Vibration noise from under house

kayej

HI, I found a thread on this which is closed & it was never resolved. Both myself & 7 neighbours have been tormented by an underground vibration coming from under the house for the past 2.5 years. Please note - This is NOT The Hum. This sounds like a generator / pump as it goes on & off at different times & when I first heard it, I thought it was a car revving it's motor outside the house (there was no car). I sleep in the basement rooms but also can hear it when sitting on the sofa. The tenants in the 1st & 2nd floors do not hear it.
Since talking to neighbours the whole house next door hears it & around 4 other properties all next door to each other - some hear it who live in the upper levels & in some properties only people living in the basement hear it - presumably due it being low frequency & different people hearing different levels. It is mainly when lying in bed or sitting on furniture that it is worse.
I started complaining to the Council, Environment Services & they even sent officers around in the middle of the night however they (seemed like security staff from a nightclub) & basically accused me of being strange, hearing things & having an inner ear problem (even after I had advised my neighbours had heard it). The Council put in a vibration monitor which shows a vibration coming from down the road but they don't know from where & simply keep saying that unless their officers hear it, it cannot be determined to be a statutory issue. They did put rubber mats under the bed but when I advised them that it didn't help they said it also must be air borne & therefore have no idea.
I contacted Thames Water who have no idea what they are doing & assured me that they have checked their water pumps & it cannot be them - I don't believe them.
We have had 2.5 years of sleepless nights 90% of nights. We are desperate. Does anyone have any ideas please? Also is this the correct thread?

Lorian

At what times does it go off on and on?

roughly what age is the property?

bris

A ground heat source pump maybe?

Owain_Moneysaver

Basement tanking / sump pump

Saniflo / toilet pump

Sewage pump

Water booster pump to high rise flats

Very slow bank robbers

martinthebandit

Keep a diary and note down when you hear it, also note anything else occurring at the same time, weather, other noises, traffic conditions etc etc.

Over a few months you should (or might) be able to notice a pattern which should (or might) enable you to narrow down the cause.

You might want to suggest the same thing to the rest of your neighbours that hear it.


Or you could move.

goodwithsaving

You mention you're in the Thames Water supply area. Has where you live ever been subject to groundwork or historical activity? e.g if house built after ww2, or built on top of pump of sorts. Do any of the manholes in the street vibrate? Is it stronger in some places than others?

[Deleted User]

Are you sure it's not the neighbour with her Rabbit?

Davesnave

There seems to be a huge amount of disbelief on both sides here, but it's no wonder, when nothing has been properly recorded, or quantified.

martinthebandit's suggestions are spot-on. You, and any neighbours who are sufficiently concerned, need to keep and compare records, doing more yourselves to track the sound down, which is always going to be easier at night.

This doesn't mean using expensive equipment. For example a digital recorder should pick this up on a sensitive setting, while something as simple as a filter funnel attached to a piece of wood could be used to listen at drains etc if you think that's the origin.

Heedtheadvice

Siesmological activity? Ghosts? Rock band?

But seriously do try and make a recording and a note of happenings. If it is a hum it is likely to be from machinery a low hum probably from electrically driven ones.

I can hear our central heating pump, quietly, and a little bit of hum from electrical cable but exceedingly low level. It can be useful to use a rod between objects and the side of your head near your ear to amplify the noise or an engineer's stethoscope. These are often used by technicians to listen.

Noises can travel underground and along pipes so not always easy to locate without building up a picture of times and places. So, collect some irrefutable evidence.

trailingspouse

It's very difficult for the authorities in these cases.

For years my mother could hear a high pitched whining noise - as a family, we put it down to tinnitus, but she was adamant that it was coming from 'outside'. In fact she decided it was from the streetlamp outside their house. My Dad couldn't hear it, and neither could we. The people responsible for the streetlamp even came out and listened, but couldn't detect anything.

She visibly relaxed when she was at our house, and always commented on how much better she slept, as there was no noise.

This went on for years, until one day the street lighting on their road was upgraded. And the noise stopped.

So, you have my sympathy - but I also sympathise with the authorities, who really can't start doing anything until they can work out what the problem actually is.

GDB2222

I get the impression from the OP that the council may also be saying that the noise may not be loud enough to come under their remit.

You can get earplugs ....