People who live in a twin house...can you easily hear your n

Fieldsy
Fieldsy Posts: 1,105 Member
edited September 23 in Chit-Chat
I have been looking to buy a house for a few weeks now. I prefer to live in a single home, but I am starting to look at twin houses. They are much cheaper. My question is that can you easily hear your neighbor on the other side of the wall?

Replies

  • kaits108
    kaits108 Posts: 305 Member
    I've been in two different townhouses (not a twin, but kinda the same), and in the first one I could totally hear everything! It sucked, but in the one I'm in now I NEVER hear anything (and I have people on both sides). I really think it depends on the particular house. I'd make sure to check out the neighborhood in the night time too to gage noise levels and whatnot.
  • Fieldsy
    Fieldsy Posts: 1,105 Member
    Yeah I was thinking about doing that...maybe even see the neighbor just to say I may be interested in the house next door?

    I would just hate it if I had a party house next door or a cranky old neighbor. I'm not an angel, but I would only have parties on special occasions.
  • glittersoul
    glittersoul Posts: 666 Member
    I lived in a duplex before and I could totally hear the neighbors even open the kitchen cabinets and be able to tell what shows they were watching on tv.
  • superhippiechik
    superhippiechik Posts: 1,044 Member
    I live in a 4plex and I only hear them if they are being really loud,like,yelling at the top of their voices.
  • mpj485
    mpj485 Posts: 15
    I live in a duplex and...well, sometimes I can hear the neighbor but most times I do not. I often wonder if they hear me.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    I've lived in a few different houses that were attached to others. Some of them you couldn't hear anything, others you could hear everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) :embarassed:

    I think it depends on the building and the materials used
  • usmcpatience
    usmcpatience Posts: 168
    My husband and I live on military base housing at Camp Lejeune, NC. Now, these houses may not be built nearly as well as a house you might be looking at, but we CONSTANTLY hear our neighbors. We've had three different sets of neighbors in the time we've lived here (3 years), and two out of the three have been SOOOOO NOISY!!! When THEY shut a door...it sounds like someone is shutting it in OUR house. The last set of neighbors must've had their bed on the adjoining wall because we could hear them in their bedroom often. They even knocked a picture off of our wall! (We had a little talk after that.) The neighbors we currently have are noisy, but it is their two-year old who slams and kicks at the wall during bedtime. They also play their music/TV much louder than I appreciate.

    I CANNOT WAIT TO GET INTO A SINGLE HOUSE AGAIN!
  • EvelynForsyth
    EvelynForsyth Posts: 272 Member
    I live in a row of houses.....on one side the neighbours are quiet and we can hear them very occasionally (e.g. when they stand outside in their backyard to smoke) and it is never a problem BUT the neighbours on the other side are a nightmare.
    We frequently phone the police as they screamialot and he beats her and the furniture up. We can hear EVERYTHING. Its vile.
    So be careful who you live next to!
  • usmcpatience
    usmcpatience Posts: 168
    Yeah I was thinking about doing that...maybe even see the neighbor just to say I may be interested in the house next door?

    I would just hate it if I had a party house next door or a cranky old neighbor. I'm not an angel, but I would only have parties on special occasions.

    You have to remember though that people move out...
    You might like the quiet neighbors that live there now, but if they move out you never know what kind of neighbors you'll have after they're gone!
  • Fieldsy
    Fieldsy Posts: 1,105 Member
    yea that is true

    I just figured to keep it an option since they have a lot of nice twins around here.
  • InstantSunshine
    InstantSunshine Posts: 355 Member
    I've lived in a semi and couldn't hear much of the neighbours at all, just the occasional noise, but it was about 30 years old. I've lived in a terrace and not heard a thing - but it was 120 years old and they built them solid in those days. I've lived on the top floor of a block of flats and heard my downstairs neighbours walking across their laminate floors, and that was new build. I think it depends on the age and quality of the house. I find new houses tend to be smaller and more flimsy; you'd probably hear more through the walls of a new semi than you would through an older one. It was never that annoying though.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    We live in a 12 y/o townhouse that would be similar to a twin. The only time we hear the guy next door is when he is litterally banging on the wall that separates us. We occasionally hear his sliding glass door shut, but only in the winter when it gets "sticky" in the cold and suddenly slams harder than anticipated.

