neighbours noisy plumbing

[diy_fun_uk]

Mum lives in a high rise. We're not sure if it's next door or the flat above/below, but at certain times there's a noise that's evidently plumbing related, a sort of whine. Sometimes it only lasts a few secs and is relatively quiet. Other times, it can last for 30-45 secs and be quite/very loud. I wonder if it's related to them turning taps on/off or maybe the cistern filling.

Regardless, my point is this. Whatever flat it's coming from, they must hear it. However they do nowt about it.

Neighbours, who'd have 'em!

 

[notsure123]

The other thing to consider is your home insurance. If you have legal cover, you may wish to call them as they may be able to take the matter up through legal channels if you can prove your neighbour is causing you a nuisance.

Many thanks for this. Yes i do have home insurance cover and strangely it is due for renewal in about 10 days. if i do not have legal cover as standard i will definitely add it....because to be honest, if she does not sort out the noise with her plumbing, and i am no doubt it will cost her quite a bit of money to do so, i will certainly have to move. thanks again

 

[notsure123]

Mum lives in a high rise. We're not sure if it's next door or the flat above/below, but at certain times there's a noise that's evidently plumbing related, a sort of whine. Sometimes it only lasts a few secs and is relatively quiet. Other times, it can last for 30-45 secs and be quite/very loud. I wonder if it's related to them turning taps on/off or maybe the cistern filling.

Regardless, my point is this. Whatever flat it's coming from, they must hear it. However they do nowt about it.

Neighbours, who'd have 'em!

I hope that you can possibly get this sorted out for your mum. She is probably like myself and waits for the noise to happen now. I do agree that neighbours can often make your life an absolute misery. I also think there should be more strict legislation in place for neighbour noise because it can ruin your life. I feel that we all have the right to peace and quiet when we come home and close the door.......I agree that your mum`s neighbours obviously know about the noise problem......call me unrealistic but its all down to manners and respect...consideration for others. If i go to bed very late i wont even use my electric toothbrush...i will use a manual one.......i think that also when people behave in a way that you would never dream of, it makes it all more cutting.....and there is the health consideration to noisy neighbours violating your homelife. I think that unless you have been through it you can never understand how almost life destroying it becomes. you simply dont feel in control of your own homelife and that you cannot fix it and sort it out fills you with absolute frustration........every time she runs her taps the stress hormone races through me.....i once walked in during a very stressful day with work and had to chase out to a work appointiment at short notice at a distance.....i walked in and on came her taps.....i lost it that day and just stood there and shouted!!! she heard it i am in no doubt...what did she do.....carry on running her taps!!!

sorry about that!!

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I hope that you can possibly get this sorted out for your mum. She is probably like myself and waits for the noise to happen now. I do agree that neighbours can often make your life an absolute misery. I also think there should be more strict legislation in place for neighbour noise because it can ruin your life. I feel that we all have the right to peace and quiet when we come home and close the door.......I agree that your mum`s neighbours obviously know about the noise problem......call me unrealistic but its all down to manners and respect...consideration for others. If i go to bed very late i wont even use my electric toothbrush...i will use a manual one.......i think that also when people behave in a way that you would never dream of, it makes it all more cutting.....and there is the health consideration to noisy neighbours violating your homelife. I think that unless you have been through it you can never understand how almost life destroying it becomes. you simply dont feel in control of your own homelife and that you cannot fix it and sort it out fills you with absolute frustration........every time she runs her taps the stress hormone races through me.....i once walked in during a very stressful day with work and had to chase out to a work appointiment at short notice at a distance.....i walked in and on came her taps.....i lost it that day and just stood there and shouted!!! she heard it i am in no doubt...what did she do.....carry on running her taps!!!

sorry about that!!

My mum's a bit like you I think. What I mean is she'll keep her tv on lower volume with the subtitles on so as not to disturb the neighbours. I was speaking to her earlier and her landline phone is playing up, making funny noises now and again of its own accord. She said to me 'what if it happens through the night?' I asked her what she meant, maybe thinking she'd say it could wake her up. No, her response was 'it might wake the neighbours up.'

I try to get her to have her tv louder (not LOUD but a more reasonable level to hear without subtitles) and to not worry about things like the faulty phone making a noise through the night. However our natures are our natures and all that.

