R

RI C S PRO PE RT Y
J O U RN AL

R ES I D EN TI AL
N O I S E I N N E W H O ME S

Sound effects

Figure 1
Attached homes.
Distribution of main types
of noise contacts to NHBC
(for houses first occupied
between 2005 and 2010)

Les Pickford summarises an NBHC Foundation review

into homeowner feedback on noise in new homes

The research
To see whether these
changes had led to reduced
concerns, the NHBC
Foundation examined
noise-related feedback from
owners of new homes built
since the introduction of
AD E 2003. This research
focused particularly on noise
transmission through party
walls and party floors of
attached homes (the
E1 noise category) and
information from occupants
of new homes in England
and Wales built between
2004 and 2010.

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NOVEMBER 2014

Noise generated by the

fabric and services of the
home and transmitted
between rooms was also
covered, as was feedback
on detached homes.
Noise-related contacts
from homeowners to the
NHBC were classified
according to the type
of noise and its source:
b AD E E1: airborne and
impact noise transmitted
from an adjoining home
b AD E E2: airborne and
impact noise transmitted
within a home
b AD E E3: reverberation
of sound in communal
areas of buildings
b creaking floors
b creaking stairs
b water pipes and WCs
b boilers and radiators
b extract fans.

Key findings
Attached homes
For new terraced and
semi-detached houses and
apartments, there was a
steady decline in noise-related
homeowner contacts. Most
of these (Figure 1) were in
the E1 category, a priority
for AD E 2003 and Robust
Details, and contacts
reduced significantly over
the study period (Figure 2)
mainly accounting for the
overall reduction.
The main findings were:
b attached homes built
from 2004 generated
progressively fewer
homeowner contacts
related to noise problems.
For attached homes first
occupied in 2004, about
seven households per 1,000
contacted NHBC about a
noise problem. For homes
first occupied in 2010, this
fell to about four per 1,000
b this was mainly due

to fewer concerns over

transmission of noise from
adjoining homes. E1 contacts
from 2010 homes (houses
and apartments) were less
than half those recorded for
those first occupied in 2004
b for attached houses, the
ongoing downward trend in
E1 contacts is particularly
pronounced (for houses first
occupied in 2010, only about
one in a 1,000 households
registered an E1 concern)
b the downward trend in
E1 contacts coincides with
new regulatory guidance in
AD E 2003 and the launch
of Robust Details
b for apartments, the
improvement trend with E1
contacts is less pronounced,
perhaps reflecting the
greater technical challenges
associated with minimising
sound transmission in this
housing type; the contacts
suggest that many noise
problems were associated
with party floors rather than
party walls
b creaking floors were the
next most common cause of
contact, but for this and other
sources of noise the overall
level of concerns was low.

43%
10%
24%

Q E1 noise transmission
(from adjoining homes) 43%
Q Creaking floors 24%
Q Water pipes, WC 10%
Q Boilers and radiators 5%
Q Extract fans 3%
Q E2 noise transmission
(within the home) 2%
Q Other sources of noise 13%

Overall, it was very

encouraging to see a marked
improvement trend in E1
neighbour noise enquiries
starting in 2003-04, says
Turner. The dramatic decline
was very good to see.
Detached homes
Owners of detached homes
were twice as likely as those in
attached homes to contact the
NHBC about noise. There are
many factors for this including:
lower background noise,
higher expectations, a higher
proportion of timber floors and
less tolerance of noise.

Figure 2
Attached homes. Homeowner contacts to NHBC on
noise from adjoining properties E1 noise (for homes
first occupied between 2004 and 2010)
4.0

Contracts to NHBC per 1000 homes

n the 1980s and

1990s, noise
transmitted
between
adjoining homes
was a growing
problem for
occupants and homeowners
in England and Wales. It
was leading them to contact
the NHBC and make many
complaints to local authority
environmental health officers,
says Clive Turner, Research
Manager at the NHBC
Foundation. These concerns
attracted ministerial attention
and led to changes in the
Building Regulations.
Despite attempts to address
concerns through improved
acoustic performance
requirements in Approved
Document E: Resistance
to the passage of sound,
the problems remained. UK
government responded by
introducing higher standards
for sound insulation in the
2003 version of Approved
Document E (AD E 2003).
A system of pre-completion
sound testing was proposed
and in 2004 the use of
Robust Details was accepted
as an alternative method.

