Semi-detached house yes or no

My experience from new residential construction (100 apartments in the large housing complex), about 5 immediate neighbors: you hear nothing inside. No washing machine at night, no small children crying, no music/movies. What you hear: windows open and others in the courtyard, balcony, street. But when the window is closed, it is quiet, only footsteps from above if it is super quiet. But only in the background, not so that you know who is walking where.

And this is certainly not specially standard, but also not social housing.

1) It depends on the wall construction. Today it is definitely better than in the past. You only hear the neighbors climbing stairs if the building walls are not properly separated, if there is only one shared wall, or if the floor ceilings are even connected. I hardly believe that this is still done today or even allowed to be built this way anymore.

2) You have your own plot of land, so you can do whatever you want. Of course, the neighbor will look very closely if you want high fences, trees, hedges, and similar things. Coordinating is advisable but not mandatory. What do you want to do?

3) Semi-detached houses with the plot are generally smaller and cheaper.

What we have seen from outside now is that there is still a wall between both houses. The roof is already on it and is one, you don’t see any separation, just like with the gutter.

We have already had consultation appointments with several solid house and also prefabricated house providers and everyone said that nowadays you don’t hear anything anymore because houses are built as separate houses that could even be demolished independently of one another. I still only have the semi-detached houses in my mind where, like in apartment buildings, you hear an incredible amount.

We wanted to later build an extension onto our garage at the back of our plot with a door to the garage and possibly put up a small garden shed in a corner.

If you have small children yourself, the noise from the neighbors would hardly bother me. Much more, I would look to see if the floor plan can meet all my needs. With the shell construction, all the walls are set, right, or is something still missing? If there was only 1 children's room now and I wanted 3, then it would not be an option. Otherwise, I find the semi-detached house option in highly contested residential areas very good - better than a terraced house with 3 units.

better than a terraced house with 3 parties.

Hey!!!! I see and read everything.

Hey!!!! I see and read everything.

Darn!

We currently live in a semi-detached house as tenants and will also build one ourselves next year. The current house was built in 1989, and the only noise comes from our own half of the semi-detached house (footsteps from the upper floor, washing machine in the basement); from the neighbor, nothing comes except when he is drilling a hole in the shared wall. The internal partition wall is normally constructed as "double." That means each house has a fully functional exterior wall, with about 4cm of air left between them for insulation. This means the insulation to the neighbor is significantly better than between your own rooms.

Of course, it can be somewhat different in the garden. It depends on the plot. We have about 10 meters from table to table between our terrace and the neighbor's. Between them is a bush and a stack of firewood at the neighbor’s place. Even with normal conversations, you only catch fragments or have to really strain to eavesdrop on a conversation. However, I would claim that even in a detached house, curious neighbors can overhear information if they really want to (e.g., having to "accidentally" water the flowers by the fence when the neighbors are outside).

Regarding the changes, you will probably have to speak to the builder once. Only he will be able to tell you what is still feasible and how expensive deeper changes might be.

About the plot: Have yourself informed whether it is a real division or a division according to [WEG]. In the first case, you have no problem because the plot belongs to you alone. In a division according to [WEG], it may be that you have to coordinate with the neighbors.