As others have touched on, if the noise is genuinely crossing the line between expected/acceptable noise and evidently being unacceptable, you'll need to go down more formal routes. Moving is never that straightforward, however if that's an option for you, you might want to consider it. What you have to watch there is, unless you're moving to a detached property, you could be going from the frying pan into the fire!

Best of luck with it all!

 

[notsure123]

My mum's a bit like you I think. What I mean is she'll keep her tv on lower volume with the subtitles on so as not to disturb the neighbours. I was speaking to her earlier and her landline phone is playing up, making funny noises now and again of its own accord. She said to me 'what if it happens through the night?' I asked her what she meant, maybe thinking she'd say it could wake her up. No, her response was 'it might wake the neighbours up.'

I try to get her to have her tv louder (not LOUD but a more reasonable level to hear without subtitles) and to not worry about things like the faulty phone making a noise through the night. However our natures are our natures and all that.

As others have touched on, if the noise is genuinely crossing the line between expected/acceptable noise and evidently being unacceptable, you'll need to go down more formal routes. Moving is never that straightforward, however if that's an option for you, you might want to consider it. What you have to watch there is, unless you're moving to a detached property, you could be going from the frying pan into the fire!

Best of luck with it all!

Oh bless your mum.....tell her to turn that tv up to a level where she can actually hear it. I agree about the frying pan into the fire. i was completely happy here before this plumbing situation.....

take care...and your mum sounds lovely.

 

[notsure123]

The other thing to consider is your home insurance. If you have legal cover, you may wish to call them as they may be able to take the matter up through legal channels if you can prove your neighbour is causing you a nuisance.

I have just had a google and a look at this. You cannot use the legal cover aspect of your home insurance if the problem was already in existence. Its a shame i changed insurers last year as i had the same previous one for quite a few years.........but thanks again.

 

[conny]

I haven't read all the replies but let me throw a curved ball into the mix.

You have written to your neighbour and contacted EH who you 'believe' have contacted your neighbour and have received no return communication. I haven't seen anything about her nationality so, rightly or wrongly, presume she is English. However, as you have never spoken verbally to her, nor she to you, it could be one or two reasons you have not received a reply.
The first one could be because she is not actually English/British so cannot read your letter.
The second is, that she could be English/British but has not been taught or learned, for whatever reason, to read and write and therefore cannot respond.
I think the best course of action to take is to knock on her door and politely attempt to get into friendly conversation with her. You need to try and ascertain the facts of why she is not being cooperative and there could possibly be a perfectly valid reason. She may be deaf or have a hearing impediment that stops her from actually hearing the noise her pipes are making.

 

[gant]

Three pages and no mention of what causes water hammer?
Turn the stop tap off outside the property. Puts paid to slinging a deafen and language barriers.

 

[transam]

How about retaliation ?

Bung some thing up against your wall to make a noise ???

 

[denso13]

but I've got one of those long keys for turning the water off in the street,

This, find the external stop tap, if there is one, and turn it off a bit.

 

[gant]

Bloody hell Denso you been in conversation with you mum?

 

[denso13]

Bloody hell Denso you been in conversation with you mum?

Sorry, you've lost me again, as per usual.

 

[gant]

What is your theory behind turning the stop tap off a bit?

 

[RandomGrinch]

Three pages and no mention of what causes water hammer?
Turn the stop tap off outside the property. Puts paid to slinging a deafen and language barriers.

Yes, water hammer was mentioned in post #4
But the sound was later described as:

The noise is literally the noise when you first start to run taps.....you get this sort of shhhhhh noise until it hits full flow. hers never gets to the full flow bit where it quietens....it stops when you hear this `shunt` noise with her water turning off. As she starts to run it the noise is preceded by this clicking noise in her hallway by her front door. The `shhhh` noise is louder than the noise of running my own taps in my own home and it pours in from the back of my bungalow into my kitchen (a loud, very harsh almost graty shhhh noise) her bathroom is up there (but not attached to my bungalow obviously....

Posting a video/recording of the noise was mentioned from post #10 (and partially in post #2), but nothing has been forthcoming yet.

 

[denso13]

What is your theory behind turning the stop tap off a bit?

No noise because stop top was throttled back a bit to stop said noise because of high flow rate, plumber does work and turns stopcock on fully and said noise returns. Neighbour can't access problem property as said neighbour isn't interested, therefore no harm done in turning off outside stop tap a bit to see if it helps. If it doesn't, no harm done, if it does then happy days.