Noisy copper pipes

[sam11i]

Hi,


I had all the plumbing redone in my home three years ago.


Since then there is a lot of noise when fresh water is going through the copper pipes. This has been annoying me to no end but the contractor is not doing anything about (blames it on the copper pipes).


I narrowed it down that noise occurs mainly when either of the two tubs spouts are in use. That means if the shower (same moen valve with a diverter) is on there is very little noise but when filling the tub you can hear the water run through the pipes all over.. Even if the tub is being filled in the basement (right next to the main and hot water tanks) I can hear a racket on the 3rd floor.


The only thing I can think of is that seems like the tub spout if just a piece of moen plastic covering a pipe coming out of the valve .


Any suggestions what I can try?



Thanks!

Sam

 

[Cacher_Chick]

The tub filler flows more water that any other fixture in an average house. To reduce the noise you would need to slow down the flow through the shower/tub valve. If the piping is touching the framing of the house anywhere, the noise can be amplified through that framework. Preventing the piping from touching any framing is an important part of construction, as it is pretty hard to repair after the drywall is complete.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Sluggo]

I doubt the composition of the tub spout has anything to do with it. I presume the noise you hear is the rushing of the water and not banging? Copper pipes can be somewhat noisy, especially in walls or ceilings with no insulation. I presume that the tub valve has the largest flow rate of any of the fixtures, and the noise is commensurately louder, especially if the supply is 1/2" copper and you have a high-volume valve (say 10+gpm). You could do a test with a bucket: first run the shower and time how long it takes to fill the bucket; then fill the water from the tub spout; if it fills much faster, turn down the faucets until you get the bucket to fill at the same rate as when you used the shower to fill it. Then see what the noise level is. If the noise is still greater with water running from the tub spout, you might benefit (a bit) from opening the wall and putting in a new valve, and/or by running 3/4" diameter copper to the valve. Beyond this, I'm not sure there is much you can do to make things quieter.

 

[Jadnashua]

The Copper Institute has a design handbook you can download from their website that describes what a well-designed supply system should look like. One thing you need to check is your static incoming water pressure. There's a reason why plumbing codes call for keeping it below 80psi. Your problem may flow (pun intended!) from too high pressure, and things might get better if it were lower. It's easy to check; a pressure gauge is easily less than $20.

FWIW, on a 1/2" pipe, you should not design the system to need to flow more than about 4gpm. Asking it to draw more than that will cause the type of issues you are describing,a nd to get enough volume, you need to run it faster and often with higher pressure; both can cause more noises and issues long-term.

 

[Standardairconditioner]

the contractor is not doing anything about (blames it on the copper pipes).

Copper pipes either leak or they don't. If they don't leak, the contractor did their job. The contractor failed to add that you may be in a neighborhood with high water pressure above 80psi.

Copper pipe is copper pipe. They don't make "quiet" copper pipe stock.

Pipes either run thru studs and joists, or nailed to them with copper clamps. It is unlikely any of the copper is touching anything other than wood.

Walls can be insulated with Roxul SAFE'n'SOUND, you might want to look that up.

You have to option to open your walls and replace sections or all of it with PEX. That may or may not reduce any noise, it's just an option.

You can replace spouts with 1/2" copper slip-on's, and some of them have restrictors in them too. If baths are common in your home, it will take longer for tubs to fill.

 

[Terry]

I have rarely heard quiet copper pipes. Has anyone ever heard quiet copper when a tub fills?
Galvanized used to be much quieter. But was that because water hardly moves through them anymore? Or is it a thicker material that soaked up the sound?
I had a customer in Clyde Hill that didn't like his ABS waste and vents and his noisey copper at the tub. Thought his nice house deserved cast iron no hub and silent copper pipes because of the neighborhood. I told him the homes I had built, same price range as his were also done with ABS and copper. He didn't like that. There are a few really nices homes with cast iron waste lines, few.

 

[hj]

IF the copper is the problem, then it is because of the way he installed it.

 

[sam11i]

Sounds like I am stuck with noisy pipes or tearing open all the walls.

Does it make sense that I hear the noise three flights up when filling the basement tup (the water enters from the basement)?

Thanks for all the replies!
Sam

 

[Cacher_Chick]

If they connected the piping directly to the framing, the noise will be transmitted throughout.

 

[Esobocinski]

I'd check out the high-pressure possibilities mentioned by others first. If that's not it, do you perchance have a high-flow tub faucet? I wonder if you have a faucet designed for 3/4" piping but fed from 1/2" supply lines. If so, then the water flow is being regulated by the friction through the angle fittings in the pipe rather than by the faucet, and that's very loud. If so, do you have access to increase the supplies to 3/4", or to install restrictors? (I'm guessing not, but it's worth asking). Another possibility is that you just have a crappy loud faucet. As everyone else has said, if any part of a copper system is loud, the sound travels through the system.

 

[Standardairconditioner]

Sam, decide what you are realistically prepared to do.

Your choices are limited to:

1. Control the flow rate of water being consumed at the device. This means swapping spouts and valves.

2. Tear open your walls and replace the copper with yet more new copper, or new PEX, and re-insulate.