Hi, please bear with me it's a long story... I'm a landlord, bought an 1970s ex-authority terraced bungalow over five years ago and converted it into shared accommodation. I added a shower next to the bathroom but essentially everything else is in the same place - boiler, kitchen sink, bathroom and cloakroom. Everything was fine for three years, idiot tenants which were dealt with but no complaints from the neighbours. Last summer a neighbour started to complain about roaring noises coming from the house, it happened when random taps, hot or cold, were turned on then disappeared again when the tap was turned off. It didn't happen all the time and it's not water hammer, all the pipework is clipped. No plumbing work had been carried out since conversion. This went on for around a couple of months. I was advised that debris could get trapped in stopcocks which could make a noise so replaced them. The noise continued for a while and then disappeared without any reason. Everything has been fine until last month when the noise has returned, again no plumbing work has been carried out apart from a new tap in the kitchen back in August! We called in the water board, their engineer checked every tap and potential source of noise. He was there for half an hour turning taps on and off before the noise started. He couldn't pinpoint a source of the noise and couldn't explain why the noise came and went when different taps, at either end of the house, may or may not cause the noise. He checked for leaks and couldn't find any problems, I asked if there were any incoming seasonal water pressure differences which he denied. The neighbours have been very supportive so far but their house, being terraced, is amplifying the noise in their living space. The tenants in the shared house all work various shifts and cook/clean/wash as normal. The water board has just written to the neighbour saying that the homeowner (me) is responsible yet I can't find anything wrong. Any suggestions very gratefully received, I'm pulling out what's left of my hair
A quiet but noticeable noise inside the house, next door it's amplified to a roar. It's loud enough to block out the TV.
other thing that I can think of is washer on one of the glands, I had this sort of issue on my bathroom tap- it was going into "vibration" mode at certain valve open position, but in that case you should be able to trace it straight away- just and idea
I appreciate your reply, it's driven me (and plumbers/gas fitters I know) mad trying to work out where the problem lies. No issues at all for years, nothing really changed. The noise comes and goes, randomly, when water is flowing - the loo being flushed, washing machine filling, a tap or shower being turned on. There isn't one thing that starts it in the house, it could be from anything. When the engineer came it didn't start to make a noise for around half an hour after trying different taps etc.
Try to find a decent local plumber to investigate. I would check all valves including pressure reducing valves, cistern valves and all taps. Replace all if in doubt.
Sometimes when one supply is opened - say a tap, then the reduced pressure in that pipe circuit can cause another tap to make a noise. The ceramic disc quarter turn taps can do strange noises. The Fluidmaster 45ProB valve on toilet cisterns has a built in rubber screw like flow restrictor and it can make a high pitched noise when valve fills
Many thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate your time, I will be going there in a few days to start changing things and will let you know how it went. Unless the problem has disappeared until next year!
By coincidence I had a similar problem on Sunday morning. Sitting having my breakfast when this loud noise started. So loud that at first I thought it was an HGV out in the main road blaring its air horn, but eventually traced it to coming from the pipes! Turned out it was the inlet float valve on the cold water tank in the loft, which was refilling after some water had been taken from a tap. Quick trip to Screwfix for a replacement valve, 5 minutes to swap over and the noise hasn't re-appeared. I took the old one apart afterwards and the rubber diaphragm was obviously deteriorating but hadn't yet fully perished.
The diaphragm washers on part 2 and 3 valves when new is fully flat and the central round part will push out and back in when valve operates. But the washer gradually becomes less flexible and become pushed out in middle and even when valve opens the washer is nearly tight to the nozzle part, thus making a high pitched noise. Also happens if the rubber wears
Interesting. The diaphragm on the valve I took apart certainly wasn't flat, not even originally. It looked like these. It was definitely a Part 2 valve though, with the top outlet and bent float arm.
By “flat” I meant the centre round part would be flush with the rest of prominent parts of diaphragm washer. Once they get a year or two use they tend to have become pushed out and less flexibility. On the subject of ball valve faults, a poor design is the plastic nozzle part usually is very narrow overall at tapered end and strangely often has a sharp face that cuts into washer and obviously also has less of the washer to create a seal. Clearly this will damage the washer sooner