wall thickness in houses?

Question

how thick are ur house walls meant to be i live on the end house and i can hear people footsteps as they walk past i can even hear the ping on my neighbours microwave does this mean my walls are too thin

Answer 1

Traditional Wall thickness in a Stud framed house is six inches; 4 in. for the rough cut stud plus 1 in. of plaster or stucco on each side. Modern S4S 2X4 studs are only 3.5 inches wide and so modern wals are 4.5 inches thick in a standard stud framed wall. In new, dual residence buildings there is supposed to be the equivalent of two walls built between the two halves with 5/8 in. drywall on two surfaces to act as a fire barrier. By code Internal walls do not need to have insulation but it is a good idea to have sound insulation between units in multi residence buildings.

Answer 2

How old is the house? What type of house? Assuming you live in a townhouse - the problem isn't the thickness of the wall but the material in the wall. In newer townhouses, firecode requires a "firewall" between the house, which removes much of the noise. A firewall is typically 8 inches thick, sometimes 6, depending on the jurisdiction and the material. My concern is that noise is the least of your problems. Fire hazard would be my concern.

Most modern houses have a standard wall thickness of 6 inches, 8 for exterior walls (when you add the fascade.)

Answer 3

The wall is probably 2.5 inches, with no sound proofing- 1.5 inch Stud, 1/2 in Sheetrock on each side-batt insulation between the studs if any- It should have a Celotex sound barrier or a double wall.

Answer 4

it depends on building codes and engineering requirements, especially for structural walls. But generally 6" for exterior, to at least insulate, 4" for non-structural interior, since all it has to do is be relatively rigid and hold itself and its finish, and often doors.

Answer 5

it depend on what they r made of to me it sounds like you live in a timber framed home with no insulation in the cavity