So, then.

Following from this:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/central-heating-experts-why-are-my-pipes-banging

which was a plea for help to cure banging pipes since replacing radiators with new ones……
I added an update at the end of it, that basically says I have tried everything short of taking the floorboards up & looking for banging pipes that aren’t secured correctly or are tight up against notches in the joists etc.

So, this was the job for today.
First of all, on the side of the house that we seem to be having the problem on, there is the main bedroom in one corner of the house with the radiator on the front external wall under the window. Next to this is a smaller bedroom that takes up the rest of that side of the house. The radiator in that room is on the same wall as in the main bedroom. Between the rooms is the airing cupboard with hot water tank, pump etc.

The main bedroom has got laminate down, so I thought I’d begin my assault on the other room which ‘only’ has varnished floorboards. Should be easy.
Hmmm. I didn’ realise that they were tongue & grooved floorboards. So, getting one up near to the radiator proved tricky although I managed it in the end, although it did involve sawing through it to get it out.

Immediately visible were two runs of two pipes. And they were as loose as a whore’s knickers. Moving them slightly caused a clanging, banging sound and I was feeling quite buoyant at this point that it was the cause of the noise. So, I secured them in place using pipe lagging to wedge them in place and see if it made the sound go away.
Here is a pic of the lifted board & the pipes just about visible at the top & bottom of the hole, as well as a pic to show the position of the radiator relative to the hole:

So, once secured I left it with the board lifted & stuck the heating on, feeling fairly smug that this would solve the problem…
It hasn’t.
It seemed like it did as there was no noise for about 15 mins, but then the banging started. GGAAAAHHHH!!

I have just worked out that one set of visible pipes (that wasn’t getting hot is) the feed to the hot/cold taps in the kitchen, so I will remove the lagging I have put around them, as they are now closely bound together & the hot one will warm up the cold feed and obviously isn’t the cause of the problem.

So, I am back at square one. I can feel the pipe to the radiator in the smaller room is still vibrating with every clang, so the source can’t be the area that was free to move, which I have now secured. It must be in another location, presumably under the floor in the main bedroom…….which is a complete ball ache, now that I know we have tongue & groove floorboards.
What is the logical reason for using tongue/groove floorboards? I just don’t understand it. It makes it an absolute nightmare to work on anything that requires lifting them up…..I guess they are draught free……

Hmmmm, think it’s time to hang head and go round to OH’s Dad (retired plumber) who fitted the new rads and get his opinion….

Bugger, bum & arse…….

Words of sympathy & advice, greatly received….. 😐

Good Luck – as you can feel this pipe vibrate with the noise it suggests that you should deal with this first as a vibrating pipe is probably the source. You can often slide short lentgths of insulation along pipework a long way sometimes….

Cheers Bear – problem is, the notches in the joists (just either side of the removed bit of board) aren’t that big. I had to trim the lagging to push it into place, as it was. I think the only way to sort it is to take up more of the floor….

I don’t know, but it feels like the noise is being generated somewhere else & transferred into that pipe.

I have just closed the lockshields to both of the radiators, will leave it a while and then open one of them to try & determine which one of them is causing the noise. Could of course be both, I guess.

Have you got a floor board saw ? You need to cut the tounges to lift the boards.

I have a similar problem but with all laminate floor and plywood boards instead of floor boards. Ah, the joy of a 60s house.

Murray – Member
Have you got a floor board saw ? You need to cut the tounges to lift the boards.

I have a similar problem but with all laminate floor and plywood boards instead of floor boards. Ah, the joy of a 60s house.

Ooooh, no I don’t have a floorboard saw. So – I could use this to cut lengthwise along the edges of the boards to remove the tongues??
Excuse my ignorance, but how does a rounded end help you to get a cut started? Presumably I’d need to get one of those devices to detect pipes before cutting, as the pipes that were under the board I lifted were just under the boards……

Thing is….if I don’t know where the problem is, presumably I’ll just have to keep sawing along boards and lifting them, until I get to the problem. I could be sawing all day!

If I had a jigsaw blade that only went down to the depth of the floorboards, I could use that to remove the tongues…..hmmmmmm.

Correct, saw along the lengthways gap. The rounded end is how you get started – the saw doesn’t have to go through. You should be OK without a pipe detector as pipes feel very different from wood.

You can also use a circular saw set to a depth of less than floor board thickness. A jig saw would go all they way through which could mean cutting pipes / wires / joists (unless you can find the short blades which doesn’t sound likely).

Perhaps a Dremel will do it 🙂

What I do (I’m a joiner) is with the blade fully extended in the jigsaw, cut the blade to the depth of the board (19mm?), you just need to go halfway through then snap off with pliers; file off ragged bits.
Go down the tongues with it..if you need to cut across the board, do so at a joist (find where the secret nail in the tongue is by scraping in the gap with something metalic. Scribe 2 parallel lines across board with a really sharp craft blade about 2mm apart and saw between those lines (saw will buck something rotton!).This prevents ripping the board surface to pieces.

Thanks Murray & Chickenman…..

Was being thick about the floorboard saw – I get what you mean now.

That is what I was thinking Chickenman – cut down a jigsaw blade to the right length so when fully extended in the jigsaw it is only long enough to cut through the tongue.
Thanks for the tip for cutting across the board – when I put a cat flap in the shed door, the blade did jump all over the place until it was fully through, so I know what you mean.
Perhaps I will just use a floorboard saw for any cross cuts and a jigsaw to speed up the cutting along the lengths.

To be honest….I think if turning off one of the radiators cures the banging for the moment then I will do this, until we get round to decorating those rooms and then have a proper go at it…..

thanks chickenman – great tips.

Circular saw, cordless preferably, with blade set to correct depth.

Hate t&g flooring, but miles preferable to chipboard!

Chickenman and Bear – any tips for plywood? It really is plywood as floorboards instead of just under the laminate. The house is a late 60s timber frame and everything is just a little bit weird.

get a biiiig holesaw and get drilling!

Just seen this – looks the ticket for a one off job!

Spent hours the other night lifting three lengths of floorboard to get access to something, was really hard work.

Did however discover 2 lengths of 22 mm copper pipe that are unused that I can add to my copper collection ($$)

Murray – Member
Just seen this – looks the ticket for a one off job!

I use those at work all the time and they are great.

Brilliant little saw, far less hassle than a full size circular saw.

Varialble depth cut from 1-22mm (i think ?) And does “Plunge” cuts easily unlike most circular saws.

25% off in Argos at the moment too !

Looks like Santa will be delivering me a present early! Thanks Neal

Just make sure you change the blade when it starts to “labour” a bit when cutting, as I have burnt the motor out of a couple from making it struggle with a duff blade.

But we use them all day and they take some hammer, in a DIY sense they are more sturdy than what you would expect for £75.

Oooh, that hand held circular saw looks great. Doesn’t look quite as versatile as a bit fat circular saw though…quite a limited cutting depth, perhaps for future jobs?