Baseboard Creaky Noises

[velvetfoot]

How can one quiet the creaky noises of pipe expansion on wood? I'm thinking maybe spraying some furniture was on the pipes coming through the floor, but haven't tried that yet.
Any experience out there?

 

[airlina]

Same here, I live in a log home lots of wood , lots of creaky pipe expansion noise- I think of it as the sound of comfort! Bruce

 

[maple1]

Lower temps to the baseboards + longer circulation times.

 

[velvetfoot]

Maybe a thin bushing of some sort wrapped around the pipe as it passes through the floor?

 

[Willman]

I smashed some aluminum foil around the pipe to floor gap.

 

[mike van]

I kind of like it, it lets me know everything is working - Kind of like rain hitting the roof now, I no longer have to go out in it - [retired lineman]

 

[velvetfoot]

Ideally, I'd just like to hear some tinkling of the expanding pipe/fins, not the creaking I'm getting now.

 

[woodsmaster]

Outdoor reset so you can continuously circulate. The on off is where you get the noise from.

 

[velvetfoot]

I smashed some aluminum foil around the pipe to floor gap.

Was the pipe resting on the wood and you smushed foil in the gap? I can't visualize how that would work, but if it does, it does.

 

[F4jock]

If you're talking about the normal expansion of heated water pipes unless you heat very slowly the clicking sound of expanding metal is something that can't be stopped.

 

[velvetfoot]

If you're talking about the normal expansion of heated water pipes unless you heat very slowly the clicking sound of expanding metal is something that can't be stopped.

No, I'm fine with the tinkling metal sounds. It sounds like the pipe is resting on wood, and when the pipe expands it makes creaking noise.

 

[F4jock]

No, I'm fine with the tinkling metal sounds. It sounds like the pipe is resting on wood, and when the pipe expands it makes creaking noise.

In which case you'll need to move pipe from wood or wood from pipe.

 

[woodsmaster]

In which case you'll need to move pipe from wood or wood from pipe.

In which case you'll need to move pipe from wood or wood from pipe.

Or keep it from seeing a big temperature swing.

 

[velvetfoot]

I haven't tried it yet, but I was assuming, which could of course be wrong, a fair amount of the noise came from the pipe resting on floor/subfloor, a little spray of Pledge spray wax would help. Not that stinky, and no big deal if it didn't work. If it did work, maybe a little blast once in a while. Or, pull the pipe off the wood, and place a thin piece of plastic something in there to help things slide along.

 

[F4jock]

Or keep it from seeing a big temperature swing.

Don't see how you can do that and still have optimal heating performance but . . . .

 

[maple1]

Don't see how you can do that and still have optimal heating performance but . . . .

You can keep your house just as warm by circulating water that isn't quite as hot, for longer.

Of course, that will also come down to having enough baseboard. Since swapping in an alpha pump & not heating my storage as hot, I usually have to look at a stat or feel a rad to tell if things are heating or not. The 'heating metal' noises have disappeared, house is still cozy. If your heating design specd an amount of baseboard that is on the side of 'just adequate' and based on steady supply of 190° water, more might be needed and is very nice to have.

 

[velvetfoot]

At this point, I'm not looking for any major design changes. Again it's not the "tink tink tink" noises, it's the creaking.

 

[chken]

I'd try the bushing idea, as that's more likely to be a permanent fix as opposed to applying a little pledge. Your pipe coming thru the floor is copper or PEX?

 

[maple1]

Not sure they can still be gotten, but when my baseboard was first installed 20 odd years ago the installers put rubber grommets where pipe came up through the floor. They even have 'slantfin' molded in them. Can you tell exactly where the noises come from? Do you have Slantfin? Another possibility might be where the horizontal runs rest on their supports, under the covers. Piece of pipe insulation might help there. Might help thru the floor too if you can stuff some there. Anything that's buried in the framing you're likely stuck with - but cooler temps will help with all noises not just the 'tink tinks' as they all come from expansion & contraction.

 

[velvetfoot]

Your pipe coming thru the floor is copper or PEX?

Copper

It sounds like pipe on wood to me. I will search for grommets. I'm thinking maybe I could squeeze some teflon tape in there. Making the hole in the wood larger would be too much.

 

[velvetfoot]

Maybe grease of some sort? Silicone?
Silicone caulk is pretty slippery...

 

[ixlr8]

30+ years ago my dad was in the plumbing business. On a few of the high end homes he did, he had some sort of plastic sleeve he put around the pipe where the pipe went thru the joists to prevent this. Seems they were split so you could install them after the fact if you needed to. I have no idea where you could find something like that today. Would the plastic "hats" used to protect the wires in BX cable work? Not sure if you could find them in a large enough diameter.
EDIT: Would these work?
http://www.tnb.com/ps/fulltilt/index.cgi?part=IT104

 

[velvetfoot]

EDIT: Would these work?

I wonder, but not big enough for my 3/4" pipe, I would imagine. Good idea.

 

[woodsmaster]

Don't see how you can do that and still have optimal heating performance but . . . .

By using a mixing valve or outdoor reset. You use only water hot enough to heat the house and circulate continuously or close to it. You might get a little more mixing in storage and that would be the downfall. I dont believe velvetfoot uses storage though.

 

[mike van]

In the electrical world, having copper & aluminum laying together was never done. Sets up some sort of corrosion between the two different metals. I wouldn't have my copper pipes in it, rather have the noise.