Fix Loud Ticking Noise in Pipes...

[insanityitself]

I just bought a condo, it was built in 2009. When the tenants above us use the water in their bathroom, a ticking sound is generated which is soooo loud and annoying (the HOA maintenance guy says it's water dripping down the stack). I asked him how he would fix it, and he emailed me this: I
cannot promise we can do anything about it. We have found that it is caused by the fire caulking where the drain pipe goes through the top and bottom plates in the stud wall. The fire caulking fills the gaps between the pipe and the hole cut in the plate to allow the pipe to pass through. It is required by code to stop fire from passing between floors. It seals the gap so tight that it doesn't allow the pipe to expand and contract as it changes temperature with the water that is running through it. The only way we know of to stop the noise is to cut open the wall and remove the caulk around the pipe. That is not an option in this case because it would be illegal in multi-family housing.

Does anyone have any ideas on other ways to fix the problem? Thank you so much in advance...

 

[Gary Swart]

I think your maintenance man is correct. There's nothing you can do except live with it.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[insanityitself]

I think your maintenance man is correct. There's nothing you can do except live with it.

Do you think a flexible expansion joint would work for something like this?

 

[Cookie]

If nothing else works you could try a, Sound Reducing Acoustical Paint.

 

[Jadnashua]

There are at least several types of fire block caulks (and probably more): foam and silicon based. The foam stuff is normally intumescent (it swells or blisters to seal the void when it reaches a certain temperature). The problem is, if the hole the pipes are going through was too tight in the first place, when the pipe expands and contracts, it will either bow or jerk through the hole once it overcomes the friction. The bowing could rub on things, and 'jump', if there was friction trying to hold it in place. If the hole was not binding, and they used a silicon based fireblock caulk, there might be enough stretch to it so the pipe could move a little. The foam stuff might act more like a glue and hold the pipe in place. But, my guess is that it really is that the hole is too small, or it is binding on something else, which is causing the sounds.

I don't know if this would be a possibility, but you might be able to install expansion couplings. I don't know how reliable the seals are, but, if I understand how they work, they would allow the pipe to expand and contract enough so that it wouldn't jerk through tight holes in the wall.