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Half houses
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pilsen


Posts: 11
Joined: Jul 2011
Post: #1
13-07-2011 02:14 PM

Hello, anyone lived/live in a half house? I saw a comment a while ago, regarding noise levels. Is this a frequent problem? Would love any feedback from knowledgeable half house dwellers, good or bad! Thanks

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Hoppington


Posts: 7
Joined: May 2011
Post: #2
13-07-2011 02:37 PM

Live in one. Can be a bit loud at times but no worse than most standard terraced houses. Probably depends on your neighbours. Would only be a potential issue on one side. We certainly haven't had a problem with this.

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blushingsnail


Posts: 371
Joined: Dec 2005
Post: #3
13-07-2011 02:41 PM

What's a half house? Even Google doesn't know. A maisonette? A house that's been converted to two flats?

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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #4
13-07-2011 03:22 PM

Yes what exactly is it please ????

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Hoppington


Posts: 7
Joined: May 2011
Post: #5
13-07-2011 03:29 PM

http://www.sebastianroche.com/site/php/p...607&type=r


This is an example. Lot of them around SE23.

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #6
13-07-2011 04:03 PM

What's the difference between a half-house and a terrace or semi? I can see a shared door - is there a shared hallway as well? What makes it more prone to neighbour noise?

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Hoppington


Posts: 7
Joined: May 2011
Post: #7
13-07-2011 04:11 PM

Not sure about the example I've linked but yes - shared hallway with separate hall doors inside. Assume they're referred to as half houses due to appearance and fact that they used to be c-2k square foot houses which were at some point divided into two. Noise issue - if there is such an issue - comes on side of the house where neighbour used to be part of the same house, as walls are not as thick.

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blushingsnail


Posts: 371
Joined: Dec 2005
Post: #8
13-07-2011 04:50 PM

So they were originally double-fronted houses, that were later divided into two? Do they have individual house numbers or are they 22a and 22b etc? It looks like there are some on Codrington Hill too.

A Google search of "half house" brings up the SE23.com forum as second on the list. There are some in East Dulwich too. I wonder if the style of house is peculiar to this part of SE London?

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spud


Posts: 65
Joined: Nov 2007
Post: #9
14-07-2011 11:01 AM

There are a lot of half-houses around Honor Oak. These are terraced Edwardian properties in which two neighbours share a common hallway from the front door. This leads to two internal 'front doors'. My understanding is that these houses aren't conversions from double-fronted properties but were built like that in the first place.

A local builder once told me that the wall which divided the two houses that shared a common hallway was only the width of a single brick laid on its side. So sound insulation between those two neighbours is much less effective than is usual for a terraced house.

Does this matter? It all depends on the neighbours. We've lived comfortably in our half-house for the last twelve years and have never found it to be a problem because our neighbours have always been considerate and not especially noisy.

But, if you were fond of reading quietly in the evening then getting an early night, while your neighbours were boisterous twentysomethings who liked to party and play loud music, then a half-house probably wouldn't be ideal.

Short version: check out the neighbours!

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davidl


Posts: 180
Joined: Oct 2007
Post: #10
19-07-2011 09:45 AM

We lived in a half house on Bovill Road for 5 years and our experience was generally pretty good.

Around HOP the half-houses were apparently divided at the time of building. This is my belief based on reviewing census details from the early part of the twentieth century where addresses already appear as xxxA and xxxB.

Noise from neighbours can be an issue - as well as the dwellings being separated by a single brick in places, you may have floorboards which run through to the other half of the house. As well as noise, this means that other things can travel - we had one set of neighbours who smoked a lot and we could smell it. Less than ideal.

Check the attic and make sure there's a firewall between the two halves of the house (or make sure you trust your neighbours). At the time of building these weren't generally put in.

My advice - again agreeing with a previous poster - check the neighbours.

One other thing to consider (though for buying rather than renting) is that you are a lot more likely to have a leasehold rather than a freehold, with all the joy (and expense) that may entail.

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