Advice Needed, pls - house humming and vibrating 3 years now - What is it?

balloo_2

FamilyHistoryMad wrote: »

This is a desperate cry for help. We are at breaking point.

We have a humming/vibrating noise that has been going on over 3 years that makes it impossible to sleep and causes great distress. The beds vibrate and drive us mad. There are cracks appearing around the house.

Over the years we have been investigating the possible source of the noise/vibration. All the experts that have visited have concluded that the source of the noise/vibration is from outside of the property.

We have:

Moved the connecting bars between our house and the neighbours - we live in a detached 1930's house built on old farm land.

Had the water meter changed
Had the stopcock in the street changed
As a result the water people repaired leaks and replaced the meter at another house in the street - they thought this would solve our problem - the sound did change after this but we have been assured that water is not the cause of the problem.
Had the electricity board in to check the electricity supply to the house - they changed electricity meter and the fuse where the electricity enters the property and earthed the electricity pipe.
We have had the kitchen sink replaced.
We have had the old radiators replaced.
We have had the bathroom ripped out and all the piping cut back and replaced.
We have had an upstairs toilet removed and a downstairs toilet put in.
We have had the boiler checked by an engineer who said that it could not be the cause of the problem
We have turned the water off both in the house and in the street and we can still hear and feel the virbrating.
We have turned the electricity off at the mains and we can still hear and feel the virbrating
The TV aerial was fitted after the noise had been there for a long time - so we don't believe it is the wind blowing on the aerial causing the vibration. The noise is also too consistent for that.
We have had the electricity people out again on the someone's advise to get a rubber put between the meter and the wall but the guy that came out said it wasn't needed as it was on wooden boards which have the same effect that that even if it was making a noise the noise wouldn't reach the other side of the house.

It is worse at night when the background noises from the world outside the house is quieter.

It is almost impossible to sleep with the humming noise. We are like walking zombies and do not know how we are going to cope with the future.

We have had the environmental health in and they recorded the sound but insisted that it was snoring or traffic noise but no one was asleep at the time of the recording and it was in the early hours of the morning and there was no traffic. They would not let us listen to the sound recorded. They claimed that the recording did not match the criteria that they have for what constitutes a noise. As a result they did not want to help us but I appreciate that the noise is not like noisy neighbours or something which is what they are probably there to deal with.

I appreciate that we may have become sensitive to the noise and that it is harder for men to hear than women. But the water man that came round said he could hear it too but couldn't work out where it was coming from given that the electricity and the water was turned off at the time.

I have searched for hum/vibrating on the internet but it brings up the earths hum/vibration which, whilst I appreciate that the symptoms suffered by us are the same, I don't believe that that is the source of our noise.

Do any MSErs have any idea what we could look at next? Is there anyone we could employ - would a building surveyor help, or a structural engineer? Is our problem the kind that they would investigate and be able to help with?

Here's hoping someone can solve our mystery because we just haven't got a clue where to turn next.

FHM

Hi I dont know if anyone has suggested this in the other replies because i havent read them all.
what about the wind getting in through the roof somewhere next doors roof if you live in a terrace, maybe under the eaves by the guttering, chimney. We had it but me being deaf as a post didn't hear it and my 3 year old Grandson used to crap himself when he went to bed bless. Just a thought.

DReidy

Hi we are having exactly the same problem, this has been going on now for the last 4 months, don't know how you have managed for so long with the lack of sleep!!

We have tried most of the things suggested in your post, noted a few other things to try, but it doesn't sound too good! Let me know how you get on with the Noise Doctor, I would be grateful for his contact details please.

We are waiting for a second visit from the Evironmental Health at present.

Hope you find the source soon.

Kiran

Firstly you have got every sympathy from me.

Im a civil engineer and I've had some dealings with this kind of stuff. Have you had, or are you able to obtain a geological survey of the area.The area you live in may have mines or underground rivers. Secondly, do you know what type of foundations your house has? The walls could be transmitting the noise/vibration if the foundation the walls are on not correct. The coment about the foul water being pumped is definitely worth investigating. It may also be worth noting that there are a few things that can be done to soundproof and damoen vibrations depending on the house particulars.

I hope this post finds you too late and you have already found the source of the problem.

DReidy

I don't want to hijack this post, should I open my own post? It is exactly the same as this post so not sure what to do?

DReidy

Did you ever find out why your house was humming, we are still humming and following 3 visits from the Environmental Health Officers are still no further. Still not sleeping and still wracking our brains to find out what is causing this.

Regards.

west_is_best

DReidy... where abouts do you live??

This seems to be a common thing these days

DReidy

Hi - still got this problem, we live in Warrington in Cheshire did the original poster ever resolve the humming?

pavlovs_dog

the hum has featured on the BBC news again

myrnahaz

I saw it on the news too, it was on BBC Breakfast programme this morning. They were getting some emailed suggestions form viewers, so maybe there's something on their website.

ic

This issue is being covered on Radio 2 now.