Help me track down this rattle!

RTNI

Hi everyone,

We currently live in a semi-detached chalet bungalow with a dormer window and velux window at the front of the property, which faces south. Roof on south facing side of house is a fairly steeply pitched tiled roof (I think double roman tiles) around velux and dormer window up to ridge tiles. North side is again tiled but with significantly less of a pitch. Next door attached is identical with no transition steps between properties.

When it’s windy, there is a rattle noise that is driving me mad especially at night when trying to get to sleep. It sounds like something metallic, although the noise is being heard through a solid block party wall so I’m not sure if what ever is rattling in the wind is indeed metallic or not. I am looking for some advice / guidance on where to look to try and fix what ever it is that is moving in the wind. Some things I have already checked:

1) Attached neighbour says he does not hear it so I’m assuming that the noise is coming from our property
2) He has a multi-fuel stove, chimney is on the party wall. No liner in the chimney.
3) TV aerials are secure (with the exception of neighbours bottom reflector grid which moves in the wind). TV aerials point approx NNW relative to the front of the house. There is nothing metallic in the connection of the reflector to the aerial to give the clinking noise we hear.
4) No work has been done to give rise to the noise starting. We used to hear a very very faint rattle when it was really stormy, but all of a sudden the noise level increased.
5) No apparent lose tiles. All mortar in place (with the exception of a few lose pieces under the ridge tiles on the south side of the house which I accept could move in really stormy conditions.)
6) Overflow pipes for the cold water and central heating have been secured to the rafters/ perlins inside the roofspace.
7) Damper vent for fireplace secure – held the metal plate and rattle still occurred.
8) We have an open fireplace with Baxi back boiler to heat hot water cylinder (open vented system) usually with a bag stuffed up chimney to cut down on drafts when not lit.

The noise seems to be worse if it’s blowing from the south / south west (such as the normal prevailing winds in the UK). I did not notice any noise when the roof was covered in snow and the winds blowing from the east with the poor weather in the last few days. This makes me think that the snow was preventing the offending object from moving in the wind to cause the rattle. Our property is on the right hand side of the two semi-detached properties when viewed from the road (so when looking north).

[FONT=&quot]Any suggestions for items above that I have discounted or things I should check?[/FONT]

greyteam1959

Is it the cable that runs down the tv aerial pole that is tapping on the pole ???
My daughter had the happen to her......drove her nuts !!!

RTNI

mervyn11 wrote: »

Is it the cable that runs down the tv aerial pole that is tapping on the pole ???
My daughter had the happen to her......drove her nuts !!!

Good idea - will have to have a look at the aerials and see if the cable is taped. Will take a look when I get home in the light this evening.

tim_n

Same thing I thought, you should zip tie - it'll last longer than tape.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Blades of the ventilation/extractor fan in the bathroom(s)? The outside slatted cover for them?

RTNI

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Blades of the ventilation/extractor fan in the bathroom(s)? The outside slatted cover for them?

Sorry forgot to add that in - don't have a bathroom extractor fan. Kitchen one blows into garage (garage was extension to side of house before we moved in).

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

RTNI wrote: »

Sorry forgot to add that in - don't have a bathroom extractor fan. Kitchen one blows into garage (garage was extension to side of house before we moved in).

What about your neighbours?

RTNI

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

What about your neighbours?

Again, will add to the list of things to check. I am fairly sure their bathroom one (if they have one) is under the soffit at the bathroom, so no outer vents
there. Their kitchen vent would exit on their gable wall - will look and see if this has any slats on it.

betsie

We had this in our last house and it was the guttering. It was a new build and had cheap guttering fitted poorly. It was really loud in my daughters bedroom and only happened when the wind blew a certain way.

RTNI

To answer some of the questions:

Neighbours kitchen extractor does not have louvre bits on it, just a straight mesh grill

No bathroom vent either.

Cable from aerials look ok from what I can see. I do know that my aerial cable comes down the pole and travels a bit on the shallower (north side) of the roof before tucking in between the tiles to get into the loft. Could it be that? As I said the noise sounds metallic but I am not sure that it is metal.

Imagine a metal ring with a metal pole tat jiggles back and forth inside it, where the diameter of the pole and ring are quite close together. That's what is sounds like, a very fast rattle back and forth.

RTNI

betsie wrote: »

We had this in our last house and it was the guttering. It was a new build and had cheap guttering fitted poorly. It was really loud in my daughters bedroom and only happened when the wind blew a certain way.

Thanks or this- i suppose it could be the gutting on either side of the dormer window? It has been up for about 2 years, maybe more. An easy way to tell if it was it while on the ground? Poke it with a large stick and see if the bottom of the gutting and brackets move away from the facia board?