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My family and I are considering renting a townhouse in the Raleigh area, but coming from only apartment buildings where people live on top of each other, I am curious if living in townhouses are better with noise since they are not on top of each other and are sharing other walls. If it is still an issues, which I am sure it still could be, what do you think I should ask about the construction, if I end up in a unit which is attached on both sides?
We used to own a townhome in Raleigh and we heard our neighbors fairly frequently. especially kids running up and down stairs.
the lady on the other side of us we rarely heard- pretty much we heard her water runnign in the bathroom when we were upstairs, but that was it. BUt then, she lived alone so I would expect her to be pretty quiet....lol
When walls are connected, there will be some amount of noise heard.
The yelling test is good... and even though the units aren't on top of each other, still do a hard stomp test to see how vibrations carry over. Bonus points if you actually bring some sort of portable music system w/ subwoofer over, and see at what volume it gets annoying.
We've lived in two townhouses. In one, we couldn't hear anything. We were an end unit and were separated from our neighbors with a cement block fire wall.
The second townhouse was another story. We could hear the neighbors on both sides do just about everything--go up and down the stairs, play music, hang out on the back deck, use a blender...
Our friends live in a townhouse and we can hear their neighbors' TV when we're over...
It depends on the townhouse. I had an end unit and my interior side was my kitchen, which butted against the other guy's foyer and garage. I heard nothing. However, if he sat on his back patio, I could hear him in my master bedroom.
Of course, I live in a single family home now, and I can hear my neighbors sometimes.
I live in a townhome that is not an end unit and we very rarely hear either of our neighbors. One is usually out of town for work, but the other has 2 young children. When I ask (as I have 2 young kids as well who sometimes scream at night) neither of my neighbors can hear us. The only time I hear anything is when I'm lying in bed quietly and our neighbor is watching a movie with the volume turned way up.
But I have also been in townhomes or apartments where you could hear almost everything! The yelling test is a good idea. If you can not do that due to others having already moved in, dont hesitate to knock on their door and see if they have an answer.
The cement block firewall is definitely a plus to noise and to fire. The plan is also important as was said, if your living area sides to something other than their living area, that's just another plus. Are there any John Wieland townhomes in the area you are looking because his townhomes are built tremendously well for sound and plan placement and are built with cement block firewalls. Of course, every development could be built differently, but these are some of the things I've found with John Wieland townhomes.
My family and I are considering renting a townhouse in the Raleigh area, but coming from only apartment buildings where people live on top of each other, I am curious if living in townhouses are better with noise since they are not on top of each other and are sharing other walls. If it is still an issues, which I am sure it still could be, what do you think I should ask about the construction, if I end up in a unit which is attached on both sides?
I live in a Stone Creek Village townhome, which has a firewall in between. It is dead quiet. I do not hear anything more than I ever did in my Durham single family home.
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