Neighbour noise: Yorkshire expert reveals how to shut out the racket from next door

Yorkshire based Andy Youngson, founder of yorkshiresoundproofing.com, a renowned specialist in tackling noise transference, says: “I have been in this industry for almost ten years and I’ve seen it grow massively because of the impact of more people working from home.”

He adds that while old stone built homes with walls that are two feet thick are usually fine many other properties are not and they include semi-detached and terraced houses with brick and block walls, along with council houses, pre-fabs and new-builds.

The noise problem can also be from within your own home via partition walls with lightweight stud frames.

“Brick and block walls are the most common wall we soundproof,” says Andy, who adds: “New homes are also an issue because they often have a double skin concrete breeze block wall with plasterboard on top but there is a gap behind that plasterboard for insulation, which is good for keeping the heat in but bad for sound transference because the sound echoes in the cavity and comes through the wall.”

Andy’s soundproofing solutions are multiple but much of his work is installing de-coupled mass systems, which effectively means creating a new, sound-proofed internal wall in front of the existing one.

This includes a frame which is only fixed to the adjacent walls, floor and ceiling. Sounds are inhibited by isolation strips to reduce sound vibrations. In the gap between the frame and the wall is soundproofing slab mineral wool and the job is finished with two layers of acoustic plasterboard with an option to upgrade to a vibration-dampening Tecsound layer.

For this you lose about three inches of space in exchange for peace and quiet.

There is also the option of attaching sound isolation clips directly to the wall. This gives the majority of performance you get from a fully independent stud frame at a fraction of the thickness.

The sound isolation clips act as mini shock absorbers which significantly reduce the transfer of sound vibrations which in turn reduces noise.

If you have timber floors then it is also ideal to lift the floorboards closest to the wall being treating and add some acoustic mineral wool between the joists.

A top tip is not to be tempted to remove a chimney breast. “That disrupts the brickwork and pointing in the party wall and noise will travel through the plasterboard you cover it with,” says Andy, who adds that a common mistake is that insulation such as Kingspan and Celotex is used rather than acoustic mineral wool which helps absorb echo in cavity walls.

Expect to pay around £2,000 to soundproof a 2.5 by 4 metre wall. Some companies recommend all walls are sound insulated but Andy says one usually does the job.

Lisa Slater, an automaton maker, lives in an underdwelling in Hebden Bridge which means she has neighbours above.

Andy and his team created a suspended ceiling with two layers of insulated acoustic board and added acoustic plasterboard on a side wall of her home.

She says: “I did think of selling my home because the noises from above can be stressful and my neighbours recently put in porcelain flooring so the noise got worse and that’s when I bit the bullet and called Yorkshire Soundproofing.

“Andy and his team were superb. The soundproofing cost £7,000 altogether and it has been a great investment. It has made a real difference and I don’t have to listen to the neighbours above having their tea anymore.

“It’s also made me want to stay here in a place I love and which has a real sense of community and if I do move, the property will also be more saleable.”

David Wilson lives in a semi-detached ex-council house in Leeds and the property next door is rented to noisy neighbours who play loud music.

“It got to the point where I was putting my own radio on loud to drown out their noise and that’s when I called Andy.

“It cost £2,600 for the six metre wall to be soundproofed with acoustic panels. He and his team spent all day here and it was a very smooth process and it’s made such a difference. I can hardly hear anything at all from next door.”

Visit www.yorkshiresoundproofing.com