Hearing dripping noises in our new house. How to find the leak?

[roydamnmercer]

I’ve had it in my last house and my current house…it’s pipe creep as mentioned above. Sounds just like a drip but it’s really a vibration. Only occurs in one bathroom for me. I’m on a basement and if it was a leak, it would have shown itself in three years. (Or 15 years in the previous house)

 

[coach482]

And damn carpenter ants.. .

Sent from my BV4900Pro using Tapatalk

And carpenter bees. Fighting them now.

 

[rockyfatcat]

I’ve had it in my last house and my current house…it’s pipe creep as mentioned above. Sounds just like a drip but it’s really a vibration. Only occurs in one bathroom for me. I’m on a basement and if it was a leak, it would have shown itself in three years. (Or 15 years in the previous house)

Sounds plausible. If I had the right equipment (audio) to isolate it down to “right here”, I could wrap it with teflon or know for certIan there is not dripping.

Last night, the family drive me nuts and I couldn’t get any of my important stuff done.

 

[H2O MAN]

Hand out stethoscopes to the entire family and see who can find the source of the noise first.

 

[Gaffer1968]

I have made a half dozen payments on our new (to us) new home. This evening, all my things to do didn’t get done because family members heard water dripping.

Long story short. Yeah I can hear something. I don’t know if it’s inside a wall or condensation inside a duct. I can’t see any signs of water or water damage.

When I worked for the airlines we borrowed a ‘sniffer’ directional acoustic microphone with headsets and this would pinpoint pressure leaks even in high noise environments. I googled it and apparently they also do leak detection with infrared cameras and thermal imaging.

Any clues as to how to find someone to help make this problem go away?

First thing. Is the sound coming from anywhere near a shower stall, bath tub, sink or toilet? Second, you might look at the drains on tubs and showers to see if the 'plumber' actually tightened them up after the install. Also check shower head stems into the wall.

I had a shower leak on a new house. It was the shower head stem where the 'plumber' used no tape or dope back into the wall AND also didn't tighten up the drain........ New house don't matter....the jacklegs that install get paid if it just 'looks right.' The home inspector ain't going to all the trouble to ferret all that leak/drip crap out.

 

[rightway1974]

Since you are on a well, watch out for pin holes in copper pipe. If you see pink stains in tub’s, sinks, etc. that’s copper eroding from the pipes. I will never put another stick of copper in my house because of this.

 

[rockyfatcat]

Since you are on a well, watch out for pin holes in copper pipe. If you see pink stains in tub’s, sinks, etc. that’s copper eroding from the pipes. I will never put another stick of copper in my house because of this.

all pvc

 

[FreedomUSMC]

I had an issue inside my bedroom wall. One of the pipes wasn't properly secured so it would knock up against a stud. It sounded like water dripping inside the wall. Being under warranty, the Builder had to come out and open the wall and fix it.

Definitely don't discount it as just the AC or whatever. Pipes can have a slight leak and the water gets absorbed by the insulation so you don't see any water damage. But then black mold grows inside your walls and it will destroy your house from the inside.

How do I know? Happened to my grandmother's house. We had 2 different "experts" come out because we heard dripping in the wall. Both said there was no leak. After a heavy rainstorm, a part of the ceiling fell. The insurance company came in and found the walls so full of mold that the house couldn't be salvaged and they had to knock it down. Over 60 years of memories in a house we all grew up in.... gone.

 

[Just1more]

all pvc

PVC or PEX? Some of the hangers used to hold PEX underneath the floors can rub against the PEX and as it flexes when water temp changes in the pipe. This will make a sound similar to water dripping.

 

[User170512]

The house has a well pump. No idea how to turn off the supply

This is the one of the first things you should learn in any house. Dead serious. And you may REALLY need to turn it off soon if something ruptures.