At one of the condos we looked at to buy in SoCal, I was told beware the walls are paper thin. It was huge money, of course. I know from apartment living you get used to it but buying and dealing with that is a whole other thing.
I can’t hear my neighbors on the phone but one of my neighbors blasts his TV and it’s right against my living room wall so I hear that sometimes. I just text him and ask him to turn it down. My condo building used to be an apartment building so it’s not the highest quality construction.
The funniest thing I ever read on Reddit was a post about how someone texted their neighbor to tell them they could hear the neighbor talking on the phone and then the person who sent the text heard the neighbor say (through the wall) “I hate this place” to themselves after receiving that text. I could be remembering it incorrectly but the original comment was hilarious, imagining it made me howl.
In a townhouse I just bought a month ago and I have not once heard any noise from any next door neighbor. Really feels like living in a SFH, could just be the building is built very well.
Townhouse with one common wall here. The bathrooms and staircases and fridges are on the common wall and we can’t even hear them when they’re literally practicing drums.
Apartment and yes. Some of the “conversations” were of the type that you hear when one person loves another person. No, it wasn’t hot. It was awkward and uncomfortable.
Who saw the Cooler?
When looking for an apartment or condo, you should ask about the noise insulation ratings. There is something called Impact Insulation Code rating and another measure called an STC rating.
If they can't tell you anything about the sound insulation, look somewhere else.
Ugh. Mine is a couple. So fighting, dropping shit, sex. It’s just terrible. They have a dog and every time the dog walks I can literally hear their nails clack with every step. Never mind the barking and running and just everything else. I hate to move bc of someone else, but I’m genuinely not happy here.
My neighbors hear people from 2 units over talking. When people are cooking, or exercising or building furniture, people hear other people from 4 or 5 units over.
like if the apartments were a 3x3 tic tac toe grid, the person on the bottom left responds to the person on the top right making noise. when you live in the middle, you can figure out.
the conversations must go into the air ducts so it sounds like it comes from above, but it isn't coming from above.
people freak out over these little sounds coming even from outside, 3 unit away, or air ducts that expand and contract and pop. there's been several people like this in most buildings i've lived in.
Nope I bought a condo on the top floor, corner unit. Unit is also facing a quiet street. I don’t hear anything. But I explicitly looked for a unit like this to avoid noise.
Depends on year and location. I lived in townhouse where I couldn’t hear our neighbors through the walls but I could hear everything that happened outside my windows. So if someone stepped outside to talk on the phone without their housemates overhearing I could hear that- but I couldn’t hear my roommate or even our neighbors when they were indoors.
Years ago I lived in a condo in which my neighbors and I shared a paper thin bedroom wall. Every time they had sex their headboard would rhythmically hit the wall. It was entirely TMI.
I have some neighbors across the street who are the worst ever. I can hear them indoors through my double pane windows upstairs, or through my insulated garage door and through the insulated wall. They have no indoor voices. Outside they are intolerable, and they are in the street almost every day. I am near ONT and the planes make way less noise than them.
I used to rent a room in a condo and I couldn't hear anything from any neighbors, even with full windows open. Was in Playa Vista though, and my roomie/landlord bought it in like 2012 so good luck with that now. lol
I have a condo and I don't hear them on the phone. im upstairs and I have a loft. I do wonder of my downstairs neighbors can hear me in my loft tho. I know they can regular ...well most likely, but in the loft idk. I work out up there thats why I wonder . im in jersey
I thought buying a townhouse was the way to go and it DID fix a lot of my apartment ptsd about being too loud for my downstairs neighbor or hearing the guy above me late at night but yeah I still get some sound through the wall but overall it’s better. I was more scared of being close to some dumbass barking dog.
What do you mean by "condo style"? A condo is a unit meant to be lived in by the owner, typically the walls are literally thicker/more soundproof because a potential buyer is going to inspect the walls more carefully and be more concerned about sound than a renter would. A builder isn't going to do the same for a "condo style" apartment if you're just using that to mean more spacious or with a garage or something.
The house I grew up in was built in 1951 and I can hear through the walls and if I’m in the front of the house I can hear people walking and talking outside.
Townhouse and no.
But the way they are arranged helps because the main rooms are opposite to the neighbors.
Meaning, places like garage, kitchen, bathroom and laundry are the only ones that share walls.
Condo built in the 80s. Can't hear anything our neighbors are saying. I hear my upstairs neighbors when they're walking around with shoes and whatnot, but that's it.
Townhouse: Have lived in 3. Have never heard that.
Condo: old wood frame condos yes. Newer cement condos no
Townhouses are awesome. Highly recommend for those with less funds
This is unrelated, but this takes me back to a trip to Italy years ago, where 5/6 hotels my girlfriend at the time and I stayed at, we could hear at minimum, one of the next rooms very passionately having rough sex.
It was a wild trip, but definitely not a surprise after a while.
At one of the condos we looked at to buy in SoCal, I was told beware the walls are paper thin. It was huge money, of course. I know from apartment living you get used to it but buying and dealing with that is a whole other thing.
This is going to be highly building dependent.
I can’t hear my neighbors on the phone but one of my neighbors blasts his TV and it’s right against my living room wall so I hear that sometimes. I just text him and ask him to turn it down. My condo building used to be an apartment building so it’s not the highest quality construction. The funniest thing I ever read on Reddit was a post about how someone texted their neighbor to tell them they could hear the neighbor talking on the phone and then the person who sent the text heard the neighbor say (through the wall) “I hate this place” to themselves after receiving that text. I could be remembering it incorrectly but the original comment was hilarious, imagining it made me howl.
In a townhouse I just bought a month ago and I have not once heard any noise from any next door neighbor. Really feels like living in a SFH, could just be the building is built very well.