All attached homes

Apartments
Attached houses

3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0

For new homes

from July 2004:
pre-completion
sound testing
required OR option
to use Robust Details

1.5
1.0

Introduction
of AD E 2003

0.5
2002

2003

Images NHBC Foundation

2004

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Year that the home was first occupied

2010

2011

2012

R ES I D EN TI AL
N O I S E I N N E W H O M ES

Figure 3
Detached homes.
Distribution of main types
of noise contacts to NHBC
(for homes first occupied
between 2005 and 2010)

48%
43%
10%
9%
24%
15%

Q Creaking floors 48%

Q Water pipes, WC 15%
Q Boilers and radiators 9%
Q E2 noise transmission
(within the home) 9%
Q Creaking stairs 5%
Q Extract fans 5%
Q Other sources of noise 9%

The most common problem

(48%) related to creaking
floors (Figure 3), and could
be up to five times higher
than those in attached
homes. Contacts relating to
other sources of noise were
typically between three or
four times higher.
The main findings were:
b homeowners of detached
homes were 58% more
likely to raise a noise issue
than owners of attached
homes (between eight and
12 detached households per
1,000 contacted NHBC)
b overall contacts on noise

from detached homes did not

indicate an obvious trend (rise
or fall) over time
b around one in every 200
detached homes registered
a concern about creaking
floors, although this figure
varied considerably during
the study. People in detached
homes were three to five
times more likely to report
creaking floors than people
in attached homes
b contacts related to other
noise types (Figure 4) were
also noted to be at higher
levels in detached homes,
compared with attached
homes, including:
plumbing (pipes, WCs)
boilers and radiators
creaking stairs
E2 (noise transmission
within the home)
b contacts relating to
these other noise categories
showed no consistent trends,
although creaking from stairs
is an emerging issue.
That there was no obvious
decline in noise contacts from
owners of detached homes
was expected because the
interventions (Part E 2003 and
Robust Details) had targeted
improvements in transmitted
sound between adjoining
homes. This has acted as
a scientific control for the
study, says Turner. But it was
unexpected that detached
homeowners are typically
more than twice as likely to
make a noise enquiry as those
living in attached homes.

Figure 4
Detatched homes. Homeowner contacts to NHBC on
other sources of noise (for homes first occupied
between 2004 and 2010)

Conclusions
The main aim of AD E 2003
was to significantly reduce
sound transmission between
adjoining homes (requirement
E1) and sound transmission
within homes (requirement E2).
The improving trend in E1
contacts for attached homes
shows that AD E 2003 has
achieved good progress
towards its main objective.
Progress for apartments
was good but less marked,
perhaps reflecting the more
complex and challenging
acoustic issues created by
adjoining flanking structures.
Airborne and impact noise
transmitted within attached
and detached homes (E2
noise) is only rarely reported
and appears to be addressed
satisfactorily by existing
design and construction.
In apartments, contacts
for E3 noise issues
(reverberation of sound in
communal areas) is rare and
again indicates that existing
guidance and construction
quality is adequate.
Three other noise
sources seem important
to homeowners:
b for creaking floors
(34% of all noise contacts)
site investigations indicated
that floor decking was
not adequately fixed
down and, once remedied,
homeowners no longer
experienced problems
b for water pipes and WCs,
noise problems were typically
associated with a lack of
allowance for expansion or
contraction movement and
contact with rigid brackets and
linings, i.e. issues that would be
eliminated by following existing
good practice

b for noise from boilers and

radiators, this could largely
be eliminated by adjustments
to the heating system.
These three other noise
sources made up the majority
of contacts (as high as 72%
in detached homes) but
many would be avoidable if
additional care was taken
on site and accepted good
practice followed.
The research shows that
industry-led intervention,
supported by expert applied
research, can be effective in
delivering government policy
ambitions, says Turner.
As we seek to close the
energy use performance
gap we could possibly learn
some useful lessons from
the Part E experience.
So there has been good
progress but is there scope
for further improvements?
Better awareness/
application of current good
practice will help in many
cases. This work does
not advocate change in
regulation or standards.
The positive outcomes
for attached homes confirm
the success of the last
regulatory change, rather
than identifying a need
for further intervention,
Turner explains. We
should pay attention
to noise from creaking
stairs. We would also like
to better understand the
situations that lie behind the
remaining noise enquiries
from apartments. These
need not be a characteristic
of construction, but could
be connected with more
extreme behaviours of some
neighbouring occupants. R

2.0

Contracts to NHBC per 1000 homes

E2 noise
Creaking stairs

1.5

Les Pickford is a freelance writer and editor

lespickford@yahoo.co.uk

Water pipes/WCs
Boilers/radiators
Extract fans

1.0

Sound progress: A review of homeowner feedback on

noise in new homes is available from the NHBC Foundation
http://bit.ly/1wwsPDE

0.5

0
2004

2005

2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Year that the home was first occupied

2011

2012

Related competencies include Sustainability,

Property management

NOVEMBER 2014

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