Hammering In Pipes

Magic Hammer

My plumber replaced a vanity sink faucet and the homeowner says he now has a water hammering noise.
Could replacing a faucet cause it?
Or is the HO lying?

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Skye Builders, inc.
Decks,Sunrooms,Windows and Siding
www.skyebuilders.com

genecarp

I think it might be possible, if the old faucet was filled with sediment restricting the water flow, then a new faucet was installed, lots of pressure, pipe in the wall, not strapped, there is your bang, not your fault, but connected none the less, Lets see what a plumber thinks, i am just speculating GMOD

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thom

gene could be right but it's a stretch. I think the HO noticed it because he was thinking about the new faucet. The noise has been there for years but he's ignored it. Now he hears it because he's paying attention to the new work.

Replacing a faucet will not by itself create a piping problem that wasn't there before.

I think I've heard them all in 30 years of contracting. One woman insisted it was our fault that her clothes washer stopped working (a week after we finished) because it always worked before we remodeled her house. Another insisted we screwed up the electric to her clothes dryer because it would not heat (she had turned the switch so the heat was off). A month after we finished a restaurant someone broke a large pane of glass, of course it was my fault. The amplifier died in a truck stop communication system while we were remodeling, our fault. The clock in the breakroom at a restaurant shorted out while we work working in the restaurant, our fault. It seems some people will blame the contractor for anything that goes wrong. ....then there was that cat that disappeared...........

Mellison

Try other faucets/shower controlls in the house (preferably alone) and see if it happens from that location as well.. If so, you can remove yourself from the equation.

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"Enjoy Every Sandwich" Warren Zevon

BCConstruction

Depends if the old faucet was a qtr turn or not. The many of the older faucets were traditional type where it took 3-5 turns to close. where as you can shut these new ceramic valves down far far quicker causing water hammer.

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Magic Hammer

Thanks, all.
I know what you mean, Thom. I've been in the business for 35 years. Kind of tired of everything that goes wrong in the HO's life being my fault.

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Skye Builders, inc.
Decks,Sunrooms,Windows and Siding
www.skyebuilders.com

radimeto

CHECK YOU ARE FULLY OPEN stopcocks
This problem sometimes COMES FROM THEM

KillerToiletSpider

Wait for Skyhook to add his wisdom, he knows way more about plumbing than us lowly plumbers.

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A flush is better than a full house.

BCConstruction

Whats there to know! S*** flows down hill and pay days friday

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essrmo

I had a lady's dog take a nose dive into a footing trench, dog died of old age shortly after.

BuildersII

Not exactly in the same vein, but just a note on how paranoid customers can get:

We did a kitchen for EXPO Design Center a few years back, and the lady (who paid an arm and two legs for this remodel) called us up ready to go to court because her light switch we installed wasn't working. I quickly rushed over to try and fix the problem, however everything was working fine when I got there. I had to calmy explain how to use the fancy touch-sensitive switch she picked out because she had failed to read the instructions

She didn't even apologize after threatening legal action over a friggin light switch.

UALocal1Plumber

Water hammer is caused by a valve being closed too quickly. The kinetic energy of the water flowing through the pipe is quickly transferred into the valve face, which causes a shock wave to reflect backwards, usually dispersing at the closest elbow upstream of the valve. You can see the fittings slamming around once in a while.

Usually water hammer is caused by electrically operated solenoid valves, like on a dishwasher, but flushometers, hose cocks, and yes quarter turn faucets can also cause a hammer. If no other fixtures in the house cause a hammer, check to see if the hammer manifests when closing both the hot and cold side. Then install mechanical shock arrestors on the bathroom branch piping as close as you can to the fixtures that are affected.

Keith

Mike(VA)

Not a plumber but I play one occasionally on jobs sites. Two ways pipes make noise. Water hammer and lack of strapping or shimming. Water hammer issue has been dealt with here already. My guess is that its a noise that primarily occurs when hot water is drawn. There is a constant popping in the wall or ceiling somewhere that is caused by a slight expansion of the pipe. When the pipe expands, a lack of proper strapping or lack of shim where the pipe passes through studs causes the noise. Only fix is opening the wall and correcting the problem. HO has been hearing this for a while and just now thinks he has found a solution by blaming you.

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I EXPECT THAT SOMEDAY I WILL SEE THE FRUITS OF MY LABOR. IS IT SOMEDAY YET?
Clifton, Great Falls, McLean, Fairfax Station, Manassas, Virginia Renovation Contractor

UALocal1Plumber

Expansion noise is a definite possibility. . . usually only if the hot water line is severely pushed against a wood framing member. Hot water is drawn through the line, the copper wants to expand, is stuck, is stuck. . . and BOOM, breaks free with a hammer noise. That should be diagnosed by drawing water from the hot water side of the faucet when the branch line has had time to cool down to room temp. Let it run until the line becomes hot, and if you get a ticking noise followed by a pop, you know the problem.

Keith

Mike Finley

Of course it's your fault. You touched it last!

Add a little clause to your contract that addresses this. Changing plumbing can change plumbing. Unless you address this in your contract, you touched it, you own it.

BCConstruction

I always make the hole for the pipe far bigger than they need to be and use pipe hangers to hold the pipes secure. Aint failed yet. Like below.

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rselectric1

BC those are the cleanest solder joints I have seen in a long time. Did you do those?

Edit-or do I need a new plumber? (Mine is licensed, union etc)

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220...221...whatever it takes!

BCConstruction

Yep i was a plumber in the UK for a while. To be honest it's pretty common for plumbers to get carried away with solder. Seen it more times than i can remember. You only need the smallest amount of solder on a joint but for some reason they kill half a roll of solder on every joint

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rselectric1

I knew you were a plumber before in the UK. I really do read posts. Those look really nice.

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220...221...whatever it takes!

BCConstruction

Lol cheers. The annoying thing about it though is all that work making it look nice and 99% of it gets covered up lol. Same as doing cables all nice and neat i guess.

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