Water Hammer in Doorman Building

Ron Schroeder

just a thought did the water hammer start with the renovations ie before or after, as they take out radiation in other units and system gets smaller you now in effect have an oversized boiler.

jenbooks

water hammer bad

I posted here a little while back. I can't sleep because of the clanging and banging of pipes in both my bedrooms in my apt. I've been sleeping in the livingroom instead, which does not have the noise. I live at 95th and Riverside, a 75 year old building with 268 apartments that is undergoing extensive demolition and renovation as it is converting to a high end condominium (about half the apartments are empty/renovated, and half are rent stabilized or controlled tenants) and is being exclusively handled by Corcoran. A new boiler was installed some years ago without a problem, but recently, I understand they have been installing new gas lines in the basement, partly for the laundry room. I'm not sure if they have insulated the pipes or not. In addition, there has been a lot of demolition in general in the building, and the renovated apartments will be on a different system which is heating/air conditioning return, set into the walls of the renovated apartments, and so I have no idea exactly how they do this, and if it is electric heat or what. In any case, the two bedrooms in my particular line, and below me (and probably above me but 3 apartments directly above me are renovated), have constant banging, not only during the night but when it is very cold, periodically in the day. I asked repeatedly for help from the management and they brought a plumber in on Thursday, working in the basement I assume, because they needed a warm day in which they could turn off the boiler. That night (Thursday) was relaetively warm I guess, but completley quiet. But yesterday when the temperature dropped it all started again so I don't know if it was coincidence.

I have downloaded the information from this site on all the possible causes of water hammer. I need to find out from management what the plumber did but perhaps they tried to bleed the air out of the pipes. Since this problem is a new one and I've been here 10 years without any previous noise like that, I'm wondering what the possible causes could be, since its clearly due to the renovation but who knows what. From what I read it could be anything from overfiring the boiler to uninsulated pipes to improper pitch to needing drip valves etc. Many causes ! I desperately need some help though and does anyone have advice as to who might be hired who is expert in this, in case the plumber they used perhaps isn't expert (though it seems all plumbers who work with boilers should be able to fix this and know how?)

Thanx in advance.

jenbooks

Yes, it started after the renovations. But since I don't hear it in my livingroom, but in the bedrooms (which are on either side of the bathroom, and on the wall overlooks the courtyard, as this building is shaped like a "U" with two entrances, it would seem I should hear it in the livingroom too. Also my neighbor across from me does not hear it in his apartment. But the neighbor in the apartment 4 floors above me CAN hear it. I appreciate your help, any thoughts are much appreciated.

JohnNY

Have you brought this up to the building engineer?
Corcoran is a very large company and I'm sure they are well-prepared to deal with this type of issue.
If not, they can always call me.

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jenbooks

Thanx. I do believe it would be of concern to Corcoran if people purchase the condo apartments, which run as high as 4 million, and in some apartments owners hear the banging pipes. But they may not be aware of it yet and I want to work with the building management to see if can be solved. They tried something on Thursday with the plumber but I don't yet know what it was, or why it didn't work. Maybe they bled air out of the pipes but that was not the problem, who knows. Thanx for your reference and I will keep it on file!