When we first bought our house about six months back, we noticed the neighborhood had a fairly yappy dog right away. Then we noticed the dog was really vocal about the time one of us walked out of the bathroom…
Well, for a while I thought it was the filler valve on the toilet, but it turns out that was only because it was quite enough while filling that I could hear the barking. Now it’s apparent that whenever water is running–supply side is my best guess, although its much harder to make out when the hose bib is open, but I think that’s because the noise’s source and the hose bib are right next to each other–the plumbing is barking.
Best I can tell it is at the water supply entrance at the foundation wall. It’s all copper, and transmits sound well. The sound is just like a dog in the distance or very similar to the noise a thumb makes sliding across tupperware.
I’m a remodeling contractor, been in too many old house to count, and this one’s got me stumped. Anyone?
Replies
Oh come on, somebody's gotta have an answer.
Really wild guess here, but that's about all you'll get from anyone.
I'm guessing that somewhere in the house, there is a long run of pipe with an elbow, followed by another reasonably long run. And that the entire length is not secured properly (or maybe not at all).
When you open a valve somewhere in the system, the motion of the water moves the insecure pipe (one of those "equal and opposite reaction things). Based on its location, and its length, that pipe starts swinging back and forth, repeatedly hitting a piece of wood, or maybe a furnace duct or something.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
Okay, two good places to start. I'll have a look at the sillcock first, as that won't involve me visiting the spiders(crawlspace). If I figure it out I'll absolutely post it, might even make a good "Great Moments" for the magazine.
Thanks,
Duke
I have not personally encountered what you have there, but..........
I've heard that such things as you describe can be caused by a loose washer at the back end of a frost-free sillcock stem. It causes the thing to flutter a bit which makes the noise...or so I'm told.
Wouldn't take much effort to pull the thing and have a look/see.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Get one of those anti-barking dog collars and strap it to the incoming pipe.
Actually, it's got to be one of a small handfull of things:
1) A pipe sliding somewhere as it expands and contracts with temperature changes.
2) A valve (especially a pressure-reducing or backflow valve) that is worn and creating a vibration.
3) Some sort of resonance in a fitting, possibly where a pipe tees off of the main line.
4) (Most likely, I suspect) Noise coming from the water meter.