Soundproofing: Noise travelling to inside of single home from closer built neighbour

[daboss999]

Hello,

Just wondering if anyone has had any problems with a new home construction and being able to hear your neighbours from one single family home to another? We recently purchased a smaller single family home and we have one side that is about 3-4 feet away from our neighbour and the other that is the more "normal" 6-8 feet.

I can hear noises / vibrations from the closer neighbour (3-4 feet away). I can VERY clearly hear people stomping up and down their stairs. If there's anything slightly louder going on (maybe a kid jumping, or someone installing something on the wall) I can hear it perfectly from within my home. It seems like if anythign vibrates their floor or walls it travels perfectly to my home and I can hear it.

Does anyone live in a home built like this and have this issue and if so, what have you done about it?

Unfortunately I didn't pay for soundproofing insulation as I figured it's a single home and I wouldn't have this issue.

It essentially sounds like a townhouse. We lived in a town before this and this is actually worse, in terms of sound, than the townhouse was.

[Ghostridercdn]

Originally Posted by daboss999

Hello,

Just wondering if anyone has had any problems with a new home construction and being able to hear your neighbours from one single family home to another? We recently purchased a smaller single family home and we have one side that is about 3-4 feet away from our neighbour and the other that is the more "normal" 6-8 feet.

I can hear noises / vibrations from the closer neighbour (3-4 feet away). I can VERY clearly hear people stomping up and down their stairs. If there's anything slightly louder going on (maybe a kid jumping, or someone installing something on the wall) I can hear it perfectly from within my home. It seems like if anythign vibrates their floor or walls it travels perfectly to my home and I can hear it.

Does anyone live in a home built like this and have this issue and if so, what have you done about it?

Unfortunately I didn't pay for soundproofing insulation as I figured it's a single home and I wouldn't have this issue.

It essentially sounds like a townhouse. We lived in a town before this and this is actually worse, in terms of sound, than the townhouse was.

That's not normal, get it checked out.

[daboss999]

I thought there may be some code violations since they put alot of the exhausts from the home on this side with the narrow distance between my neighbour, but I asked Phil in his inspection thread and it doesn't seem like there's any building code issues.

[GregS]

Just to understand, there is no physical connection between your neighbours house and yours?

Are the windows open when you notice this?

[hebdo27]

This is totally not normal unless you have Bionic hearing. That sound wave from your neighbour has to pass through two sets of siding, house wrap, OSB wood, insulation, moisture/vapor barrier and finally drywall (unless you are window to window).

"It seems like if anythign vibrates their floor or walls it travels perfectly to my home and I can hear it." - this is pretty much impossible for vibrations in the structure to transfer if you are in single homes 3-4 feet away from each other!?!?!

As you mentioned it's a new home construction, get it checked out under the warranty. Certain builders/contractors have been know to leave out critical wall components during construction that was not pickup until the homeowner started having issues.

[daboss999]

Originally Posted by GregS

Just to understand, there is no physical connection between your neighbours house and yours?

Are the windows open when you notice this?

That's correct none whatsoever. There is about 3-4 feet of separation. I'm in my bedroom which is on that close side and I can very clearly hear and feel, for example, kids stomping up the stairs and other banging noises. I once thought I heard them vacuuming.

I have all my venting on this narrow side wall. I can't imagine it has to do with just the venting?

I really don't understand how this is possible.

We're sitting in our basement watching a movie and then all of a sudden "BANG BANG BANG BANG" .. I mean.. as if someone was in our house walking above us almost.

No there are no windows open when we hear this.

[daboss999]

Originally Posted by hebdo27

This is totally not normal unless you have Bionic hearing. That sound wave from your neighbour has to pass through two sets of siding, house wrap, OSB wood, insulation, moisture/vapor barrier and finally drywall (unless you are window to window).

"It seems like if anythign vibrates their floor or walls it travels perfectly to my home and I can hear it." - this is pretty much impossible for vibrations in the structure to transfer if you are in single homes 3-4 feet away from each other!?!?!

As you mentioned it's a new home construction, get it checked out under the warranty. Certain builders/contractors have been know to leave out critical wall components during construction that was not pickup until the homeowner started having issues.

Hmm... that's what I figured.. that this would be impossible. I know that space, distance and air is usually what it takes to stop sound so I don't understand how this makes sense. There are no windows on this wall whatsoever on both our homes.

[oakvillehomeowner]

siding, stucco or brick?

[daboss999]

100% siding on both homes on the close side. Is it possible it's vibrations because the homes are so close together? Literally sounds like I'm in a townhouse. I can't hear voices or anything but low frequency, house-vibrating bangs and knocks. My guess is kids stomping around the inside of the house and other general things like pounding meat?..haha I don't know.. slamming doors etc. . moving couches. .. those kinds of sounds

update: ok I put my ear to the drywall and 100% can confirm its noises from inside the neighbour's house. I can even hear voices!! Sounded like a kids voice. Definitely kids stomping around. I'm inside my house. They're inside theirs. There's just under 4 feet separation between both.

This is crazy. Nowhere near this bad in our last home which was a townhouse.

[oakvillehomeowner]

Originally Posted by daboss999

100% siding on both homes on the close side.

thought so. both stucco and brick attenuate sound much better. there was a residential development in London that had to brick the back of homes that backed onto a rail line to reduce the noise transfer.

not sure what you can do now. pulling the drywall and reinsulating with roxul or sprayfoam and then putting on noise-attenuating drywall might help (remember to seal around all the outlets/switches. changing all your vents to be roof- mounted would probably be a good idea as well. bricking the wall might be less than $5K. none of these are cheap - probably around the same cost as the real estate commission and land transfer tax if you sold and moved somewhere else.