Noisy PVC Plumbing Drain Pipes - Cast Iron Solution
Summary: PVC piping in your home can be noisy. Cast iron may be the type of piping you need. Plumbing replacement work is not for the DIY plumber.
DEAR TIM: We just moved into a 15 year old home. Every time
we flush the second floor toilet, we hear water running down our living room
wall. The wall is never wet and I can find no leaks in the basement. What is
happening to the water? B. B.
DEAR B. B.: Relax, the
water is going down the plumbing stack and on its way to the sewer. Since you do
not see any evidence of a leak, your description of the problem leads me to
believe that your plumbing drainage system is constructed of PVC plastic
piping.
PVC piping is notorious for sound transmission. It's low density
plastic makeup makes it very noisy. Often you can hear a small amount of water
trickling down the pipe. You can identify this type of pipe very easily. It is
non-metallic, white, and often has labeling imprinted on the pipe which states
that it is PVC.
You can solve your noise problem with a little bit of
work. You have basically two choices. If the piping is PVC, you can replace it
with cast iron piping. Due to its dense structure, cast iron piping transmits
very little noise. This is one reason why you rarely hear water rushing down the
walls of older houses. Cast iron drain piping was the material of choice 80 to
100 years ago.
This choice will probably be expensive due to the fact that you will be
removing existing drainage piping and replacing it with new piping. Also, in
most cities and states, work of this scope requires the services of a licensed
master plumber to perform the installation.
Installing cast
iron in a new house or a remodeled bath is not a budget breaker. Often it can be
added to a house for only a $150 per bathroom. Remember, only the pipes that
carry water need to be cast iron. All vent pipes that deliver air to the
plumbing system can still be PVC.
The other alternative is to expose the
piping and insulate it with fiberglass sound batts. Be sure to wrap the entire
pipe, starting at the base of the toilet and continue until the pipe enters the
basement. Then fill the rest of the wall and ceiling cavity with sound batt
insulation.
When you have finished, flush the toilet before patching the
wall. If you still hear the water, locate the source of the noise and add more
insulation.
|
|
Comments:
Bobby Joe 13 Feb 2008, 21:12
Tim, I am building a Deltec Home with a basement. The home has 22 sides
with 16 degree corners. When I install the 4" PVC perforated pipe french
drain system for my footing, I need direction on how to properly couple the
piping. I read that flexible perforated pipe is not recommended. Thank
you
AsktheBuilder 15 Feb 2008, 08:48
Bobby Joe,
You can use the flexible piping if you supervise its burial and ensure that the pipe is covered with rounded gravel that I describe. Make sure the gravel depth is at least 2 feet and more would be better.
Jim 24 Feb 2008, 14:20
Hi Tim, great suggestions - what are your thoughts on having foam sprayed
in the wall where the PVC pipes run? That would certainly be less intrusive
than ripping out the drywall to add batts.
Thanks, Jim
Manny Noble 01 Mar 2008, 08:36
Hi Tim,
Do you know of any method to connect a new PVC pipe on an existing CI pipe? We have a busted CI pipe and we are considering to adapt a PVC replacement. Are there any available coupling method we could use? I learned of neoprene coupling (Tyler). Will this be appropriate to use in our case? Thanks. Manny
AsktheBuilder 01 Mar 2008, 15:09
Jim,
How do you know if the entire cavity gets filled with foam? What happens when you put too much foam in and it bulges the drywall or the tile wall???? Ouch!
AsktheBuilder 07 Mar 2008, 20:50
Manny,
You bet there is an approved fitting. Here we call it a hub adapter. One side of the fitting is a regular socket for the PVC pipe to glue into. The other end has a ridge that matches the diameter of the cast iron. It comes with a rubber seal and giant stainless-steel band clamp that makes the waterproof connection.
Joe S 08 Jul 2008, 09:30
With icynene foam insulation there is a pourable wall formula which will
not expand and bulge the wall, but I have no idea if it would quiet the
pipes.
Mateen 23 Apr 2009, 22:16
How about wrapping the PVC pipes with this cork sound control blanket
that's available at Home Depot?
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=1 0051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100645274&N=10000003+90401 QEP 1/4 In. (6 MM) Cork Underlayment, Sound Control For Tile Floors, 4 Ft. x 50 Ft. = 200 Sq. Ft. Roll Model 72000 $118.00/RL Roll
Lou 01 Oct 2009, 04:13
Hi,
i have cast iron waste pipes and I am in the process of renovating my kitchen. In the part of the wall where the pipe goes from the second floor to the crawl space behind the drywall I have found that there is no insulation. was this done for a reason? or when I replace the drywall can I put insulation there as there is a cold draft coming up from the crawl space.. Thanks, Lou
mohamad 12 Oct 2009, 08:30
dear sirs, i am a mechanical engineer and iam working in a residential
project, the drainage of the first floors in the villas are under floor,
the pipes type is PVC, i need to know what kind of soundproofing you can
offer me, specs and prices. mean that the max pipe diameter i have is 4in
for sewage pipes with 2% as pipes slope.
thank you View all comments |
