On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:00:34 -0500, "EXT"
wrote:

mm wrote:
Speaking of soundproofing, is there anything in the building code or
common practice that would indicate what separates my townhouse from
the next one?

My house was built in 1979, and I see one layer of cinder blocks in
the basement and the attic.

Is there likely to be a second layer of cinder blocks which is part of
the neighbor's house?


PS. The guy who first bought the house was cold all the time and
wanted quiet so he put another layer of sheet rock in the back of his
bedroom closets which cover whole wall that borders the neighborh,
and on the two outside walls, and a layer if cork somewhere else. I
hear almost nothing from the other house, and I'm wondering if there
are two layers of cinder block or one.

That cinder block wall is not for soundproofing, it is for fire separation.
You will have only one layer. Most building codes used to required a masonry
fire separation between units. You are fortunate, because the building code
was weakened and allows for no masonry separators but allows drywall as a
fire break.

I guess so. Nothing but sheetrock woudl be terrible. And my neighbors
could come in and visit when I wasn't home.

In Canada, they require one layer of drywall on the inside of
each unit and one on the outside of the framing of one on the other unit, a
total of 3 drywall layers separated by framing or airspace. I am not sure
the US building code requires. I prefer solid masonry between the units or
house and garage plus the interior drywall.

The first few houses here were built without cinderblock in the attic.
Allowing a fire to spread to all 8 houses that usually make up a
building. When the building inspector came out, he made them redo
the houses they'd built and they did it right from then on.

We've had two fires, and in one, the fire was in the end house and
spread next door, but across the roof, not the attic. I'm sure that
took longer and the second house's damage was less. They didn't have
to move out, but the first people did.