    It all depends on how they were built and how much and what kind of insulation was put in the walls. Talk to the people in the same area, see if any have had issues. Good luck!
  • Fieldsy
    Fieldsy Posts: 1,105 Member
    If I somehow get a twin house, I will talk to a few people in the area. Thanks for the advice!
  • qtwells82
    qtwells82 Posts: 352
    Depends on the type of neighbors you have. I live in a twin house and the neighbors were horrible white trash. They were constantly fighting and screaming all hours of the night. Not only that they always had music playing full blast. But thankfully they moved and a woman and her dog moved in. I hardly hear them. Once and awhile maybe the dog barking or chairs moving, but that's it.
    Good luck!
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
    it really depends. I am in a townhouse right now and never hear our neighbor (that being said, she is a single older lady who probably doesn't make much noise -- she never complains about us either though and there is much more noise at our house!). Our house is about 30 years old. i've lived in other duplexes where I could hear more though (and they were even older than our house now). I would ask the person who lives on the other side if they heard their neighbors, and talk to others in the neighborhood.
  • NYIceQueen
    NYIceQueen Posts: 1,423
    I've lived in several townhouses/apartments, so this is what I've found out.

    Age of the building does help (older ones are built "better") but not necessarily. What you want to look for is if there's a "firewall" (It's a solid brick layer between the townhouses). If there is one, then you can pretty much do what you want and no one's going to hear anything. unless you're being so loud you can hear through the windows.

    Right now, ours is a newer one but does have a firewall. The only time we hear our neighbors or vice versa is when putting up pictures on the wall, and just next to the front door. We share a common entry with a tall ceiling which has major echo problems, so that's the only time. And you have to really be yelling next to the door.

    My husband is very VERY loud when it comes to football games and we have a very VERY loud toddler, and he can't be heard next door :-)
  • Fieldsy
    Fieldsy Posts: 1,105 Member
    These are all good questions I can ask people...thank you so much!
  • Fieldsy
    Fieldsy Posts: 1,105 Member


    Age of the building does help (older ones are built "better") but not necessarily. What you want to look for is if there's a "firewall" (It's a solid brick layer between the townhouses). If there is one, then you can pretty much do what you want and no one's going to hear anything. unless you're being so loud you can hear through the windows.


    My agent is saying that all twins have to have a firewall. Maybe its a state law thing in Pa?
  • momof26
    momof26 Posts: 83
    I live in a town home and it sucks! I hear my neighbors all the time. When their baby cries, when I use the restroom, shower, walk, have sex, LOL....you get the point. Our lease is almost up and sooooo looking for a house to live in. Not saying that my family isn't loud but DANG!!
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    Just make sure you move the bed AWAY from the wall.
  • Shannon023
    Shannon023 Posts: 14,529 Member
    We used to live in a paired home, and what stunk was our family room wall was their master bedroom wall. So even though they were a older, quiet couple, they could hear our t.v. in the evening & would knock on the wall. :indifferent:

    Be aware of what your neighbor's layout is before you buy. :flowerforyou:
  • nsueflorence
    nsueflorence Posts: 295 Member
    Ask and see if the people next door have young kids. Not only that kids can be loud but if you are not in the same life phases it could cause problems for you and your neighbors. I got lucky and the kid next door to us is a preteen and is very well behaved. but if I lived next door to some of the other kids in the neighborhood I would would pull my hair out. Not to mention my dog gets overly excited and barks if anyone walks past the front door to quickly.
  • nsueflorence
    nsueflorence Posts: 295 Member
    and for that matter ask about pets as well! or you might end up next to my dog! or someone who doesn't pick up dogie mines..
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