How to transform a semi-detached house

The first semi-detached houses appeared in Britain in the 17th century, built by wealthy landowners on their estates for workers. Since then there has been a huge rise in their popularity and they now provide homes for the largest proportion of homeowners in the UK — 32% in 2017 according to Barratt Homes.

They have their pros and their cons, like any house type. While they offer a greater degree of privacy and, usually, personal space than terraced homes or flats, they can still suffer from noise transference and issues surrounding shared spaces and walls.

We take a look at the common issues renovators of semi-detached properties may face and how to solve them.

1 Noisy neighbours?

One of the main issues for owners of semi-detached properties is sound transference from the adjoining house. “Most adjoining walls of existing semis are solid brick (in Victorian or 1930s properties). There is a number of technical solutions to help with soundproofing in these instances,” begins James Munro of Granit Architects. “Ideally you would create