New builds made from .......?

G

GRC

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One of my pals told me he'd been to visit someone at the weekend in thier new flat, and had been awakened on the Sunday morning by their neighbours.

What had they been doing so loudly on a Sunday morning to awaken him? Over-active marital relations? Exuberant Tai Chi? Continuation of Saturday night revelry?

No. He was awakened (and swears blind this is true) by the 'ching ching ching' of someone stirring a cup of tea and knocking their spoon against the cup/mug.

What DO they build flats from these days?

Regards, Graham
 
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The neighbour underneath me (a middle aged lady) moved out recently, my landlord had the decency to let me know and told me a bloke in his 30s was moving in. "not a problem", I said- I was expecting possibly a bit of music and perhaps a bit of DIY. But no, it seems he's just divorced and has the kids every weekend. So now, on a Sunday morning, up through the floorboards comes the sound of playing, shouting and slamming doors... grrrr....
 
Too many on a small Island, and it will get worse, much worse !!
;)
 
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I think it all depends on the building.

A mate of mine lived in a cluster home, one of those where it is 4 houses built in one big cluster, very cheaply. You could hear everything, and it wasn't even like you could wait for the neighbours to go out and have a volume-up film marathon as there was always at least one neighbour there.

But I seldom hear anything from my neighbours (thick concrete slab floor, block walls).

Also I know a guy who lives in an upper-floor maisonette, originally built as a house but separated into 2. Ever single noise is heard, and it is a very bad situation because every time he walks across his livingroom floor his neighbour bangs on the ceiling.

On the other extreme, I used to live in a great big 1920s/30s flat in Mayfair, one of those big old mansion blocks. That was very solidly built which was great, as we had a flat of 6 people all with big stereos. On top of that two people were drummers, one guy played electric guitar, I played bass guitar (possibly the world's most obnoxious instrument for neighbours :LOL: ). We asked neighbours to tell us if we ever disturbed them whatsoever, but they always said they couldn't hear a peep from us. All we did was keep to reasonable hours (never played after 10pm) so obviously we were never loud enough to be heard above the TV or what have you. When we moved out, one couple even told us that we had been wonderful neighbours! :LOL:
 
When my late wife and I lived in a semi in Romford, the lady next door was a piano teacher. We could hear the piano but it was something you could shut your mind to because the sound was complete. I find that if you get TV sound coming through, it's more difficult to ignore because the sound is incomplete without the picture and the brain is trying to make sense of the input and can't (and that's with programmes that would make sense to watch. :confused: )

When those neighbours moved out, the new neighbours had three children and a piano and they all played. We didn't mind the sound of folks making their own music, the kids didn't stay learners for ever. We just had one light-hearted token thing. They could play anything they liked with one exception; if they played chopsticks, we'd knock on the wall.
 
Suppose it depends where you live, around here the new build 2 bed flats are circa £150K to £250K. Surely you can't expect good materials, the developers have got to make a living you know. ;)
 
This type of conversation makes me feel terribly old! I'm just a spring chicken of 24 but it makes me shudder when I think of my behaviour just a few years back. Loud music, 10 or more people back to the flat after a night out etc. These days I'm still an audiophile but I save it for the car or headphones, and if I come home late I tiptoe up the stairs and worry if I'm laughing too loudly at something on the telly!
 
OK, most ironic epilogue ever: whilst posting that last reply I forgot I was making toast and the smoke alarm alerted me and most of my neighbours at nearly nidnight! :oops: :oops:
 
ninebob said:
This type of conversation makes me feel terribly old! I'm just a spring chicken of 24 but it makes me shudder when I think of my behaviour just a few years back. Loud music, 10 or more people back to the flat after a night out etc. These days I'm still an audiophile but I save it for the car or headphones, and if I come home late I tiptoe up the stairs and worry if I'm laughing too loudly at something on the telly!
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You really have it made when your neighbours appreciate your efforts not to invade their solitude and reciprocate !!
You'll be enjoying the silences in radio 4 next !! ;)
 
ninebob said:
OK, most ironic epilogue ever: whilst posting that last reply I forgot I was making toast and the smoke alarm alerted me and most of my neighbours at nearly nidnight! :oops: :oops:
Click to expand...

Well, sometimes you're too far away to hear the oven timer, what an innovative use of a smoke alarm! :LOL:

A certain amount of noise is always to be expected, it is unreasonable to assume that everyone will tiptoe about and keep the same hours as you. However I wonder if problem noise is partly due to people being unused to living in a particular environment?

For example, I was brought up in a large detached house, so we never disturbed or were disturbed by the neighbours (apart from when the b*stard decided to use his ancient petrol mower 3 times a day whilst I was revising for my GCSEs), and because my bedroom was off at one end of the house I didn't disturb the rest of the family. So I was never trained in the ways of keeping noise to a reasonable level. But, being a worrier I am pretty careful about it. My neighbours are still friendly so that is a good sign!

I can imagine that many people move out of the big family home into their own first place, which is usually a terrace or flat, and then annoy the neighbours simply because they don't have experience of party wall manners. Of course, there are people who are just inconsiderate too! :rolleyes:

Also being 24, I have been told that there was a time when people didn't talk in cinemas :eek: Apparently this is a habit that started when people had VCRs in the home as they got used to being able to do what they want whilst the film is on and some people lost their "cinema manners". :confused:
 
I keep getting told by my 93 year old (downstairs) neighbour that she never hears me; I haven't the heart to tell the DEAF old darling that her radio and television really annoys me. Now the other elderly neighbour next to me on the top floor has got so deaf that I have to turn my sounds up loud just to drown the noise out.
The benefit of all this is if I forget that a particular programme I wanted to watch comes on, I will pick up the indications from at least one of my neighbours - "what's that you say?.............
 
If you can't stand the noize, move to Scotland. Build Regs there mean lots of soundproofing.........
 
A bit chilly up there too !! P'raps ( ;) ) the old insulation is better.
P
 
securespark said:
If you can't stand the noize, move to Scotland. Build Regs there mean lots of soundproofing.........
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Bagpipe practice till 3am? ;)
 
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