Plumber who can fix noisy pipes

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

My condo neighbor's shower pipes make a rushing noise that's loud enough to wake me up. I'd like to hire a plumber who can solve this problem.

Can anyone recommend a plumber with this sort of experience? Is this something any plumber would be good at? I'd obviously prefer not to pay to rip open the walls if there won't be any benefit.

Or if you know of an easy do-it-yourself fix, please share it, but I doubt there's much that can be done without putting in some new pipes.

Comments

[inahandbasket]

Your choices are either replace, or sound-insulate the pipes. Neither can be done without ripping up the wall to some extent.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I know opening up the walls would be necessary. I was looking for a plumber who regularly fixes this kind of problem, and does so successfully.

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

Are you talking about water or drainage pipes?
Water - thuds/shakes/humming sounds
Drainage - sloshing/flushing sounds

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Supply pipes. It's loud rushing noise from flowing water, not a shake/bang and not exactly a hum.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

If it's a repeated banging or vibrating noise, the issue may be with sediment in the hot-water heater; this article (http://www.asktooltalk.com/questions/faq/plumbing/water_heaters/water_heater_deposits.php) talks about how to address that.

Otherwise, yeah, you'll have to open the wall to insulate the pipes.

Believe It or Not!

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

Wait. This is too coincidental to be true. It's as if one of my new colleagues hijacked boblothrope's account to play a practical joke on me.

Here's why:

Pipes CAN be replaced/reinforced from the inside out, and without opening the walls. However, you do need an access point from (depending on the type of problem) an exposed pipe (perhaps under the sink)or drain (as in your neighbor's shower). The process begins and ends with inspection by a remote video camera -- sort of like endoscopy for your pipes. Depending on the nature of the problem, a liner or coating is introduced into the pipe and then cured in place. This can be done with either wastewater or potable water pipes in a wide range of diameters from 3/4" on up.

The adjectival terms of art for this type of plumbing, whether underground or inside walls, are "trenchless" or "cured-in-place-piping" - CIPP for short. Usually, these techniques end up being LESS expensive than the alternatives simply because you don't have to open up, then restore, whatever structure lies over or around the pipes.

Weirdly enough, inside trenchless technology is a specialty of bluewater, the company for which I have worked since early February. In fact, although we have been steadily escalating to larger and larger jobs, bluewater has acquired a reputation as the go-to company in Massachusetts for smaller-sized, fine-detail trenchless jobs.

Sometimes, of course, noisy pipes are a result of vibration due to poor installation. But trenchless technology can improve insulation, rigidity and lubricity -- all of which can make pipes quieter.

(I'm in the process of completely redoing our old website -- and even changing the domain name -- so I can't yet recommend the info online there, but there's good-quality trenchless info on the site of the company whose products we use:
http://www.nuflowtech.com/Products/STRUCTURALLINING.aspx )

bluewater's crews are headed by licensed plumbers, and our techniques and products are all approved by the state plumbing board. If you want one of our guys to take a quick look/listen to the problem -- no obligation of course -- feel free to private-message me with details, and I'll see what I can do.

Sorry to go on so long about this. It's just amazing that somebody would raise this topic, of all topics, so soon after I leave the City and rejoin DSLJ.

Are you sure this isn't some sort of prank?

Re: Believe It or Not!

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

This is all very cool, Tom! It sounds like your new workplace is very interesting indeed.

Re: Believe It or Not!

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

It is kind of cool. I recently took some pictures for the new website at a job we were doing at the Worcester Housing Authority, and the process was fascinating.
As you can imagine, trenchless technology holds tremendous promise for providing low-cost rehabilitation of neglected and deteriorating water infrastructure in older schools, municipal buildings and below-ground pipes.
The latest advances, however, are in the area of hi-temp, hi-pressure pipe relining. For example, we've done some initial work at UMASS-Amherst in restoring broken, leaky and infiltrated condensation lines that run all over the campus. UMASS officials were amazed that we could clean and prep the old pipes, then introduce a new lining while going through foundations, through valves, changing from one diameter of pipe to another, and turning sharp corners -- all without digging.
There are a lot of colleges, universities, hospitals and other campus-style environments where relatively new, clean, energy-efficient power plants are pumping energy into leaky, worn-out pipe systems that squander the cost and carbon savings of efficient power generation. We think it's a strong potential market.

Re: Believe It or Not!

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Would this technique be cost-effective for a project as small as mine? The rushing noise occurs in the last few feet of supply pipe before the showerhead (not drain pipe).

Re: Believe It or Not!

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

The answer is a resounding "possibly." A plumber -- one of ours or somebody else's -- is going to have to take a look and listen. My company has been asked in on a multi-unit residential job near the Powderhouse rotary, so we'll have specialists in town sometime over the next two weeks: one of them could look in on you and give you a quick assessment.

Alternatively, as a Somerville homeowner I still use and trust a Somerville plumber -- Mirabella -- whose guys have been consistently prompt, reliable, courteous and knowledgeable. I have an old (1884), quirky house and they've done a great job for me with some gnarly heating and water issues. But they aren't trenchless specialists, they don't do free estimates and they aren't cheap.

Many plumbers will charge you for an analysis/diagnosis/estimate -- and if they're good it's worth it. At bluewater, we do free estimates because our technology is so different that we like having an opportunity to explain the costs and benefits of what we do.

Let me know if you want me to be in touch when our crews are in town.

Hope this helps!

[philtheplumber.livejournal.com]

As people have stated above this does sound like the supply tank to the shower may not be well insulated which does mean you can hear the water rushing through. I understand the worry about calling out a plumber in case it is a small problem and they charge you through the roof but it is best to get a professional plumber out to take a look at the problem in case it could be something more.
For the insulation side, it does mean, depending where the supply tank for the shower is, you may have to go through a wall; of course, I hope this isn't the answer.
I notice that this blog was posted months back and I hope you have had the problem sorted. What was it in the end? Was it an easy fix? I think people uploading their issues online is a great idea as people may be experiencing the same things and can find your blog useful. Emergency Plumber (http://www.emergency-plumbers.org.uk)