Loud Plumbing

MyPerfectCousin

In CP for about a month now. One thing not noticed during snags and very surprising when we moved in was the very loud noise the plumbing makes whenever a tap is turned on. It occurs in the hot press, but is so loud that it can be heard anywhere in the house (4-bed duplex). It's loud enough to wake someone sleeping in the nearby bedrooms.

We were very annoyed by this when we first moved in but totally distracted by other move-in priorities and little snags and somehow accepted that this was normal.

But now that I think of it, our last house made no such noise, and in fact none of the houses/apartments either of us has ever lived in did either. Does anyone else have loud plumbing? Is this normal?

dubgirl

actually had the foreman and the plumber in my house over this. they use a certain type of pump in these houses for the upstairs pressure. I was convinced we were the only ones but the plumber brought me to a couple of empty properties to hear theirs and they were as bad. Without this pump the water pressure is very bad. Apparantly this is the price you have to pay for power showers!! Can't remember the name of the pump they use but asked around at the time and it is quite an expensive one! So think we just have to live with it

Nearly There

I think this is pretty mormal (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-2054872780.html).

We have yet to move in but asked the electrician to fit a switch to the pump to allow us to turn on/off as we wish - I don't see any need for it apart from showers in the morning!

Give the Greg the foreman a call and he should be able to organise it pretty quickly...

Nearly There

dubgirl wrote:

actually had the foreman and the plumber in my house over this. they use a certain type of pump in these houses for the upstairs pressure. I was convinced we were the only ones but the plumber brought me to a couple of empty properties to hear theirs and they were as bad. Without this pump the water pressure is very bad. Apparantly this is the price you have to pay for power showers!! Can't remember the name of the pump they use but asked around at the time and it is quite an expensive one! So think we just have to live with it

Dubgirl just beat me to it!

I've been into our place since they fitted the switch. The pressure in taps (upstairs at least) is fine when the pump is off...it's probabaly the best bet rather than having to listen to that racket when brushing your teeth in the morning!!!:D

MyPerfectCousin

A switch would be handy all right. Otherwise it's like a Formula One car revving up every time sometime washes their hands. I'll check it out - thanks!

loyatemu

my mate has a house in Charlesland Wood - it has the same pump, but whatever way they've mounted it its not as noisy (I think its on a shelf rather than on the floorboards). They also put a switch in as standard.

I checked the water pressure recently when the power was off - its not great upstairs, but probably sufficient to wash your hands, brush your teeth etc. So you only really need the pump for showers and baths.

foxy06

when we first moved in there was a terrible noise from our pump and it was so loud it was frightening the kids!!:eek:
I didnt think it was normal and so rang the plumber who said there was air in it. Anyway got it fixed and when we use the shower now it does hum quite loudly but its the same next door because if they have a shower at night I can hear the same hum.
Moral of the story is it's normal (as far as I know) to have a noise from it but if its loud enough to wake people maybe get the plumber to check it out??

If anyone knows of a different quieter pump we can get please let us know.

dubgirl

Yes def going to get me one of them switchies!!

Lin03

Make sure you do get one of those switches. They quoted me 100 euro to disconnect the pump from the bathroom tap after we had moved in.

Do_nal

Has anyone got them to come back and put a switch on after moving in?
If so did they do it for free or charge??

We tried to get them to do something about it when we snagged (only in since May) but they said all they could do was put some insulation under the pump so it wouldn't vibrate against the floorboards. This did reduce the noise slightly, but still very noisy! Wish I'd known about a switch when snagging.

Mullie

The pump doesn't come on in ours (Court 2 bed T'house) when we use any of the taps. But occasionally there is a horrendous vibrating type sound. Kinda like whummmp whuuump whummmp....... when you switch on an upstairs tap. It continues for a bit even after the tap's turned off.
Anyone else get this problem? Its like theres air in the pipes or something!

IT Loser

Nearly There wrote:

I think this is pretty mormal (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-2054872780.html).

We have yet to move in but asked the electrician to fit a switch to the pump to allow us to turn on/off as we wish - I don't see any need for it apart from showers in the morning!

Give the Greg the foreman a call and he should be able to organise it pretty quickly...

Hi there, just on the point about the pump, we have a pump in our place in F'Ways, I was considering turning it off as if I flush the toilet off at night, the pump whines for about 5 mins and usually disturbs people sleeping in the adjacent room. Is it safe just to turn it off and then turn it back on when "heavier" appliances {showers} are in use?

Ta.

matt-dublin

we have a switch on our pump in the crescent, came as "standard"!

if you put a piece of carpet under the pump (carpet down weaving up) it reduces the vibration and noise...
They're supposed to be bolted to the ground with anti vibrating pads but it doesn't look like they were.

Lin03

Mullie,
We have the same problem as you. Even after we turn off the taps the pipes keep making loud noises for 3 or 4 minutes. It's a pain when someone gets up a night and turns on the tap.

Nearly There

IT Loser wrote:

Hi there, just on the point about the pump, we have a pump in our place in F'Ways, I was considering turning it off as if I flush the toilet off at night, the pump whines for about 5 mins and usually disturbs people sleeping in the adjacent room. Is it safe just to turn it off and then turn it back on when "heavier" appliances {showers} are in use?

Ta.

That is my intention. I am hoping that the pressure will be ok for most appliances (taps etc.) throughout the house and will only have to use the pump for the "heavier" stuff. Unfortunately I havn't moved into the house as of yet to test out my theory!:rolleyes:

Manny7

Mullie wrote:

The pump doesn't come on in ours (Court 2 bed T'house) when we use any of the taps. But occasionally there is a horrendous vibrating type sound. Kinda like whummmp whuuump whummmp....... when you switch on an upstairs tap. It continues for a bit even after the tap's turned off.
Anyone else get this problem? Its like theres air in the pipes or something!

I think this is water hammer. You can fix is properly by installing an equilibrium valve (I think) but we took the easy way out and steadied the pipe by pushing a heavy box against it in the attic. Haven't heard a thing since (although I don't know how good this is for the pipes).