Vibration from leaking stopcock??

[cazzapop]

Can a dripping and/or faulty stop valve cause water pipes in the house to vibrate?

There is a deep humming, vibrating bass sound that is present all the time in my house. Started after having our shower repaired and the water had to be shut off. The stopcock is dripping from the gland, could this be the cause of the ever present noise? Been going on for 6 months now and is making me crazy! Can't track down the source of the noise.
Tried switching off the electricity = still there. Tried turning water off = still there. Gas off = still there.

Suspected the neighbours of source of noise, had gas board out, next is electricity but could it be something as "simple" as water pipes/leaking stop valve?? Should I get Scottish Water out to check pressure etc.?

Any ideas or help is most appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Whyme]

no a dripping gland wont. Is a toilet overflowing into the pan or anything like that.?? cos a bit of muck under a washer may cause it.

 

[snowhead]

no a dripping gland wont. Is a toilet overflowing into the pan or anything like that.?? cos a bit of muck under a washer may cause it.

Try closing the stopcock half a turn.

 

[Best]

Usually a fill valve/ball valve on mains supply causes humming noise.
Make sure it is not from your neighbours house. Water noise can transmit long distances through the mains pipe.
Sometimes a leak in your mains pipe in the ground in your property, or in the road will cause a loud flowing noise - like as if your water was full on inside your house. Might be a good idea to have the stopcock on road turned off to test.

 

[plumben]

Try opening the stop tap all the way then turn back 1/2 a turn, came across similar problem in the past and stop tap wasn't fully open

 

[Whyme]

If its all the time then something MUST be running, have a look at the toilets and taps shower etc.

 

[cazzapop]

We have turned the water off at stopcock in house, turned the electricity off too and noise is still there. Would I need to contact Scottish water to turn the water off in the street?

Could it maybe be the central heating pump under the floor? Would this still run if power was off?

 

[brum]

Hi there is it like a low key humming noise which kind of borders on a low vibration?..brum

 

[PlumbersMate]

Are you sure it's always on? As In ALWAYS? As if not more than like a cwsc ball valve or WC ball valve

 

[cazzapop]

Yes, it is a very deep hum just on the edge of lowest bass that can be heard. A constant rumble that is ALWAYS there. In every room, even in the attic. I am in a terraced house, maybe it is from the neighbours....

 

[brum]

Hi there may be it is from neighbors ball valve to test this dismantle pipework after stoptap with a clear gap between pipework ie not touching(after turning off stoptap of course).and go to farthest point in house where noise can be heard if silent voila sorted but if this is the case why aren't neighbors complaining.Do you get on with your neighbors chap their doors and see if problem affects them too..brum

 

[jim fennessey]

may be your suffering from tinnitus ?

 

[cazzapop]

Still suffering after all these months....

I thought it may be me too but I do not hear same noise any place else. Just at home.

Had my hearing tested - it's perfect. Too perfect, as i can hear this bloody hum constantly.

Had environmental health noise people out but guy couldn't hear it. Water board man could hear it and suggested it was electrical... Scottish power been involved and their rep could hear it. Turn power off and still there!!!

Going to ask neighbours to switch their power off too.

Beginning to doubt myself but the relief I get when out at someone else's house and its quiet, then the dread I feel when I have to come home. It is such an oppressive, low, continuous tone.

What can it be?

 

[Whyme]

Blimey

 

[stevetheplumber]

turn every ones water off

 

[solutions]

I had something similar for a while. Turned out to be a pump on the neighbours fish tank strangely you couldn't hear it in there house half as loud but it resonated through the wall and as we are terraced and there house is slightly lower something about the split levels amplified the sound. As the ends of my ground floor hoist a were close to the height of the shelf the tank was on on the other side of the wall. I feel for you and hope you can track it down.

 

[Stigster]

This sounds like a right nightmare. It has some hallmarks of the "Bristol Hum" and many other famous yet mostly untraced hums around the world and generally these hums are worse inside.

But, before we start getting all weird, it's got to be made by something and not necessarily inside your property either. Fans in equipment like aircon units can cause this. Do any of your neighbours have air conditioning units or heat pumps on their walls or gardens outside?

The reason it sounds worse inside is because houses are basically big boxes and can amplify or create a sound generated a fair distance away.

 

[Stigster]

As a very temporary solution, or rather mitigation, if the sound is bugging you especially at night, you could play some white noise (like a long looping rainfall sound, of which you can find many on youtube) to help block the noise and sleep.

I really hope you can get to the bottom of this as I have read much about how distressing this type of constant noise can be.

It would be great if you could speak to your neighbours about this.

 

[cazzapop]

my neighbours switched their power off - no difference.
Neighbours on other side keep saying they will but are worried about their alarm going off as dont have a code for it - will bug them again.

 

[cazzapop]

Other set of neighbours switched their power off - no difference....

