4 ms·
Detached makes sense, you need to airgap for noise
by rdtwo 5y ago
Detached makes sense, you need to airgap for noise
- structural 5y agoI live in an apartment building built in the mid 1800's. I can play music, yell at the top of my lungs and my neighbors can only hear anything if they put their ear against the wall, and even that only faintly. We tested this when we moved in so that we knew we were being good neighbors! The culprit is cheap, stick-built construction that has a useful lifetime measured in a couple decades, not a couple centuries. [And if we, as a society, say with a straight face that we can't afford to build that anymore... isn't that a sign of how much poorer we all are collectively?]
- OJFord 5y agoBricks vs. timber, perhaps? I do realise the general answer is about availability of materials and both work. But ceteris paribus, talking about noise, the prospect of a timber terrace does seem.. unappealing? IME (in the UK) noise comes through windows, not (external, including to an attached neighbour) walls. Modern 'partition' (those between rooms within a dwelling) walls aren't brick, but typically between semis or in a terrace the dividing walls are. You might hear the neighbours in the garden through the windows, but not through the wall between your adjoining rooms.
- kitten_mittens_ 5y agoMy 42sq m German apartment had concrete walls. So quiet. In Boston, I have stick walls, but the building is built in such a way it's not too bad. I've lived in some very loud stick built buildings though. Americans seem to love to put multi family housing on 5 lane roads.
- zip1234 5y agoBetter insulation such as compressed cellulose will beat a 10 foot air gap any day.
- rdtwo 5y agoThe other problem is with shared walls you have to deal with your neighbor every time there is a shared problem. If folks are reasonable that’s not a problem but not everyone is and your reasonable neighbor might move and sell to someone that’s not at any time
- PaulDavisThe1st 5y agoThe airgap costs you in energy terms in most climates in N. America.
- nitrogen 5y agoSanity trumps energy every single time. Noise from shared walls will drive most of us insane eventually.
- PaulDavisThe1st 5y agoThe majority of denizens of most major cities around the world would disagree with that, at least to some extent.
- Gigachad 5y agoYou don't _need_ an air gap. I live in a high rise apartment building which has very soundproof walls. You can be having a full party in your apartment and only get the faintest of sounds from the hallway, and absolutely nothing from inside your own apt .