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Unusual knocking/brushing sound behind walls where piping is situated

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  • 23-11-2020 1:18pm
    #1
    BrentMused
    Registered Users Posts: 1,355 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    I'm wondering if you can please help me or offer any advice with an issue I am experiencing.

    I hope I can explain it properly but basically I am living on the 3rd floor of a 4-storey apartment complex and for the last 2 days/nights have been hearing a knocking/brushing type noise in behind the wall where I presume the piping may be.

    A bit of background:

    I currently have one of those electric storage heaters that kick in for a few hours at night and then spit out heat throughout the day, as well as 3 of those electric heaters (1 in each room) that generate heat as soon as they are turned on. We also have an E7 timed water heater.

    Luckily the apartment is very warm in general so from about March-October we don't have the need for any heating and they are all off.

    About 6 weeks ago it started to get chilly so we turned on the storage heater and about an hour or two later herself ran in saying she thought there was a rodent in the wall as she could hear a scraping/knocking inside same. As soon as I heard it I thought the same, and it kept going sporadically for about 4 or 5 hours and then suddenly stopped. A few days later we purchased those plug-in rodent repellents for around the apartment just in-case and thought nothing more of it.

    On Saturday afternoon it started again and has kept up sporadically ever since. Again my first thought was rodent but 2 days later of listening to it and driving myself crazy and I would bet my life savings that it is not a rodent. The best way I could describe it is if someone downstairs was hypothetically having a chimney cleaned and the rods from same were brushing up off and knocking off the wall. I know that's a terrible description and probably doesn't help to diagnose the issue but please bear with me as I clearly have no knowledge of plumbing :pac:

    It never dawned on me at the time, but as soon as we turned on that electric storage heater that first time 6 weeks ago, the noise started. As per above it stopped for around 6 weeks and is now back but far more consistent. I have tried a bit of trial and error. Running taps, flushing toilets, turning heating on and off etc to rule things out but haven't been able to pinpoint it down to any one particular thing.

    The only thing I have noticed that seems to be out of the ordinary and could be a cause is the knocking/scraping/brushing noise does seem to surface shortly after the water pump sounds from what sounds like another apartment, and same water pump seems to be kicking into gear for a few seconds almost every 30 seconds or so which I have never noticed happening prior.

    I will try to get a video of the noise but any thoughts based on my (admittedly awful) description or what I could do to try and eradicate it?

    Researching online seems to suggest it could be water hammer?

    Any help would be gratefully appreciated.


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