Water flowing noise when no taps open

[Tom Wakeman]

Hi, I've been at an old relative's house (who's not very well, and not been maintaining the house) doing a major cleanout How Clean is Your House style. The house is 50's, and I noticed a kind of running water noise coming from inside the timber stud walling between the bathroom and the boiler room (no taps/toilets were in use, and the garden tap is off) and there's absolutely no signs of any leaks. It sounds like mains-pressure water flowing through a pipe when a tap is turned on. Could this just be the sound of the boiler circulator pump pushing water through a scaled-up pipe? It's a hard water area and of course there's no water softener (the heating and hot water was on). The original plumbing is 28, 22 and 15mm copper, but in the bathroom (remodelled in the 70's I think), I noticed what looks like "Truewell" shiny 15mm mild steel pipe coming out the concrete floor going up to the taps at the basin (which I've read is notorious for rusting inside out), so I'm a little concerned there could be a leak in the pipework somewhere I can't see. Any thoughts? I had been cleaning with hot water all afternoon, so maybe the loft tank is just very slow filling, and it was the sound of the rising main to that?
thanks

 

[MrMeek]

check overflow pipes outside are not overflowing as a double check, turn of the boiler etc t eliminate that, but tbh you may have a leak inside the stud wall. investigate further, if you can not pin down the problem but you can still here the noise, either get a plumber in or nock some holes in the wall and do it yourself.

 

[kay-jay]

it may well have been the cwsc replenishing after hw drawoff as op suggested. i wouldn't go knocking holes in walls til that was eliminated

 

[PlumbBobBob]

:iagree:

 

[Dotty]

I agree, turn the heating and hot water off, wait for all cisterns to refill and the system to settle. Then have a listen.

 

[Joncpi]

I agree with the above. Don't go knocking any holes anywhere yet. Noise in pipework can travel a very long way. After eliminating the above next I would shut off the internal stopcock. If the noise stops then starts again when it's opened then there is either a mains water leak somewhere on the system after the stopcock or water is still filling something somewhere and the noise is the water throttling through a restriction. This can even be the internal stopcock itself. If the noise does not stop then go to the outside stopcock and shut that. Again if the noise stops then this means there is almost certainly a leak, most likely underground which is why you can't see it. If the noise continues then the problem is on the water boards' side of the stopcock and it should be reported to them. Yes I know it may seem a long way from the bathroom where you can hear the noise, but as I said before the noise can travel a long way, further than you may first think along a metel pipe. Occasionally when you shut the inside stopcock the noise reduces considerably but is still there when you put say a long screwdiver on the pipe and the other end to your ear. This also indicates a leak underground on the incoming main.

 

[MrMeek]

Like I said and everyone else has do investigations eliminate every other possibly, if you still can not find it either a get plumber in or change the hole bashing lol

 

[BLOD]

might be worth checking if the property is on a meter, if it is you could watch the dial for any movement when there is no water being used.

 

[Plumbus]

How timely can a post be. Read this last night, went to downstairs cloakroom and there was that noise. No appliance on, no WC flushed recently and no tap in use (or so I thought) - checked around and found a constant trickle from the ensuite cold tap that presumably had been on all day. Looking forward to the water bill now!