Row-houses; how well can you hear your neighbors?

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

You beat me to it Redddog. My experiences exactly. While the exterior walls from these loft factory conversations are usually thick concrete, the inside is frequently cut into units with cheap drywall and minimal to no insulation. When I lived in one of the hot Northern Liberties conversations, I could frequently hear my neighbors crack open sodas, open kitchen drawers (not even connected to my unit wall), even discuss their days in normal conversational tone. Add to that the noise that comes from the heating and cooling. It's usually a large ceiling-hanging system that cause quite a bit of noise, forcing people to crank their TVs, music, conversations up a bit. It's a tough situation unless you get the perfectly-located unit and/or the perfect neighbors as Redddog mentions above.

My rowhome experiences in contrast, have been better - not perfect by any means, but substantially better. Most rowhomes' first floors' party walls are solid brick, so you're not getting much noise coming through the living room and kitchen where most of the louder living happens. It's the upper floors (bedrooms usually) that sometimes have suspect insulation and just drywall separating them. Again, most of it depends on your neighbors, but even in my worst experience (like a party next door), I slept on my couch on the first floor. At least i could escape the noise in my own house unlike the loft experiences I've had...

Interesting. I have lived in two different rowhomes in the city and have had no problems with noise on either side of me, including upstairs. And these are rowhomes going for 1-1.1k/mo. I have no clue whether it is dry wall, concrete, brick etc that separates us, but I can hear nothing on either side, save for something rare like hammering on the walls. Perhaps I am lucky.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

Interesting. I have lived in two different rowhomes in the city and have had no problems with noise on either side of me, including upstairs. And these are rowhomes going for 1-1.1k/mo. I have no clue whether it is dry wall, concrete, brick etc that separates us, but I can hear nothing on either side, save for something rare like hammering on the walls. Perhaps I am lucky.

You just might be. The insulation and quality of craftsmanship varies widely. A lot depends on when the last time one of the homes was gutted. Work done before the 70s was usually done with more solid materials mainly bc people were fixing/building their own homes. Flipping residential properties is a rather new phenomenon due to massive price jumps. Now, it’s frequently slap some drywall up and flip it. Very few builders give a sh@t if you have good sound insulation.

[PHL10]

Most have suggested it but I would say in my experience that the noise issue is 75% neighbors and 25% construction. If your neighbors only watch TV, you won't have issues regardless. If your neighbors are college kids who like to crank music and have a dozen friends over to knock back six 30-packs of Miller Lite, you will be miserable regardless.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by PHL10

Most have suggested it but I would say in my experience that the noise issue is 75% neighbors and 25% construction. If your neighbors only watch TV, you won't have issues regardless. If your neighbors are college kids who like to crank music and have a dozen friends over to knock back six 30-packs of Miller Lite, you will be miserable regardless.

While this is definitely true, I have lived in condos/apartments (not rowhomes) that had literally zero insulation between units and the lowest possible grade drywall. I'm not exaggerating when I say I could hear a soda being opened, or the 6pm news at a low volume in their place. Some construction is simply shoddy.

[Mdez]

I grew up in a row-house that was built in the late 1940’s. I rarely ever heard my neighbors. But I guess it really depends on who your neighbors are (and if they have children, probably a big factor).

I now live in an apartment and hear my neighbors much more often than I ever did growing up in a row-house.

[SteelCityRising]

It honestly all just depends upon construction materials and the "loudness" of your neighbor(s).

I've been living in a duplex "top/down" rowhouse for nearly a decade now. I never hear my neighbors on either side because our homes were all built around 1900 with sturdy materials that are efficient sound barriers.

Between my ceiling and the hardwood floors above, though? ZERO insulation. Our upstairs neighbor has her niece visiting frequently, and that niece is a toddler who runs, jumps, and chases her cat around. It's misery for hour after hour whenever she's visiting because my bed is right beneath her living room's hardwood flooring. I love kids but have to admit I inwardly chuckle when the toddler audibly trips and falls over and then starts crying. I think to myself "serves you right for running indoors, you little brat!" Usually the child just runs around undeterred for hours. It has made us want to move, although a move will require us to switch neighborhoods since the neighborhood has now become much more expensive than when I moved here.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by PHL10

Most have suggested it but I would say in my experience that the noise issue is 75% neighbors and 25% construction. If your neighbors only watch TV, you won't have issues regardless. If your neighbors are college kids who like to crank music and have a dozen friends over to knock back six 30-packs of Miller Lite, you will be miserable regardless.

My old downstairs neighbor liked to crank up the volume when he listened to rap music. I got to experience it too.

My current downstairs neighbor is much quieter. I don't even hear her when she and her boyfriend get into an argument unless I open my apartment door. (The doors are thinner than the floors.)