I’m getting a hammering sound everytime we run the water. I don’t have any of the extra lengths of copper pipes near the shut off valves installed either.
The hammering started this past summer and was very slight but is now getting worse. The hammering seems to be loudest near where the water suppy comes into the basement from the main. I can’t quite tell if it’s before or after the water meter.
I thought it was just air trapped in the line. I recently turned the supply to the house off and ran the fixtures dry. Unfortunately that didn’t resolve the issue.
I have very limited experience with plumbing (installed some simple valves and fixed a leak in a joint.)
Is this something that I should contact the city water services about to see if it’s something they did recently to cause it?
What actually does cause the hammering sound?
Replies
Sometimes it's caused by nothing more than a loose washer (like a little rubber seal) at the faucet. It sets up a vibration that sounds like your house is coming apart.
Of course it might be something else, but this is common.
Do you have those old Chicago style faucets?
Does the banging go away if you open the faucet fully?
Do the pipes bang no matter where in the house you run the water?
If you open more than one faucet at once does the banging stop?
-Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate
(1875-1965)
What is a Chicago style faucet?"If you open more than one faucet at once does the banging stop?"As mentioned, it does not. But what is the significance of it stopping when more than faucet is running?
Sometimes if it's a bad washer opening another faucet will stop the hammer.A king can stand people fighting but he can't last long if people start
thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist (1879-1935)
A Chicago faucet is a brand. It's a first rate faucet with an internally threaded body, but when the seat goes bad it sounds like your house is coming apart.Costs about 15 cents to fix.A king can stand people fighting but he can't last long if people start
thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist (1879-1935)
Are you talking about a banging sound when you shut a faucet off or are you talking about a rythmic hammering sound that continues as the water is running?
If it is the latter, you probably have a bad water meter. They are notorious for making that kind of noise.
This is one reason I love Pex tubing water systems. They are very quiet!
Catskinner has the questions, I will add one more, has the municipal supplier changed the pressure on their lines?
The water meter is fairly new. It was replaced in the last 2 or 3 years by the municipality.I don't know if the water pressure increased. I'll call and check that out.The hammering occurs no matter which fixture in the house is running. It is a rythmic hammering that occurs only when the water is running.Also, there seems to be only a slight increase in intensity in the hammering when more fixtures are running.
Edited 1/14/2006 1:01 pm ET by emaxxman
Hi, Emaxxman, have you fixed your issue? I have the same knocking noise around my meter. Please let me know how you fixed it. I am desperate here.
I replace the water pressure reducing valve and the hammering noise stopped
When the county replaced our water meter, the new one had and still has a pretty good tick whenever water flows. It has quieted a bit over time, but still is audible. changes in frequency (time between ticks) with increased water volume, but not in how loud it is.
So, you are not fixing the noise, but just live with it? Mine is so loud that we feel very unsafe.
Another question. Is it safe to the pipes? I mean, constant knocking could rattle the pipes, which can weaken or cause a leak somewhere, right?