Pipe making clicking noise in my new condo unit.

[Tulip]

Noise come from the pipe which is located on the corner of my units' living room, sounds exactly like water drips, can be heard in living room and adjacent bedroom.
It's heard more often at night than the day, in the day it can be gone for 1 or 2 hour, at night it can drip, drip, drip..... continuing for more than 10 times. Basically you don't know when it drips and how many drops each time.
It's a new condo, my friend lives in a same unit on different floor, her unit never have such dripping sound.
I guess it's hard to identify/fix the problem as service guy hasn't do anything after I request for service.

 

[johnjh2o]

It may be what your hearing is water moving through a waste line in the wall. It could be caused by a leaking flapper in a toilet above your unit.

John

 

[Tulip]

No toilet/wash room above or underneath, it's a pipe line staight up to upper levels, all unit has same pipe line go through there.

 

[Brent]

If there is no sign of water or mold then the noise your probably hearing is expansion and contraction of the water or sewer lines that are inside the wall. When the plumbing installers drilled through the wood and installed plumbing, they might have somehow put a pipe in a bind. When that pipe heats up or cools off expansion and contraction occurs and the pipe actually swells and shrinks. When the pipe is in a bind and this happens it can make a tapping or popping noise. I've heard some that are barely noticeable and I've heard some that sound like someone is slapping the wall. It normally occurs in new homes. Depending on the bind, sometimes it will go away over time. If it is expansion and contraction you have two options, cut the wall and remove the bind or live with it for a couple months and see if it goes away. If not cut the wall and remove the bind. If it is an actual water leak and your hearing the drip then it will eventually show itself.

 

[Tulip]

Thanks for your response, Brent. The wall was broken and it turned out this click/dripping sound are from airconditioner which is right beside the pipe. A/C is mounted on the ground, though venting pipe is mounted on the drywall and is not fixed enough. When there is pipe expansion/contraction, there will be a shake somewhere in A/C or venting part which cause this mysterious noise.

 

[new]

If there is no sign of water or mold then the noise your probably hearing is expansion and contraction of the water or sewer lines that are inside the wall. When the plumbing installers drilled through the wood and installed plumbing, they might have somehow put a pipe in a bind. When that pipe heats up or cools off expansion and contraction occurs and the pipe actually swells and shrinks. When the pipe is in a bind and this happens it can make a tapping or popping noise. I've heard some that are barely noticeable and I've heard some that sound like someone is slapping the wall. It normally occurs in new homes. Depending on the bind, sometimes it will go away over time. If it is expansion and contraction you have two options, cut the wall and remove the bind or live with it for a couple months and see if it goes away. If not cut the wall and remove the bind. If it is an actual water leak and your hearing the drip then it will eventually show itself.

There are loud ticks coming from the wall in my ensuite when upstair neighbours are taking shower or flushing toilet. The ticks also happen in the middle of night or early morning when no one has been using water. Brent, what you said about pipe being installed in a bind causes the noise makes sense to me. Could you please explain to me what is a bind? Is it a common plumbing practice or knowledge to avoid a bind when installing pipes?

Thank you

 

[camaroderrick73]

He means bind meaning strapping in the wall. It's either strapped too tight or not enough

 

[stevemachine]

Or they drilled a hole that is just big enough for the pipe to fit through the hole. Saw guys do that before, just shake my head. You need a bit of play/room

 

[new]

camaroderrick73 and stevemachine, thank you for explaining that.

Are there any building codes or pluming codes regulating this? My condo is still under warranty, however the builder said that the ticking noises are not warrantable. My builder insists that the ticking noises are due to expansion and contraction of the pipe and that is normal in building pluming system. I read through the Building Code for my area, and it states:


7.3.3.9. Expansion and Contraction

(1) The design and installation of every piping system shall, where necessary, include means to accommodate expansion and contraction of the piping system caused by temperature change or building shrinkage.

If pipes are in the bind or being so close to studs or dry wall that they ticks when expand and contract, can I argue based on this code that the installation of the pipe does not accomodate expansion and contraction of the pipe? Is it a strong basis to make my case with the builder there?

Thank you

 

[phishfood]

You are probably asking a lawyer a question with that one. One could argue that as long as the pipe "could" expand, that provisions to allow expansion and contraction were made, and therefore it was installed within code requirements. Not saying that such is my professional opinion, or not, but I can see both sides of that argument.

Me, I don't like legal problems, so I try to make sure that pipes don't make noise when pipes do what pipes are gonna do.

 

[camaroderrick73]

I agree with phish on this one.


Can't really determine in any way the builders plumber did fully try to resolve the expansion and contraction. This a normal occurrence in new construction. It just happens.

It jut sounds crazy to me that you, the homeowner, would like the plumber to open lots of walls to chase this problem down when there is failure to be had. That expansion /contraction is doing nothing to cause a failure.

Good luck. Just remember the builder had attorney's more expensive than most could afford, if you bring lawyers involved