Are townhomes well sound proofed?

[StageLeft]

We're considering getting a townhome since they are so much cheaper than a house, but the house warming gift we're getting is a big sub for our home theater, so it's quite imperative that I understand how well soundproofed townhomes normally are. I know that apartments are great for hearing what's going on next door. Anybody here in a townhome care to comment?

Thanks!

 

[Isla]

Some are.

Our first home was a townhome, and it was a good one. I never heard my neighbors, and they never heard us.

If you are considering a townhome, look for one that is part of a neighborhood (like a subdivision) community that cares about keeping up the values in the vicinity. Your investment will be protected better if you are surrounded by people in homes who want to maintain their value. Home owners associations are a pain, but they are crucial in keeping up the grounds, etc. People tend to rent out townhomes, etc etc... which is fine, but you want to own in a place where they keep that to a minimum.

If you buy a townhome without a supporting neighborhood, make sure it is one with a strong HOA!

 

[StageLeft]

Speed BUMP ;p

 

[notfred]

That question is like asking "Are cars fast?" or "Does food taste good?".

 

[wfbberzerker]

Originally posted by: notfred
That question is like asking "Are cars fast?" or "Does food taste good?".

well, some ar-

oh. i get it.

 

[etalns]

Originally posted by: wfbberzerker

Originally posted by: notfred
That question is like asking "Are cars fast?" or "Does food taste good?".

well, some ar-

oh. i get it.

haha

 

[aphex]

Im living in a townhome and ours are very well sound protected. Considering ive had the klipsch promedia v2-400's for the past 3 years and i've yet to get a single complaint. And yes, i do play them rather loud at times.

 

[TheeeChosenOne]

I've shopped around at many fancy townhome complexes and they *ALL* pretty much s*ck with substandard building materials.

They make the models look nice, but when you scratch the surface ever so slightly, you see what a POS it is and how much you're paying for it relative to a house.

AND NO. Walls are thin and you will/can run into noise issues--very, very easily.

 

[rutchtkim]

is there a method to tell if your home is well soundproofed? just curious.

 

[Ornery]

Buy a house now while interest rates are so low. You'll be scrambling to get out of that townhouse really quick, anyway. No amount of sound proofing can mask a sub. If you were my neighbor there, I'd get that ish squared away REAL quick!

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: TheeeChosenOne
I've shopped around at many fancy townhome complexes and they *ALL* pretty much s*ck with substandard building materials.

They make the models look nice, but when you scratch the surface ever so slightly, you see what a POS it is and how much you're paying for it relative to a house.

AND NO. Walls are thin and you will/can run into noise issues--very, very easily.

Yup. Huge for-profit development homes are almost always like that. It's a sickness. I can't stand mega-developments and mega-apartments for this reason. Also, after 20 or so years, they often start to become a blight on the landscape, because as the cheap construction starts to break down, people get less and less enthusiastic about maintaining the appearance. The bigger the development, the larger the scale of the decay.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: rutchtkim
is there a method to tell if your home is well soundproofed? just curious.

Usually, with some time and observation of many different types and ages of homes, you develop a feel for what's quality construction and what's not. Solid, quality construction = a quieter home.

Townhouses built with brick or concrete "firewalls" between each unit are inevitably the best for sound-proofing.

 

[JuanTabonia]

I just bought a townhouse, and after living there for a month, I've discovered that it is not that well insulated.
Before buying a place, run some tests like:
-Run water upstairs (flush toilet, run the faucets & shower) and listen from downstairs.
-If you have access to next door, bring a boombox and play it and listen to what it sounds like in the other place.
-Open/close garage door. I can hear mine and my neighbor's from the 3rd floor!!
-Run washer/dryer if it's in the house

Good luck!

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Garfang

Originally posted by: TheeeChosenOne
I've shopped around at many fancy townhome complexes and they *ALL* pretty much s*ck with substandard building materials.

They make the models look nice, but when you scratch the surface ever so slightly, you see what a POS it is and how much you're paying for it relative to a house.

AND NO. Walls are thin and you will/can run into noise issues--very, very easily.

Yup. Huge for-profit development homes are almost always like that. It's a sickness. I can't stand mega-developments and mega-apartments for this reason. Also, after 20 or so years, they often start to become a blight on the landscape, because as the cheap construction starts to break down, people get less and less enthusiastic about maintaining the appearance. The bigger the development, the larger the scale of the decay.

You're telling me. My house has 1/2" OSB sub-flooring over the joists. The insulation isn't that good either, and the stairs creak, even though the house is less than 10 years old.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: notfred
That question is like asking "Are cars fast?" or "Does food taste good?".

Thanks for that

--

Keep the opinions coming! At one place we were told they have a "double wall" so that it should protect well against sound, but yeah I need to try and get my hands on something like a boombox to test... Ideally we'd get a house on an end so that we have a person next to us on only one side.

 

[Spyro]

Originally posted by: rutchtkim
is there a method to tell if your home is well soundproofed? just curious.

Turn up the stereo at midnight and see if you can wake up the neighbors

 

[Ornery]

Don't just rag on Townhouses for quality. I've seen BIG BUCK homes built in the same fashion. Think about it. What incentive does the builder have to put good quality materials in? The damn houses sell for nearly the same price either way. Consumers around here keep snatching up this crap. If one buyer balks at the cheap windows or fixtures, the next one won't. Houses just keep on selling, garbage or not.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Don't just rag on Townhouses for quality. I've seen BIG BUCK homes built in the same fashion. Think about it. What incentive does the builder have to put good quality materials in? The damn houses sell for nearly the same price either way. Consumers around here keep snatching up this crap. If one buyer balks at the cheap windows or fixtures, the next one won't. Houses just keep on selling, garbage or not.