 

[cazzapop]

This is still going on....!! I hate my house!
It has now turned into what feels like a vibration under my feet, especially in the lounge and the bedroom which is above.
I don't know if I am fooling myself into maybe feeling what I am hearing? It sounds louder in the lounge which is at the front of the house but to be honest I hear it in every room. Even with the tv on. It is that low it sounds like the throb of a ferry or being in a submarine. Crazy I know!
Should I get a plumber out to check everything? Boiler, pipes, pump, thermostat, radiators, stop tap?
It is such a strange tale I loathe explaining it to anyone...

 

[Best]

Somebody with sound testing equipment might source it for you.
Not trying to me funny, but these ghost hunters have sensitive equipment

 

[Staffy85]

you should have kept to one thread and not started another one, keep all the information in one place,

so this noise is constantly on and doesnt just happen when you open taps/shower?
if you place a skrew driver on to the water main and place your ear on the handle you should be able to tell if the noise is from this or not, if it is from the water main , then as someone has mentioned shut off your stopcock and remove/disconnect your side of it so your plumbing is completley disconnected from the main, place the skrew driver on the stopcock/water main , any noise ? if so then its got nothing to do with your side/plumbing ,

 

[Dotty]

OP. Your duplicate thread has been deleted.

Don't spam the forum.

 

[cazzapop]

that feels a bit harsh, i'm not spamming the forum, only hoping to get answers or advice from different parties that originally replied.
thanks for suggestions.

 

[Dotty]

Harsh or not, that's your perception. You should have kept to one thread.

 

[Staffy85]

that feels a bit harsh, i'm not spamming the forum, only hoping to get answers or advice from different parties that originally replied.
thanks for suggestions.

you might want to post up on another forum if thats what your aim was, your get different answers depending on the information you give and you dont want different answers you want the right answer as to not waste your time , for anyone to diagnose a fault we/they need all the relevant information possible not bits here and there, have a plumber temporarily disconnect your water main to see if the noise still travels into your house..

 

[stevetheplumber]

it will be voices next

 

[Dotty]

you might want to post up on another forum if thats what your aim was, your get different answers depending on the information you give and you dont want different answers you want the right answer as to not waste your time , for anyone to diagnose a fault we/they need all the relevant information possible not bits here and there, have a plumber temporarily disconnect your water main to see if the noise still travels into your house..

I assume you mean a different forum to ukpf? And not a different sub forum on here.

 

[PhoenixServices]

Move house? Or maybe you have a secret nuclear bunker under your house.

 

[Staffy85]

I assume you mean a different forum to ukpf? And not a different sub forum on here.

you assume correct

 

[Rachiex]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but wondering if the original poster might see this and be able to let me know if they found out what it was. This could have been me writing this, although I relate more to the feel of vibration under my floor. There is a hum, but it doesn't bother me like the feeling of 'movement' especially as it's waking me every night.

OP, if you see this would you reply and let me know if you got this sorted and what it was? Thanks

 

[ShaunCorbs]

hi Rachael

first things to check is non of your toilet ball / float valves are passing / dripping
you can check this by lifting the lid off and to look either at the water level or the ball valve, does the level rise at all or the ball valve drip etc

second do you have any cold water tanks in your loft / above the cylinder
normally if the ball valves are old they can pass at night causing the valve not to shut of

thrid thing when you open a tap and then close it fast again do you hear the noise?

 

[Rachiex]

Thanks, I have a thread of my own on this but I got locked out somehow so haven't been here for ages. I will answer you but then post a link here to my own thread, so this one doesn't get messed up...

The vibration happens mainly at night at random times but particularly between 11pm and 2.30am, then again any time from 4.30am to 8am. Been two years, hoping to move but this is dragging me down. I have 2 adjoining neighbours as I live in a first floor flat, one underneath and one next door (who has someone underneath them). Underneath have vacated and I'm assuming their water heater is off. Next door gets up at the crack of dawn, sometimes at 4.30 and often the vibration coincides with his morning activities and then calms down when he leaves (that said, it also happens at lower levels even when he's out, which makes me wonder if it's something to do with the water entering the flat beneath him or something like that).

Today I noticed that his outflow pipe from his bathroom is dripping, slowly, but steadily all day.

I'm assuming from my description that the ball valve in my toilet cistern is not the problem? Too much of a pattern to the vibration.

I don't know if there's a tank in the loft, how would you know (I'm a tenant but I have a feeling my landlady won't know this).

Nothing happens in relation to my taps, and according to the neighbours nothing is happening in their flats either, but it's a nightmare and very real. My brain wouldn't conjure up such an annoying hallucination to stop me sleeping, lol

 

[Rachiex]

Here's a link to my own thread, so as not to take over on here, sorry OP!

Vibration in floor...boiler/water heater?