Banging noises in central heating - Help!!!

[Jo5672]

Desperate for some help! Be a life saver of someone can help as suffer from a high intolerance to noise.

Moved into new house 1940s (copper pipes) and having serious issues with banging pipes only when central heating is on. Not when running taps

We have a wall in living room that has stop tap with several pipes leading up to bathroom (not visible). When heating comes on we get lots of loud Tapping/banging from this wall and every so often a clank. The bathroom towel radiator without fail also bangs loudly (no TRVs). All other radiators have TRVs but towel radiator is only one that bangs. It is a Baxi combi boiler so happens quite a lot when firing up and firing down. Driving us insane.

Been told there will be a faulty trv somewhere. Turned TRVS off and nothing seems to effect noise. Except towel radiator without fail makes noise when mess with manual valves (no TRV) and bleed valve. May be doing it wrong. Turned this radiator off and quieter but noise still there just not as bad. We did have a plumber who put a mini arrestor on the bleed valve of towel radiator and we now know it did reduce the noise from towel radiator but not overall. Mini arrestor got removed as told fitted wrong and useless as shouldn't be put on radiator, but did actually make a different as been very loud since removed.

Been told it's expansion. Where would we even start on where to check? Can't check under floors of bathroom as tiles and underfloor heating. Possibly could get under bath? Behind wall in living room. Any device we can use/method to ascertain where issue is?

Been told it's water hammer. Would this be the case if not when water comes on?

Been told it's air getting trapped. Bleeding valves makes no difference.

Read could be jumper in stop tap but it's new as of last year.

bathroom was last thing previous owners fitted with what appears to be a new shower, toilet, tap and toilet radiator.

Have a feeling it's to do with this renovation and does not predate.

Boiler doesn't make noise. Boiler has a magma clean and something that says gold state inhibitor which looks like a valve and been told arrestor on boiler. Also added a noise reducer and inhibitor to system with no joy.

thanks appreciate any help!

 

[Ben-gee]

If it only happens when heating comes on then it is almost certainly due to expansion/contraction of the central heating pipes.

They are either run too close other pipes, or too close to joists/timber, or pass through holes which are too small, or the pipes are inadequately clipped. The list goes on and on. This is a common problem.
If you can get at pipes, it can often be alleviated with extra clips or even something as simple as a piece of cloth between two pipes to stop them rubbing.

This is a “need to be onsite “ type of job.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Expanse is more of a ticking

 

[Jo5672]

If it only happens when heating comes on then it is almost certainly due to expansion/contraction of the central heating pipes.

They are either run too close other pipes, or too close to joists/timber, or pass through holes which are too small, or the pipes are inadequately clipped. The list goes on and on. This is a common problem.
If you can get at pipes, it can often be alleviated with extra clips or even something as simple as a piece of cloth between two pipes to stop them rubbing.

This is a “need to be onsite “ type of job.

Thank you. Any advice on how to identify where to start please? The bathroom is tiled and so is floor so isnt easily accessible. The towel radiator runs into wall not floor. I think bathroom is the end point before it runs downstairs into garage where boiler is. The room adjacent to bathroom is wall and downstairs wall where all noise is plasterboard. Definitely problem area. Any listening devices you can buy? Worth getting a camera when cutting into wall to avoid making too much mess? Assuming towel radiator is just echoing? Could that be a separate issue? Thanks again for talking it through

 

[Jo5672]

Thank you. Any advice on how to identify where to start please? The bathroom is tiled and so is floor so isnt easily accessible. The towel radiator runs into wall not floor. I think bathroom is the end point before it runs downstairs into garage where boiler is. The room adjacent to bathroom is wall and downstairs wall where all noise is plasterboard. Definitely problem area. Any listening devices you can buy? Worth getting a camera when cutting into wall to avoid making too much mess? Assuming towel radiator is just echoing? Could that be a separate issue? Thanks again for talking it through

 

[Ben-gee]

If it was really annoying me and the wall was plasterboard what I would do is:

Identify the area where the pipes run down the wall then, using a strong magnet to find the column of screws (and therefore the vertical timber stud), cut the plasterboard from a couple of inches below the ceiling to a couple of inches above the skirting. Do this either side of where the pipes are and make two horizontal cuts to join the vertical cuts - then remove this whole section of plasterboard to give proper access to the pipes.
I would make these cuts using a multitool with a wide blade - this will leave you with an easily repairable patching job - in most cases I have simply replaced the piece I removed, and after filling/rubbing down/painting you would be hard pushed to know if was done.

With access you should hopefully see the problem and be able to solve it.

 

[Ben-gee]

I should add, be very careful with the cutting depth as, obviously, there are pipes behind there!!!

 

[Jo5672]

If it was really annoying me and the wall was plasterboard what I would do is:

Identify the area where the pipes run down the wall then, using a strong magnet to find the column of screws (and therefore the vertical timber stud), cut the plasterboard from a couple of inches below the ceiling to a couple of inches above the skirting. Do this either side of where the pipes are and make two horizontal cuts to join the vertical cuts - then remove this whole section of plasterboard to give proper access to the pipes.
I would make these cuts using a multitool with a wide blade - this will leave you with an easily repairable patching job - in most cases I have simply replaced the piece I removed, and after filling/rubbing down/painting you would be hard pushed to know if was done.

With access you should hopefully see the problem and be able to solve it.

If it was really annoying me and the wall was plasterboard what I would do is:

Identify the area where the pipes run down the wall then, using a strong magnet to find the column of screws (and therefore the vertical timber stud), cut the plasterboard from a couple of inches below the ceiling to a couple of inches above the skirting. Do this either side of where the pipes are and make two horizontal cuts to join the vertical cuts - then remove this whole section of plasterboard to give proper access to the pipes.
I would make these cuts using a multitool with a wide blade - this will leave you with an easily repairable patching job - in most cases I have simply replaced the piece I removed, and after filling/rubbing down/painting you would be hard pushed to know if was done.

With access you should hopefully see the problem and be able to solve it.

Thank you very much. My brother in law is hopefully going to come and have a look. It's as loud as an intense knock of the door so definitely needs sorting. I will ask him to concentrate on section of wall downstairs which makes the noise, it is plaster board and has pipes running up it hopefully we find the issue. Brother in law isn't a plumber but extremely handy.

Appreciated