I probably wouldn't notice We're looking for a new home and definitely considering a house but it looks like our options are:

1) New home in an area with not so good schools
2) Used home in an area with nice schools
3) Townhome in an area with nice schools

Chances are high we'll be moved out before we have any kids who need these schools anyway (or at worst send them to private), but selling a house down the road based on better schools will be easier and I'm not sure if better schooling will also accelerate house appreciation. We're up in the wind really with which of those three we want but we'll look into these townhomes in the light tomorrow and talk to the person selling them.

 

[kami]

this is one of my top concerns for a new place as well...sad but true. i like my loud sound!

We moved into a place that isn't really a town house per se, but we have one neighbor attached to us. I'm not living there anymore but when I was there for a short time it could be cranked without any problem. The place was even wired for surround sound (through the walls) when we got there.

As a general rule, if it's a newer place the sound proofing should be very good. Just ask the land lord what the sound proofing is like. I would think most of them are cement walls in between.

BTW, what sub are you getting?

 

[Ornery]

Good schools are critical for resale value, so whether you have kids or not, that's important.

You get more bang for the buck in a "used" home. As long as the foundation is solid and dry, you should be OK. Everything will need replacing over time, even on a new home. Furnace and A/C, roof, hotwater tank, toilet repairs... hey, welcome to being a home owner!

I think you'll find the really old homes to be of the highest quality construction, but then you're dealing with cast iron drains and galvanized plumbing, as well as knob and tube wiring, etc. Find something you love with and keep it. You won't mind putting money into a home you know you're going to stay in.

 

[Isla]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Ornery
Don't just rag on Townhouses for quality. I've seen BIG BUCK homes built in the same fashion. Think about it. What incentive does the builder have to put good quality materials in? The damn houses sell for nearly the same price either way. Consumers around here keep snatching up this crap. If one buyer balks at the cheap windows or fixtures, the next one won't. Houses just keep on selling, garbage or not.

I probably wouldn't notice We're looking for a new home and definitely considering a house but it looks like our options are:

1) New home in an area with not so good schools
2) Used home in an area with nice schools
3) Townhome in an area with nice schools

Chances are high we'll be moved out before we have any kids who need these schools anyway (or at worst send them to private), but selling a house down the road based on better schools will be easier and I'm not sure if better schooling will also accelerate house appreciation. We're up in the wind really with which of those three we want but we'll look into these townhomes in the light tomorrow and talk to the person selling them.

Both my father and my husband's grandfather were general contractors, so we definitely looked at everything with a critical eye.

We found that buying an older house in an established neighborhood was our best option... our house isn't THAT old (20 years) but it sure was built a lot better than the newer houses that have been popping up around us. Our townhouse was also older... in an established neighborhood, and built sturdier than the newer ones are today.

 

[SSP]

Not any of the once I've been to. I'm not really a big fan of townhouses.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
We're considering getting a townhome since they are so much cheaper than a house, but the house warming gift we're getting is a big sub for our home theater, so it's quite imperative that I understand how well soundproofed townhomes normally are. I know that apartments are great for hearing what's going on next door. Anybody here in a townhome care to comment?

Thanks!

I know this isnt an exact answer to your question, but its how I solved the problem. I live in an apartment where you can literally hear your neighbor pee...so whenever I get a new neighbor, I bring them a nice gift basket, and give them my phone number. I tell them that if I am ever too loud, just call me and I will quiet it down. I have lived here for almost six years now, and have never had any complaints and I have a nice little 5.1 system with a 12 inch sub that I know they can hear. The point is to show that you care about them, and in turn they will put up with a little picture rattling.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: rudeguy5757

Originally posted by: Skoorb
We're considering getting a townhome since they are so much cheaper than a house, but the house warming gift we're getting is a big sub for our home theater, so it's quite imperative that I understand how well soundproofed townhomes normally are. I know that apartments are great for hearing what's going on next door. Anybody here in a townhome care to comment?

Thanks!

I know this isnt an exact answer to your question, but its how I solved the problem. I live in an apartment where you can literally hear your neighbor pee...so whenever I get a new neighbor, I bring them a nice gift basket, and give them my phone number. I tell them that if I am ever too loud, just call me and I will quiet it down. I have lived here for almost six years now, and have never had any complaints and I have a nice little 5.1 system with a 12 inch sub that I know they can hear. The point is to show that you care about them, and in turn they will put up with a little picture rattling.

I DEFINITELY plan on doing that. I refuse to have a neighbor curse my name and not know about it and talk about "those loud sobs next door"

We actually checked these homes out today. They are double walled and she said there is a few inches between each house (you can't see the gab of course I guess it's hidden), and also a firewall between each house. This seems like sound proofing would be pretty good, doesn't it? If possible we'd get one on the end...

I think an older home probably is better bang for buck so we're still considering those but I really just don't fancy the idea of working on the house shortly after buying it. I guess a few years old wouldn't have that problem though.

 

[henmaster]

What is a townhome? Never heard that term before.