Noise on my water pipes whenever neighbours use water (Shared main)

[Firemonkey]

Hi everyone,

Hopefully someone here will be able to help me out here with a problem I have thats doing my head in every time the house next door use any water.

My house is in the middle of a terrace of 4 houses on a shared water main, everytime the house next door (to the right of mine) use any water ie. washing machine, kitchen tap, shower etc etc all of my pipes start making very strange noises. Its not a banging or anything, more of a bit of a water flowing / almost like a drilling noise for the whole duration of them drawing water.

I have fitted a water shock arrestor and a non-return valve at my stop-cock from advice online saying it could be water hammer - but it hasnt made a single bit of difference.

My next step could be to try a pressure reducing valve, as I suspect its down to high water pressure - but want to see what you guys think first as its the most annoying noise ever and really want to get it sorted.

It only happens when the 1 house use their water.

 

[bobb]

It might be next door with a loose jumper in a tap or water hammer, vibrating back down the main to your house as it is a shared water main. Is the shared main copper?

 

[Firemonkey]

I dont think it is down to any single tap, as it makes the noise whenever any water is drawn and not a specific tap or appliance.
Its a lead pipe that feeds all the houses.

 

[bobb]

Does the main come into one house then split to the other house, or does in split to the other house under the ground before it enters the building?

 

[Firemonkey]

Because of the stop tap in the street being between my house and the other middle terrace house, im assuming it comes down the shared entry in the middle and is Tee'd off going to my house then to the neighbour that is causing the noise. I cant see the pipe as it comes up through the kitchen floor

 

[bobb]

I only asked because i did a job a few years ago where the original stopcock was under the floor then it tee off with another stopcock to the next house under my customers floor and one of the stopcock jumper was causing water hammer

 

[Firemonkey]

Do you think if I change my stopcock, it could sort the problem?
The neighbours arent exactly all that helpful as they cant hear it in their house

 

[bobb]

Its hard for me to say with out seeing it, would your neighbours let you go into their house and listen for your self before you change anything, if they would and you cant hear anything thing then i would start to trace the pipe work first. i have a feeling they probarly can hear it and it is comming from there. keep posting threads to let me know how it is going.

Bobb

 

[Firemonkey]

They seem reluctant to, but as theirs is council, im getting them to come out by complaining - just need to make sure they come, when im in to they can hear it on my side.

I changed the stopcock last night just to be on the safe side - and the noise is still there, so there seems absolutely nothing else I can do on my side to stop the noise unless anyone has any other ideas.

Will keep updating on here so you can see how im getting on with it.

 

[Firemonkey]

Not got it sorted yet - stick in a process of talking to the council who dont seem to care and just want to bounce emails back and forth.

Where would I stand 'if' I chose to disconnect the lead pipe and cap it off, that goes out of my property into the next door property as its on my boundary? That would solve the problem for certain.

 

[ecowarm]

Its possible that a restriction on the neighbors incoming water main i.e. isolation valve partly turned off is causing the noise, but you would hear it in their property as well.

You can't cut off your neighbors supply.

Try your local water company, ask if someone is able to come and listen to the noise from the water main and you are concerned there may be a leak, they are usually helpful.

 

[Firemonkey]

An update here: the council have been back out to next door and found their stopcock in the garden to be leaking and say that is what is probably causing it.

Does that sound right?

It will take a week or so for them to dig it out to fix and said if it's not that then it must be my stop tap which found in the back garden.

 

[ecowarm]

Normally a leak on an underground water main will make a continuous noise.

 

[Firemonkey]

If its just the stopcock leaking, could it mean something inside the tap is rattling or air is getting into the pipe?

 

[Firemonkey]

The main noise has now stopped WOOOOOOOOP. :sorcerer:

90% of the noise from next door is now gone, and the 'drilling noise' that got has gone completely from being heard through all my pipes.

I decided to have my external stop tap replaced as believed it could have been caused by that, cant say for definate what solved the problem but during the changing of the stop tap, the lead pipe sprung a leak so had to get a few metre stretch of it replaced to plastic, and a new external stop tap and its been no where near as bad since (keeps fingers crossed)

Now I dont have the noise blaring out of my pipes I can hear more through the wall and come to a conclusion (correct me if think im wrong)... I can faintly hear the 'drilling and gushing noise' through the wall thats obviously in next doors pipework (dismisses the claim that they cant hear anything when i asked them as its loud in their house) and think with the changing a section of the pipe to plastic, it is absorbing the vibration and not transmitting it through to my pipework.

I can still hear a flowing noise at times, but put that down to it being on a shared main and dont think there is anything I can do about it - unless anyone here has any ideas? Very occasionally get a slight thud when they turn off their tap. but nothing anywhere as near as loud as what I had to endure before.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

glad you seem to have sorted your problems. the thud as they close a tap sounds like water hammer which could be sorted by them slightly closing their internal stopcock slightly.

 

[ecowarm]

thanks for the update, glad your sorted

 

[Firemonkey]

I may as well just wish for a winning lottery ticket as they dont seem to care about anything... I have a water shock arrestor that I put on a while ago and took off when the noise was sorted - might put it back on by my stopcock and see if it makes a difference..

If move house, ill never goto live in one with a shared main after all this

 

[Firemonkey]

thanks for the update, glad your sorted

anytime, after people on here took time to give some help its least can do by giving an update even though has been a while since started the thread