faint tapping noise driving me insane!

I hear it mainly at night I am sure because the house is quiet. There is a constant faint tapping noise that I can hear even more when I walk into the bathroom. If I place my hand on the wall behind the toilet I can feel (I think) a slight vibration with every tap. Is this something I need to be alarmed about?

It's hard to say

to me it sounds like somthing expanding and contracting..... but I'm not there. look closely for any water damage that might indicate a leak. (if you have a crawl space) go underneath and look.


Should you worry about it?

how long have you lived in this house?

I'd suspect it's harmless.... but again I'm not there.

It sounds like it'll drive you crazy before it'll cause damage.

You can open up the wall for the fun of it look around.

If you find no reason to open the wall don't do it...

Learn to sleep with the radio turned up.

Using a contracter to track the noise may become expensive....

You can investigate it yourself.... but.... well good luck.... This may be a long and frustraiting road to a solution.



dances-with-pumps

We recently did a re model on our bathroom and put in a new shower and replaced the shower fixtures and valve. This was completed about the same time as it got cold outside so I am not sure if either one of these things have something to do with it. My husband tells me I hear too many noises around the house but I would rather be safe than sorry.

I'd bet it's expansion/contraction of the pipes rubbing against wood.

if you think you have pinpointed the location, a small hole drilled throught the drywall followed by a can of expandable foam could silence the pipe. You will need to put something in the wall to allow the foam to sit on it, or it will all fall to the bottom of the wall. I have successfully use a ballon for this, one hole for ballon 1 hole for foam, many ballons later one didn't pop so I held it closed and full of air until the foam had expanded.....Or you could drive lengths of a metal clothshanger into the wall say 1 inch apart and see if that will hold the foam...

Diagnose or else you risk aggravating a problem

kriscast

yes this might be serious. Diagnose first.

Then repair (stop, block, fix, rejig etc.) as appropriate to the situation, or else you may not alleviate the real problem.

1. frequency of tap. Measurable number.
2. Amount of vibration. Compare it to somethgin small we all see in daily life like a paperclip or anything else.
3. Type of noise. Metal, wood, water drop, etc. compare it to..

david

I had the exact same type of noise in the ceiling of an appartment I rented about 15 years ago. It sounded worse at night when everything was quiet I suspect. It took about a year but it must have burst or come apart in the joint in the wall because I came home one night to find water all over the cieling and floor in that area. Ah, the joys of renting and calling maintenance to come fix it. I really miss that sometimes. Anyways, I would take it real serious.