Water pipe movement in attic

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strainsa

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I recently moved into a 5 year old house. It has a water heater in the garage servicing the kitchen and 2 bathrooms. Another water heater is in the attic servicing
the other 2 bathrooms (I would guess for quick hot water in the showers). The pipes coming from the water heater in the
attic sometimes have a minor rattle noise. The pipes travel 5 feet down the side of the heater, 4 feet horizontally in the
attic and 10 feet down between the walls into the concrete foundation. I have noticed that there are no clamps securing
the piping in the attic. I cant tell in the walls. Is this normal not to secure the pipes? Is it to allow them freedom
to move for expansion (hot water flowing in clod pipe)? Can I put some copper clamps on to secure the pipe and keep it
from rattling? Looking for any ideas or options from you all. thanks..
 

e-plumber

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The piping could be rattling for other reasons besides not being properly secured.
Start with using copper straps to secure the piping, see if that helps.
Piping insulation on HW pipes can save energy.
 

Jimbo

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Good call by e-plumber on insulating the hot piping wherever you can access it. You will be impressed how much difference this makes.

Be sure to use only plastic or copper strapping. Galvanized straps in contact with the copper cause problems.

If you have a "groaning" noise, it can be cause where the copper passes through a joist or stud, and expansion causes rubbbing on the wood. The holes should have been larger, or had plastic bushings installed. Probably too late to fix that.

A "banging" noise might just be fixed by securing the pipes as much as possible, but it is worthwhile to check that your household water pressure is not too high.
 

strainsa

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All the exposed hot water piping is insulated with a rubber/foam tubing. I was curious what "The piping could be rattling for other reasons besides not being properly secured" might mean. Could you elaborate on this?
 

e-plumber

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Piping will rattle, shake or bang if an internal faucet part or similar is loose, there is excessive water velocity through undersized water lines and/or high water pressure.
The vibration/hammer that is created can reverberate through the water lines and in some cases will cause a weak or old connection to burst.
 
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