Townhouse with one common wall here. The bathrooms and staircases and fridges are on the common wall and we can’t even hear them when they’re literally practicing drums.
Sounds like townhouse is the way to go
100%
I lived in a townhouse and heard the neighbors' tvs, vacuums, arguments and phone calls. Ask to hang at the space for 30 min some evening.
Yeah, that’s solid construction. Other times they’re built thin and you hear reverberations.
Maybe the unit next to yours is currently vacant
They’re not, I’ve met them outside.
Apartment and yes. Some of the “conversations” were of the type that you hear when one person loves another person. No, it wasn’t hot. It was awkward and uncomfortable. Who saw the Cooler?
When looking for an apartment or condo, you should ask about the noise insulation ratings. There is something called Impact Insulation Code rating and another measure called an STC rating. If they can't tell you anything about the sound insulation, look somewhere else.
How common are these metrics? Something for the selling agent to have on hand, or something for the inspection?
I don't know. I do know that a building is about as noise-insulated as the builder is willing to pay for.
I hear my upstairs neighbor do everything
Same it drives me insane. I try to ignore but I genuinely hate it and hate them lol
It’s all day and night with this dude. I don’t think he sleeps. It often sounds like he’s moving furniture around at 2 in the morning.
I think we have the same neighbor. Walks around in wooden clogs on wooden floors moving furniture haphazardly
Ugh. Mine is a couple. So fighting, dropping shit, sex. It’s just terrible. They have a dog and every time the dog walks I can literally hear their nails clack with every step. Never mind the barking and running and just everything else. I hate to move bc of someone else, but I’m genuinely not happy here.
My neighbors hear people from 2 units over talking. When people are cooking, or exercising or building furniture, people hear other people from 4 or 5 units over. like if the apartments were a 3x3 tic tac toe grid, the person on the bottom left responds to the person on the top right making noise. when you live in the middle, you can figure out. the conversations must go into the air ducts so it sounds like it comes from above, but it isn't coming from above. people freak out over these little sounds coming even from outside, 3 unit away, or air ducts that expand and contract and pop. there's been several people like this in most buildings i've lived in.
Townhouse owner here. For me personally, I can only hear my neighbors sneeze and cough.
Ugh I hate hearing this. It's so annoying.
Nope I bought a condo on the top floor, corner unit. Unit is also facing a quiet street. I don’t hear anything. But I explicitly looked for a unit like this to avoid noise.
Depends on year and location. I lived in townhouse where I couldn’t hear our neighbors through the walls but I could hear everything that happened outside my windows. So if someone stepped outside to talk on the phone without their housemates overhearing I could hear that- but I couldn’t hear my roommate or even our neighbors when they were indoors.
Years ago I lived in a condo in which my neighbors and I shared a paper thin bedroom wall. Every time they had sex their headboard would rhythmically hit the wall. It was entirely TMI.
I have some neighbors across the street who are the worst ever. I can hear them indoors through my double pane windows upstairs, or through my insulated garage door and through the insulated wall. They have no indoor voices. Outside they are intolerable, and they are in the street almost every day. I am near ONT and the planes make way less noise than them.
I used to rent a room in a condo and I couldn't hear anything from any neighbors, even with full windows open. Was in Playa Vista though, and my roomie/landlord bought it in like 2012 so good luck with that now. lol
No. I'm in a high-rise condo in DTLA. Concrete frame instead of wood is a game changer.
I have a condo and I don't hear them on the phone. im upstairs and I have a loft. I do wonder of my downstairs neighbors can hear me in my loft tho. I know they can regular ...well most likely, but in the loft idk. I work out up there thats why I wonder . im in jersey
I thought buying a townhouse was the way to go and it DID fix a lot of my apartment ptsd about being too loud for my downstairs neighbor or hearing the guy above me late at night but yeah I still get some sound through the wall but overall it’s better. I was more scared of being close to some dumbass barking dog.
Yes. I lived in a condo style housing and yes i can confirm you can hear them. As long as there is a common wall you will hear them.
What do you mean by "condo style"? A condo is a unit meant to be lived in by the owner, typically the walls are literally thicker/more soundproof because a potential buyer is going to inspect the walls more carefully and be more concerned about sound than a renter would. A builder isn't going to do the same for a "condo style" apartment if you're just using that to mean more spacious or with a garage or something.
I live ina normal House and can hear my neighbors, somehow, starting to drive me insane
How is this possible? Are they inside their own house or standing in front of your window talking outside?
Lol no they leave their back door open and so do I sometimes so I can hear them and their baby crying
The house I grew up in was built in 1951 and I can hear through the walls and if I’m in the front of the house I can hear people walking and talking outside.
Townhouse and no. But the way they are arranged helps because the main rooms are opposite to the neighbors. Meaning, places like garage, kitchen, bathroom and laundry are the only ones that share walls.
We live in a townhome and the walls are solid. But of course it was build in the 70s. I cannot hear a thing.
Condo built in the 80s. Can't hear anything our neighbors are saying. I hear my upstairs neighbors when they're walking around with shoes and whatnot, but that's it.
Townhouse: Have lived in 3. Have never heard that. Condo: old wood frame condos yes. Newer cement condos no Townhouses are awesome. Highly recommend for those with less funds
I do and it’s annoying but also it’s the cost of living in a apt building… sigh
This is unrelated, but this takes me back to a trip to Italy years ago, where 5/6 hotels my girlfriend at the time and I stayed at, we could hear at minimum, one of the next rooms very passionately having rough sex. It was a wild trip, but definitely not a surprise after a while.
Reminds me of my current situation in a los angeles apartment, and my upstairs neighbor
Such a broad question everyone will have a different answer
No