Floor knock sound next to steam heating pipe

binary

Hi All,

I live in an approx 100 year old building. The building uses steam heat. My apartment have 4 heating pipes going through it to the floors above and below. 2 of them gives me outlet that I can attach radiator to. I have 0 radiator connected to the pipe outlets at this point.



My question is this: everytime the steam heat comes on (i guess there is a timer) and when the pipes warm up, I can hear the floor from only 1 of the pipe knocking, it sounds like a hammer or wrench knocking on the floor, a non-metal sound. The knocking noise will last about 30 seconds and goes away.



I have a type of floor that is bamboo fused with resin, a very hard type of floor.



Any advise at this point will be appreciated.

Hap_Hazzard

Knocking out the knock

It sounds like the pipe is binding on the flooring or the subflooring, so when it gets hot and expands, it can't slide through smoothly, so it's doing it in installments. Since it's difficult to enlarge the hole while it has a pipe going through it, your best bet is to try to lubricate it.



The best option, if it will work, is to wrap a piece of PTFE thread sealant tape around the pipe and work it into the gap, but you can only do this if there's a little wiggle room. Otherwise your options are powdered graphite and talcum powder.



I prefer talc because, well, graphite is black, and unless the pipe and floor are black, it's going to look bad. If you have any baby powder, first make sure it's actually talc. A lot of baby powder is made from corn starch--good for babies, not good for this sort of thing. Sprinkle it around the base of the pipe and try to brush it into the gap, then let it work its way in when the pipe starts moving. You may need to repeat this a couple times each year.

ChrisJ

Milk Bottle

I prefer the milk bottle method.



Cut a strip out of a plastic milk bottle and slip it inbetween the pipe and the wood.  This lubricates it and allows the pipe to move freely without popping.

binary

thank you

guys thank you so much for the feedback.

does any of you service the nyc area?