Knocking noises in wall

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webmonkey8

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Hi,

I'm living in an old apartment and I'm hearing some knocking and clicking noises from behind a wall where the heating pipes are. I've never heard them before in the fall, but now it's winter, I hear it everyday. It's to a point I cannot even sleep with the noise. I've already told the landlord about it, but he doesn't want to open up the wall to check it out. I'm thinking it'll cause him too much trouble.

Anyways, I've managed to open up the panel (see picture) to see what's behind the wall and how the pipes are like. As you can see, there's one pipe that runs vertically up from the ground. There's also some 2X4s in there that's part of the building's structure. But upon inspection, I've stuck my hand in the bottom right corner of the "hole" and felt a cold draft. Could it be perhaps the cold draft coming from the outside that's causing the wood to contract and expand which is causing this "knocking" noise? Or could it be the pipes? Would sealing this draft help with the contracting and the expanding of the 2x4 wood? If so, what kind of sealant should I try. I head that expanding foam sealant would be easy. I'm a beginner when it comes to fixing things like this. Please advise.
Thanks a lot.
 

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Redwood

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I guess you security deposit is gone!
You really need to remember that you don't own the property and that the person who does own it can rightfully be very angry about torn out walls.
 

Terry

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Ticking pipes are sometimes caused by something grabbing the pipes, sometimes a tight or crooked hold through the studs.
Sometimes it's just metal that makes noise.
I live in a home with a furnace, and it makes noise all night long.
The furnace metal pops and creaks, the floors make noise at night, almost like someone is walking around sometimes. If I've had sun earlier, the roof does it's noisy thing, and the South wall of the home.

When I hike, there is noise all night long in the tent. Sometimes I hear avalanches during the night, wondering how close they are to me.
Sometimes it animals walking around near the tent, some make the ground move under my sleeping bag.
On windy nights, the tent walls can lean over into my face as I try to sleep.

If I started tearing out walls and ceilings to find every pop and groan in my home, I would have to give it back to the bank.
At a certain point, you have to decide whether you should move, or get used to it.
I remember when I was in second grade, I was in a strange city having an operation, I was there for several days.
All night long I could hear cars and trucks in the street, it was very hard for me to sleep. It was very different from my home at night.
At home, the worst was only when I watched the 100-150 feet fir trees swaying in the wind through the bedroom window, wondering if they were leaning enough to fall over.
In 1962 we lost about 12 firs in the yard, there were downed trees everywhere, but none hit the house that time.

So how much do you think it will cost to patch those walls?
I'm guessing about $500 with painting.
 

webmonkey8

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Thanks for the replies. Actually, no, I did not do this damage. This hole was there before I even moved in. Of course I wouldn't do something like this, even if I was so angry about the noise. :) Sorry about the misunderstanding!
 

Terry

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Okay, feeling much better about it.
Time for some peppermint ice cream.

A bit of rockwool around the pipe may help prevent the air from going up and down the wall.
 

Redwood

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I did not do this damage. This hole was there before I even moved in.

Phew!

Anyways, I've managed to open up the panel (see picture) to see what's behind the wall and how the pipes are like.

This kind of threw me!

I have a ticking pipe in my home... I hardly notice it after all these years...
Certainly not worth worrying about!
 
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Mikey

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The ticking is probably caused by the pipes expanding and contracting as the heating system goes on and off. I would try some of the expanding foam ("Great Stuff" is a brand I use a lot) to prevent the infiltration of cold air, and possibly anchor the pipes in place. Inside a wall like that, I would be inclined to use the "door and window" type foam, which doesn't exert a lot of force when it expands. If you use the other types, you have to be careful not to break the wall apart. OTOH, they make a "large cavity" foam that would better fill a big hole, if that's what you've got leading to the outside. Use it carefully.

I wonder why the wall was already broken open. Did the pipes freeze at one time?
 

Herk

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I grew up in a house with hot water baseboards just like that one, and yes, ticking noises are very common. It probably has a lot to do with the expanding pipe creeping along metal hangers.
 
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