Advice about construction of party wall in late '70s Scottish semi

[Coliander]

I'm currently looking at buying this circa 1979 semi. It's being sold through an executor, so I've got no practical way to check how well acoustically isolated the party wall is (without asking the neighbours, who aren't necessarily going to give an accurate answer, depending on how quiet the previous occupier was) and I don't know anybody who lives in a comparatively specced property. To be honest, I'm more concerned about me being a nuisance to them, than them being a nuisance to me. I don't expect to be listening to the television at unreasonable volumes and I'm normally in bed before 10pm, but I hate the idea that any noise coming from my side of the property might prove to be a nuisance - particularly after the house has been vacant for two years!

With the current state of the housing market, I'm not exactly spoilt for choice. My budget means that it's either a semi, a terraced or a flat. This one is by far the best prospect so far in my current area.

I work for a local builder's merchant and have lots of trade contacts should I need to go the soundproofing route, but has anybody lived in a similar property that can give an idea of how efficient the inherent sound isolation is?
Even better, if somebody can provide a breakdown/diagram of the party wall construction for a property of this design/age, it would be a huge help!
I'm not expecting the house to be getting anywhere near Part E compliance, but will it at least be an improvement over my current 1950's no-fines party wall situation.

 

[RandomGrinch]

Hi,

Can you get access to the property?
If you can, it looks a simple task to measure the thickness of the party wall, and that would give you a good idea of the construction (although I would guess at single skin block work!).
The loft might also be worth checking out, just to make sure there is a firewall!

But no-matter what the sound-proofing, the semi-detached is going to be a better bet, than a flat, or terrace.
Even if the sound proofing is terrible, at least there is only one wall to deal with!

Good luck