Not So Noisy Neighbour

[allan tracy]

I have a friend who has just bought a semi-detached seventies built property. The house was constructed to the nowadays pretty standard timber frame method.

Since moving in, he can't help noticing the noise from the neighbours although not really enough to complain. After making enquiries, it seems that this particular generation of houses are notorious for poor noise insulation so much so that, later on, regulations were tightened up to improve things.

This may explain why his previous terraced house of modern design didn't seem to have anything like the same problem.

He says his neighbours aren't that noisy it's just that he can here them closing doors or their young child running up and down the living room.

He also finds that he is continually turning down the volume on his own television for fear of it being heard next door.

He's really finding it hard to get used to this and was wondering if there is any sort of insulation improvement possible, similar to say cavity wall insulation.

Any help?

[dave]

This is a tricky problem. We live in a 3 bedroom semi and have similar problems

- although we've learnt over the years, to live with it. Door slamming sound (or even just a door being pushed closed normally, is just about impossible to eliminate because it gets transmitted via the floorboards and common ceiling joists etc. Its low frequency has plenty of energy too. (subjective). Another "trivial" thing is light-switch clicks. Esp. in the early mornings when all is quiet, a light-switch click is audible through the walls - for the same reason as the doors!

It is possible however that while one can hear voices in conversation though the walls, unless they are particularly thin (acoustically), the words themselves are not distinguishable. The high frequencies seem to get much attenuated (thank g).

Another thing I noticed is that sound transmission seems very directional in this sense: sounds between rooms on the same level seem less "loud" than sounds between diagonal rooms (eg upper bedroom, to lower living room of adjacent semi). However (and this is really interesting), the sound transmission diagonally **within the same side of the building** is virtually nil!

Re the TV sound, try adjusting the set tone to reduce to bass setting. This really will reduce the transmission to next door. The booming sound will be much reduced and audibility for the listener in the same room will hardly be affected.

HTH

[Scott M]

If he gets on well with them ask if they'd help him out by letting him turn his TV up & up and then bang on the wall when they start to here it so he can gauge just how high he can have it.

Scott

[tarquinlinbin]

Is this the type of property which has timber frame /plasterboard as a party well between the properties also?

Remove antispam and add 670 after bra to email

[allan tracy]

No, it appears to be some sort of brick possibly breeze block.

He thinks it's only single thicknees though as it's visible in his loft.

[Weatherlawyer]

Can anyone tell me how much higher or louder the volume is for commercials, these days? I suppose there is no way to find out is there without buying a decimeter?

I know by law there is not supposed to be any difference but late at night (after 11 say) there really is quite a noticeable difference. Or is it there all day long and it's just that I am not so worried about waking up my neighbours?

[Set Square]

Buying 10 centimetres of *what*? [

]

[meow2222]

finally you give us the info necessary to answer the question. The solution is probably a 2nd block skin not connected to the first, preferably with loose fibre fill between the 2. Lesser but still useful levels of attenuation can be gained with a metal frame stud wall, which takes less space and materials, instead of the 2nd block skin.

However, one must ask what is the path of most sound transmission? It might be holes below the floor rather than through the block wall.

There are also ways to stiffen suspended wood floors, such as fitting noggins or converting to stressed box construction, which is fairly easy to do.

NT

[Dave Plowman (News)]

There is currently no device that can measure loudness accurately. Plenty in development as it's the holy grail, and whoever makes the first one to be universally accepted will make a killing.

At the moment, a PPM (peak programme meter) is the standard UK device - it dates back to before WW2. This, as implied, reads the peak value of any audio signal in dB. It's original use was to prevent over modulation of transmitters. It is marked 1-7.

Line up tone - the 1000 or 440 Hz tone you might remember from test card days reads 4 on a PPM. Maximum level allowed is 6, 8dB above this. On ITV

1, programmes may peak to 6, but commercials only to 5 - so actually 4dB less.

Now where a programme is loud and brash - say something like 'millionaire' the commercials won't be any louder subjectively. If, however, it's a gentle drama with a poignant end they'll come crashing in. To stop this would require a skilled human to balance the levels in and out of each and every commercial break and would be horrendously expensive across all the channels that show ads.

At the moment, TV sound isn't all squashed up to peak like most pop radio stations, but this would be the result if you really want absolutely everything at the same level.

FWIW, some modern TV sets include a compressor to try and do just this. Dunno how successful they are though - I'd expect to hear it in operation and be intrusive.

[nrh]

In news: [e-mail], Dave Plowman (News) scribed:

Yup, my new Sony flatpanel does this. Usually it's very effective too, but occasionally gets caught out and in the middle of 'Millionaire' as it happens too! When the last contestant has left the platform, and the music strikes up for the next 'Fastest Finger First' round, the telly gets fooled into thinking the ads have just started and mutes the sound down!! LOL No bad thing perhaps. ;-)

N.