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Noisy plumbing
FreddieFrugal
Posts: 1,752 Forumite
I have seen posts about this on other forums but they tend to be very specific to a particular problem or particular part of the house.
We move in in April and the heating pipes make a huge amount of noise. Clicking and tapping through the downstairs walls. Wouldn't be so bad if it was a gentle consistent tap but it speeds up, slows down, gets louder, then drifts off, sometimes sounds like gentle drip then changes into a pneumatic drill.
But it is constant while the heating is being used, starts about 30 seconds after the boiler fires and then keeps going until the heating shuts off right at the end of the day and everything has cooled down.
The sort of sounds have changed recently to include extra imaginative renditions of clickety click that hadn't been heard before.
It isn't a problem upstairs. It's downstairs at both ends of the room in the walls where pipes are. Have a standard gas boiler to radiator central heating system.
The walls are plasterboard so from the sounds of it, it's probably expansion in the pipes which are then touching the board. I've felt up and down the offending walls and found warm spots on the walls where they must be in closer contact to the pipes than the rest of the walls. I'm wondering whether they just dabbed straight onto the pipes?
Short of ripping the plasterboard off is there anything that can be done about it? It gets incredibly loud and irritating. Especially coming from a house that had absolutely no pipe noise at all. I've visited houses that click gently in one place when the heating is on but nothing like this.
We move in in April and the heating pipes make a huge amount of noise. Clicking and tapping through the downstairs walls. Wouldn't be so bad if it was a gentle consistent tap but it speeds up, slows down, gets louder, then drifts off, sometimes sounds like gentle drip then changes into a pneumatic drill.
But it is constant while the heating is being used, starts about 30 seconds after the boiler fires and then keeps going until the heating shuts off right at the end of the day and everything has cooled down.
The sort of sounds have changed recently to include extra imaginative renditions of clickety click that hadn't been heard before.
It isn't a problem upstairs. It's downstairs at both ends of the room in the walls where pipes are. Have a standard gas boiler to radiator central heating system.
The walls are plasterboard so from the sounds of it, it's probably expansion in the pipes which are then touching the board. I've felt up and down the offending walls and found warm spots on the walls where they must be in closer contact to the pipes than the rest of the walls. I'm wondering whether they just dabbed straight onto the pipes?
Short of ripping the plasterboard off is there anything that can be done about it? It gets incredibly loud and irritating. Especially coming from a house that had absolutely no pipe noise at all. I've visited houses that click gently in one place when the heating is on but nothing like this.
Mortgage remaining: £42,260 of £77,000 (2.59% til 03/18 - 2.09% til 03/23)
Savings target June 18 - £22,281.99 / £25,000
Savings target June 18 - £22,281.99 / £25,000
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Comments
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Sounds pretty normal in a modern house with plasterboard walls. There is not a lot of solid material to cushion the noise from water running through the pipework, with heat causing expansion of materials.
I can hear my heating system while it is on, particulary for the first 10 minutes. Once it is heated up, it is not too bad. You get used to it.
If there is no problem with the heating system, it is a case of better insulation against the noise or putting up with it.
You could try to bleed your radiators around the house to get rid of any air in the system and then re-pressurise the boiler if need be. I have a combi boiler and need to re-pressurise after bleeding.The comments I post are personal opinion. Always refer to official information sources before relying on internet forums. If you have a problem with any organisation, enter into their official complaints process at the earliest opportunity, as sometimes complaints have to be started within a certain time frame.0 -
I can hear my heating system while it is on, particulary for the first 10 minutes. Once it is heated up, it is not too bad. You get used to it.
See I wouldn't mind if it was like that, but it builds up and then never really calms down to an ignorable point. It's up and down, up and down continuously, faster then slower, it just never settles to a steady rhythm. Everyone has commented on it when they've been round and the heating has been on "What the heck is that noise?!" sort of response.
That's why I thought there might be more going on than just expansion. If it was just standard expansion I would assume that as you say it would be noisy until the pipes got up to temperature and then afterwards be less obtrusive as surely it can't be continuously expanding the whole time the heating is on? Unless it is cooling down really quickly and then heating back up again quickly. It just doesnt sound right.
I'll try bleeding all the radiators, they are feeling a lot cooler at the bottom anyway. But I've done that previously with no impact.
I'v also tweaked the TRVs multiple times around the house to be set at different levels to see if that made any difference, but nope.Mortgage remaining: £42,260 of £77,000 (2.59% til 03/18 - 2.09% til 03/23)
Savings target June 18 - £22,281.99 / £25,0000 -
What type of boiler do you have ? A modern combi or the old fashioned type. Prior to having a combi installed, I had an old type boiler which did appear to cause more noise, as it was on for longer. I suppose with a more efficient combi, it heats up more quickly and maintains the temperature more efficiently.
Perhaps have a service done and see what the engineer advises.The comments I post are personal opinion. Always refer to official information sources before relying on internet forums. If you have a problem with any organisation, enter into their official complaints process at the earliest opportunity, as sometimes complaints have to be started within a certain time frame.0 -
Bleeding isn't the answer if they are 'cool at the bottom' - I'd get a professional in.0
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Bleeding isn't the answer if they are 'cool at the bottom' - I'd get a professional in.
What do you mean that they might suggest having the system flushed out, as it is full of muck ?The comments I post are personal opinion. Always refer to official information sources before relying on internet forums. If you have a problem with any organisation, enter into their official complaints process at the earliest opportunity, as sometimes complaints have to be started within a certain time frame.0
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