We bought a house last year and having been here a while now it’s quite clear that the party wall to next door must in fact just be made of air. Our neighbours aren’t really loud or anything and it’s ordinarily not an issue but one of our rooms adjoins their bathroom which seems especially bad for noise through the wall (no toilet noises thankfully but can hear talking etc…). We had the room replastered last year so we aren’t keen on replastering it (which is probably the best option), are there any other decent options available to help create a bit of a sound boundary in that room?

What is it, Victorian single skin brick, cavity, stud wall? Doing a decent job is quite invasive…stud wall with an extra air gap and lose some space from the room. There are two types of noise, impact noise and verbal type, different approaches for each.

I’m interested in this post…my neighbour has moved their staircase and since then i can hear everything!! They’re good neighbours and i have no reason to complain, but like the OP could do with not hearing it!

Put a big built in floor to ceiling bookcase or wardrobe there.

What is it, Victorian single skin brick, cavity, stud wall?

Unsure when these were built, was definitely within the last 100 years though. To the point, I’m pretty sure that’s probably right for the makeup of the wall though. These houses were built for workers at a local cotton (I think) mill.

Seriously – the only answer is to move house. Thats what I ended up doing as work to the party wall just wasn’t possible due to positions of internal walls and doors etc. If you cannot get the details right then its hardly worth doing – flanking transmission is especially difficult to deal with.
I’d never consider even a modern semi for exactly this reason. My detached house is absolutely bliss!

I’ve been chatting to a mate about party walls, as next door has put in plans for an extension. She mentioned acoustic plasterboard? She used it in her ceilings to reduce sounds of TV etc.

This worked well for us….

https://www.soundstop.co.uk/soundproofing/soundproofing-walls/Sm20-wall-solution4.php

We used that SM20 system linked by mudmuncher on our party wall. Very effective but doesn’t meet your requirements for no replastering, and you lose about 10cm or more of the room, which may be an issue in a small room. Otherwise bookcases or wardrobes against the wall…

mudmuncher
Member

This worked well for us….

https://www.soundstop.co.uk/soundproofing/soundproofing-walls/Sm20-wall-solution4.php
Posted 1 hour ago

Wow, 61dB reduction with only 43mm depth, pretty impressive.

I built a lattice framework and filled the squares with acoustic foam (FOAM). The whole thing was then covered with acoustic plasterboard, plastered and papered. We lost a few inches off the room but it was worth it.

Lucky it’s a wall, our house has a shared chimney in the lounge/spare room, in fairness it’s usually fine, but with 2 teenage boys next door someone is usually in trouble and getting a dressing down from the Mum. But as over the 10 years we have lived next door they have never complained about the loud music and surround sound setup with the sub against the adjoined wall (it’s about the only place for it), I can’t complain too much. I would LOVE a detached place though, when I can afford to buy it outright and not have to deal with a mortgage of course!

We used soundstop about 15 years ago when we converted a house into flats.

It was good stuff – but needs installing very fussily. Sound is like water – any gaps and it gets through.

Thanks all, I’m thinking a decent bookcase might be the way to go, although as matt_outandabout says it’s likely the sound will find its way round. Will investigate soundstop when we redecorate the main bedroom, that probably needs replastering anyway…

I live mid-terrace of a Victorian block of houses and my neighbour decided to take the carpet off her stairs which attach to the party wall. The noise she made each time she used them was pretty intrusive; not helped by the echo from her cellar, which she had decided to tile!! I used Soundstop as others have mentioned, including the rubber tiles, the sand filled panels together with ‘soundproof’ plasterboard and mastic. The end result was a diminution of the noise but it certainly hasn’t removed it all together. At some point, I’ll offer to but her some carpet!!