Submitted by Aromatic_Alfalfa_123 t3_xu9ign in baltimore
Hey all, I just started renting a townhouse in White Marsh a few months ago, and when we got here, there was no one living in the house on one side of us. Neighbors moved in yesterday, and I learned that I can hear their conversations almost word for word while in my bathroom. Which means they can most likely hear me as well. I’m mortified. I grew up in town houses and while I may have heard kids running, a muffled baby crying, etc., I NEVER heard people clearly talking at normal volume. Even in my last place, an apartment, I didn’t hear people as clearly as this.
Is there anything that can be done about this? Is it worth bringing up to my landlord? Is it actually normal, and I’ve just been lucky all this time? Thanks for any input!
Also, I never hear my neighbors on the other side. At all. Just these neighbors, only in the bathroom.
S-Kunst t1_iqv1ykw wrote
Ah, the sad realities of cheap modern construction.
Yes there are things that can be done. This is a common question on the Home repair Reddit site. But they all are costly, and sometimes it takes several attempts to remedy the problem. If you owned the house, the best solution is to erect a 2x4 stud wall on the wall which is transmitting the neighbors noise. But the studs cannot touch the present wall. The cavity is then filled with dense blown in insulation, and instead of dry wall 3/4" MDF panels are applied to the studs, joints finished like dry wall and painted.