What is the cost of soundproofing v's moving house?
Is soundproofing your home cheaper than moving house?
According to a survey by Halifax Homes, nearly 1 in 10 people claim to have moved to a new house because of poor relations with their neighbours. The survey also highlighted that people living next door were a bigger influence on a decision to move house than schools.
The types of behaviour behind most of the decisions to move house include (53%) being attributing to the noise from their neighbours, such as; loud voices, music, and Television noise. If you are having to deal with unwanted noise from your neighbours, then you are not alone. A survey from
Which? discovered over 3 million UK adults suffer with noisy neighbours.
Should I stay, or should I go?
Many customers contact us at their 'wits end' due to the unwanted noise of noisy neighbours. The unwanted noise can be so bad that anxieties around noisy neighbours can mean in some instances, people start looking exclusively at detached properties. All of which come at a premium and in 90% of cases are cost prohibitive.
Latest figures from
Gov.UK report the average price of a detached property in England being £463,000, compared to the average price of a semi-detached property of £288,000, or terraced property £244,000.
If you currently live in a semi-detached property, on average it will be an extra £175,000 for a detached house. This doesn't include the actual cost of moving, such as; solicitors fees, valuation fees (some lenders don't charge for this), stamp duty, surveyor's fees, estate agent fees, removal costs and higher mortgage costs on a more expensive home. There are also more expensive running costs, or higher council tax costs to consider.
On average, the cost of moving in the UK is nearly £12,000 (Halifax 2024)
Average house price by property type for England
Average price by property type GOV.UK (Jan 2024)
Average cost of soundproofing walls, floors and ceilings
Average soundproofing costs for walls, floors and ceilings (Sept 2024)
Will Soundproofing stop all noise from noisy neighbours?
If you are very sensitive to sound, you’re not going to find a better solution than a completely detached property. Soundproofing can greatly improve the sound transference between attached properties.
Why soundproofing isn't an exact science
The difficulty with sound is that it's extremely complex, as sound is an energy and a vibration. The vibration travels very easily through solid material and can transfer from one surface to another if in direct contact. So once the sound energy gets into a structure it can easily spread through different surfaces. As sound isn't visible, it is often difficult to know exactly what surfaces the sound is travelling through. Every property is different and the way sound travels through it is unique to that property. This is why, for soundproofing to be successful, it is advisable to speak to an expert who can discuss your particular noise issue in more detail, learn about the types and levels of noise being soundproofed against and importantly the type and structure of the property.
Different property structures and soundproofing
If you have noisy neighbours and the sound is coming through the party wall of the house, you would be correct to soundproof the wall of your home. However, in some properties, some of the sound could also be leaking through the floor, or the ceiling or the adjoining walls. It could even be travelling out of the neighbour's windows and back in through yours. (Or potentially all of these!).
There are also many different types of party wall that all perform to different levels. Along with lots of potential flaws and weaknesses that can occur in party walls. Therefore, if the noise from next door is excessively bad and the construction of the party wall is incredibly poor, then even a very high performing soundproofing system can only do so much. It would certainly improve things greatly but doesn’t mean it will block out 100% of the noise.
It is rare that a lot of sound will be leaking through other areas, but it certainly can happen. And if it does, realistically the only way to combat it, would be to soundproof the wall, floor and ceiling in that particular room. Like you would if you were building a soundproofed music studio.
Will soundproofing an attached house make a difference?
In all likelihood it is possible to soundproof an attached house to a level that would make a huge difference to the unwanted noise being heard from noisy neighbours. The thousands of extremely satisfied customers
The Soundproofing Store have helped is certainly testament to this, along with a very impressive independent review rating (Trusted Shops) of 5 stars.
A detached house means no noise from neighbours can directly pass through any part of the structure but comes at a premium cost, whereas soundproofing your existing home comes in at a fraction of the cost v's that of moving to a detached property.
If you love your home and the location, but don't enjoy living there due to noisy neighbours, then soundproofing can certainly help to improve the soundproofing capabilities within your home. Many soundproofing solutions can be installed by a competent DIY'er or local tradesperson and are far less hassle than moving house. Check out
this blog for more information on the steps and time it takes to move house.
Click the buttons below for different performing soundproofing solutions for walls, floors and ceilings:
How to soundproof a solid wall - the top 3 soundproofing solutions
How to soundproof walls, floors and ceilings videos
Highlighted below are useful videos of soundproofing solutions and installation videos:
1. The ReductoClip™ Independent Wall Solution
2. ReductoClip™ Direct to Wall Solution
3. The SoundBoard 4™ Direct to Wall solution
4. SoundMat™ 3 Plus floor solution
5. ReductoClip™ ceiling system
The wall, floor and ceiling systems vary depending on the levels of noise needing to be soundproofed against. They do demonstrate the alternative to having to move house and are much cheaper alternatives.
The ReductoClip Wall Soundproofing Solution - achieve the highest level of soundproofing
1. Installing the ReductoClip™ Independent Wall Soundproofing Solution
2. Installing the ReductoClip™ Direct to Wall Clip Soundproofing Solution
SoundBoard 4 Direct to Wall Soundproofing Panels
3. Installing SoundBoard 4™ Direct to Wall soundproofing Boards
SoundMat 3 Plus Floor Soundproofing Solution
4. SoundMat 3 Plus™ Floor Soundproofing Installation
5. ReductoClip™ Ceiling Soundproofing
Effective soundproofing provides a much cheaper alternative to moving house
The correct soundproofing solution for walls, ceilings and floors depends on the structure of the home, the type of noise (airborne, impact, or a combination of both) and how loud the noise is.
It is certainly possible to soundproof a home against noisy neighbours, rather than having to move to a detached property. As a rough guide, based on the average figures mentioned earlier, the cost of soundproofing an average sized wall, floor AND ceiling would be more than 97% cheaper than the cost of moving house to a detached property.
Author
Ian Baker is the Managing Director of The Soundproofing Store and a leading name in the soundproofing industry.
With a prestigious track record of award-winning credentials, Ian is a trusted and respected authority in his field.
Ian is passionate about helping individuals find effective solutions to their unwanted noise issues and his extensive knowledge and insights are invaluable in helping to transform noisy environments into peaceful spaces.
