Hearing Neighbors Talk Through Bathroom Wall

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.

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JohnGalt696969 t1_iquiq6e wrote

Try turning on a fan or some music in there. Hang tapestries to absorb sound. Kinda sucks but it’s not the end of the world.

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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.

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Heres_that_guy_again t1_iqv5exs wrote

As a renter, all the options to properly fix this are way too costly for you to do in a rental (if even permitted), and not likely required by the lease for the landlord to do. Best option: buy a white noise machine, unfortunately.

Source: Property Manager

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LukeW0rm t1_iqvbdz1 wrote

I could hear every single thing my neighbors did in their bathroom. Only thing that helped was closing off the skylight. Noise was just traveling straight through it. Then added a bathroom fan to create some white noise

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Nintendoholic t1_iqvbm3n wrote

If you're hearing them loud and clear, it's possible that your houses are connected through the fan exhaust ducts. Wonder if that's something you could speak to your landlord about. Something something "quiet enjoyment of the premises". Argument is stronger if they have multiple people making the same complaint, so maybe talk to your neighbors about it.

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JohnGalt696969 t1_iqw1xb3 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#21,601)

Well I mean I wasn’t going to tell this person to go out and buy real sound absorption equipment (foam) so they can sound proof their room like a professional. It’s ridiculous. But a tapestry is something small that could help, while also just looking nice.

Also can you write less formally your veering on the level of troll with how you explain things.

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AffectionatePizza408 t1_iqyc9d1 wrote

Not helpful, but there was a recent episode of the podcast r/normalgossip that was about exactly this!

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