience is older houses tend to be quiet, no noise from neighbours
99 per cent of the time.
eg houses 50-100 years old.
houses in the 80,s ,90s will be not so quiet ,in terms of hearing noise from next door.
If you are buying a house ,try and view it at 11am, 6pm, different times
see can you hear any noise radio, tv etc
its even more important now, since it looks like many companys will allow workers to work from home in the future even after the pandemic is over.
many office workers may go to an office 1 or 2 days a week.

cubatahavana · 11-03-2021 6:27pm

Bubbletea21 wrote: »

This is an interesting point. I didn't realise.

I just bought a semi d. It’s door to door with the neighbor and we share basically just the stairs and the hallway. It’s fantastic. We hear nothing

11-03-2021 7:21pm

cubatahavana wrote: »

I just bought a semi d. It’s door to door with the neighbor and we share basically just the stairs and the hallway. It’s fantastic. We hear nothing

If I was to ever buy a semi-d, thats something I would look for.

Mid terraced houses

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