Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 20, 2013 8:30 am I live in a retirement unit on the second floor. The persons water pipes in the unit beside me often make a noise that can only be decribed as sounding like a fog horn. They have had a plumber in to look at the problem but he said it is water hammer in the pipes going down through the double brick walls and there is nothing that can be done. Firstly I don't beleive it is water hammer I think I know what water hammer sounds like. It seems to happen when taps in the kitchen are turned on but doesn't happen everytime. If anyone has any ideas about was maybe causing this please let me know. Management here at the village seem to think we should just put up with it. This may not be the right forum to ask this question on but I couldn't find a plumbing forum in Australia. I'm on the Central Coast NSW. Re: (Plumbing) Foghorn noises in water pipes 2Jan 20, 2013 9:30 am Could be water hammer, or a harmonic, caused by water going through a partially opened tap. Pipes can make noises when they are not properly held in place such as when they are dropped between two brick walls. If its possible to slide some pipe insulation down the pipes this may absorb the noise The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: (Plumbing) Foghorn noises in water pipes 3Jan 20, 2013 9:42 am Water hammer is caused by pressure waves when taps or appliances are turned off suddenly. It is a banging sound as any half decent plumber should know. How old are the units and what type of piping is used? I am guessing copper. How long has the problem being happening? It sounds more like excessive pressure causing a harmonic resonance. The Australian Standard AS/NZS 3500.1 (water services) 2003 3.3.4 (page 16) states that provision must be made so that the maximum operating pressure within a building, other than a fire service outlet, does not exceed 500 kPa. Firstly, I would be having a pressure test done. The plumber who "had a look at the problem" should have done this. Wonderplumb and Plum on * are excellent plumbers. Wonderplumb is in NSW. Their advice is always first class. Try the SEARCH facility before posting. Whirlpool (Home Forum) has Liquidtech and Lambs. Liquidtech is in NSW. There are a lot of Google jockeys on Whirlpool though and you really need to know just who you are talking to. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: (Plumbing) Foghorn noises in water pipes 4Jan 20, 2013 3:07 pm It sounds like the problem I encountered after using Doust-Valve non-drip tap jumpers, where by their very design, create one hell of a noise when the tap is only partially turned on. Jumper replaced = problem solved, unless you have mixers fitted Water hammers can be hard to eliminate, but I suggest your plumber should have tried a few options before giving up Arfur Hi, I have a steel frame house which was built 2 years ago. When you are down stairs you can hear clunking noises when someone is walking around. We were told if you… 0 4444 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Thank you for the generous offer. I need to get the plumber out to give me an explanation. As mentioned I haven't seen any rain water discharge from pipes 1& 3. It… 7 10808 4 5105 |