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ticking sound........

17K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  macatawacab 
#1 ·
finsihed a bathroom remodel a month ago and now the homeowners are complaining that there is a ticking sound in the wall only when the shower head is on. The assembly is a kohler purist.

The sound is a slight tick, not a knocking of the pipes. There doesn't seem to be a loss of pressure, but if there is it's very very small.

Pulled the shower head off and checked for debris in the screens etc but found nothing. Pulled the valve apart and check that, nothing.

Between the plumber and I we are out of ideas and asking others for opinions. It seems the only option is to tear the wall apart in the other room and start over.

Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
It could be the sound of feed pipe for the head exspanding behind the wall. I have heard this happen on old builds where they would hold a pipe down with a bent over nail :eek:. Or is the click coming from the shower valve it's self. Some shower valves have non return valves built in and these can sometimes click when not seated properly in the hot and cold feeds.
 
#3 ·
Is the sound there if you remove the shower head and run the water straight out of the nipple?

Not the same, but I had one a couple of years ago--after a complete gut and rebuild, we noticed a dripping sound inside the newly finished wall. Drove us about bonkers until, talking with the HO, we found that the noise had always been there. It was condensate from the attic air conditioner dribbling down a drain line. :blink:
 
#9 ·
FastFred

If the ticking is only when hot water is running then it is caused by pipe expansion. The hot pipe is running through holes that are either too tight or not lined up and the pipe was forced through them. Or, hopefully, it is just a pipe braced to tight. If you temporarily shimmed pipes to hold them while installing, did you remove them? I doubt it is the shower head riser pipe, as that water is tempered and shouldn't be hot enough to cause the problem.
Unfortunately, if you need to re-align holes it will be a problem. Sometimes it is more cost effective to just start over.
If, however, you find the precise area where the expansion is causing the ticking; you may be able to enlarge the hole by carefully drilling a hole close to the problem and doing some careful chiseling to enlarge.
 
#13 ·
1) my job is to make the homeowner beyond happy with the product I give them. So I take it pretty seriously and will get overly involved and do everything I can to help. (the homeowner was really confused as to why I was there the other day dealing with plumber on something I didn't even do.)

2) the plumber is busy and sick of the h.o. and the h.o. is sick of the plumber. I try to mediate the best I can but you can only do so much.

3) thank you all for the ideas, the expansion sounds about right, their house is pretty cold inside (not freezing) It's just under 20 years old and the plumber swears up and down that he secured the hell out of the pipe. which makes sense with all your thoughts.

4) ps I'm not some jackazz who gets in over his head. I'm more than happy to hook up a sink, toliet, etc but as soon as you want to change out stops, move pipes, or replace a shower valve hire a plumber.
 
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