# Wood Pecker In Wall or Something Worse!!!?



## Blauvster

So for 2 or 3 days my wife and I have noticed a sound coming from the wall behind our kitchen sink. There are no pipes or plumbing in this wall. We can here the sound the best in the basement under that wall, since the wooden floor is exposed. That is where I recorded the following sound. The wall is an external wall with Al siding.

I am not sure how a woodpecker would be in the wall but is sounds like one. The sound is constant throughout the day and night.

http://homepages.uc.edu/~blauvetr/SoundFromWall.mp3

Any idea what this is, it is driving me nuts!

Thanks in advance for the help!


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## Snav

Hahaha - sounds like your house is haunted  I heard a meniacle laugh and even the sound of eery music - sounds from beyond the grave, perhaps? 

My first thought is that it's not a woodpecker. Woodpeckers have a specific rhythm in their pecking and I don't imagine that a 2x4 wall would be sufficient room. However, your wall might be 2x6 as a lot of kitchen walls are - and if you don't have sufficient pecking-room then that might explain the random lack of rhythm if it's pecking.

It really sounds like a mechanical turn - almost like tumblers in an old lock being manipulated and released. But since your house isn't like that on 13 Ghosts I think you can rule out a mystical portal awaiting you.

Consult an exterminator for removal of the pest - odds are they'll say you have to open the wall to remove. In which case it would be convenient to have the kitchen sink under space as access.

Can you feel vibration on the wall with your hand when it pecks? That can help you find it's exact location if you decide to cut an entrance.


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## fabrk8r

Could be ghosts, but I doubt it. Here, see if this link helps...

http://www.diychatroom.com/f7/clicking-sound-when-hot-water-turned-68586/


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## Blauvster

Thanks for the fast replies! I checked the attic and one bird flew out, banged into the window and flew back up. Opened the window and the bird had a successful trip the second time.

It was black with some gray patterns and had a long narrow beak.

The sound is sadly still there


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## fabrk8r

I'll wager it's a copper pipe that's making the noise. Did you look at the link I posted?

Is your hot water supply to your kitchen sink made of copper and does it go through the floor under the cabinet? 

Good luck!


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## Blauvster

I don't think it is piping. The hot, cold, and drain piping is exposed. And the sound is coming from behind them.


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## fabrk8r

Upon listening to the sound file again, I noticed wind chimes and the sound of wind blowing...does this sound only occur when the wind is blowing?


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## Blauvster

Nope. It happens pretty much all the time since we noticed it. Wind or not. At 1:00am or 1:00pm. This animal or insect is relentless. Although I hope it isn't an insect since the noise is pretty loud.

I am going to open up the wall I think, see what kinda critter doesn't need sleep.


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## DangerMouse

It sounds to me to be electric! An old solenoid attempting to open? Then it resets? Old doorbell perhaps?
Sure is a good mystery! Let us know what you find! PLEASE!!???

DM


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## Blauvster

The transformer for the door bell is directly below where the noise is coming from. Maybe it is something electrical. Would really surprise me though.


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## DangerMouse

I just duplicated the sound with a solenoid here. That's my guess. 
Ain't no woodpecker I'VE ever heard though, so I'm thinking it's not any type of critter.
If it IS a critter, I'd have to guess rat/rodent.

DM


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## fabrk8r

I'm sticking with my original guess that it's pipe expansion and contraction.

One way to prove me wrong is to shut off water heater for a couple hours and see if the noise goes away.


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## DangerMouse

Loose wiring on the doorbell. Does the doorbell still chime/work?

DM


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## mark942

I am with DangerMouse on this one. Sounded like a old typewriter to me, but with out the ding on the end. lol Electrical contacts in a switch IMO seem to be spot on. This one should prove interesting. :thumbsup:


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## Blauvster

I am currently at school, so can't test the doorbell. Would be nice if that is the problem. The relentlessness of it and the same location really make me think that it is something not living.

But the sound itself makes me think it is an animal. And after getting a bird out of a attic earlier today, coincidence?, I really think it is something alive. But have no idea what animal would cause a sound like that for such a long duration.

I have had pet rats in the past and the sound they make when chewing something hard is no where near the same frequency of the sound burst coming from the wall, so I really don't think it is cause by a rodent gnawing away at wood. 

Another interesting fact is the sound seems to be coming from under a window. So it should be a completely framed in area.

Out of curiosity do pipes just randomly start making a constant noise? It shouldnt be pipes because I am 95% sure there are no pipes in the area the noise is coming from. But we haven't lived in the house for more than a year, so who knows maybe something in the wall during the spring makes noises like woodpeckers. :huh:


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## DangerMouse

I'm pretty sure you'll find it's somehow related to the old doorbell. 

DO keep us posted, as we ALL love a good mystery here! (with a happy ending, of course)

DM


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## DangerMouse

the *taptaptap* sounds like a solenoid attempting to open, and eventually doing so, then it lets go......hence the reset sound... *chunk* 

DM


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## Stephen S.

LOL it does sound like a woodpecker but if it were a woodpecker wouldn't it poking non-stop to get the hell outta the wall and should be gone since they make holes real fast. Please keep us posted what you find


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## Yoyizit

Make some banging noises of your own while you hear the rapping 
and see if the noise source is scared into temporary silence.


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## Big Bob

did the feathered intruder look like any of theses?

http://www.thewildlifeporch.com/2009/12/15/common-woodpeckers-in-north-america

Might be a mate that was chasing bugs and got stuck in the wall.

Do you know Morse Code? Sounded like SOS to me. or get me the....
out a here...:huh:


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## fabrk8r

If you're sure it isn't the hot water pipe expanding and contracting, one other thing to check is the vent pipe serving the sink. Can you tell if the vent might be in this wall cavity?

The only reason I keep saying that I think it's plumbing related is because the sound file in your post is exactly the sound a pipe makes when it rubs against wood. :yes:


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## chrisn

fabrk8r said:


> If you're sure it isn't the hot water pipe expanding and contracting, one other thing to check is the vent pipe serving the sink. Can you tell if the vent might be in this wall cavity?
> 
> The only reason I keep saying that I think it's plumbing related is because the sound file in your post is exactly the sound a pipe makes when it rubs against wood. :yes:


I am not a plumber but I do know a little about birds and I would have to agree with the above post. I cannot think it is an animal of any kind. A woodpecker pecks to find insects. I would think it would look elsewhere other than in your wall cavity.:laughing:


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## Blauvster

http://www.diychatroom.com/members/fabrk8r-72582/Fabrk8r, I'm sorry I doubted you! I am pretty sure it is something to do with the plumbing. I filled up a bowl for our dogs in stationary tub located in the basement, and when I turned the water off a sound came from that same location . Not the same sound, but a sound none the less. So in further investigation I noticed I could stop the tap-tap-tap sound by relieving pressure in the line. So the question is now, what can I do to reduce this sound? And what would cause this sudden constant irritation? It is pretty audible, I can hear it pretty much anywhere in the house and in the backyard.


The bird that flew out of the attic wasn't any type of woodpecker I have seen. It was pretty much plain black and had a long narrow beak. It must just have been a coincidence :yes:. That and as many people have said it doesn't make sense for a bird to be in the wall.


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## DangerMouse

If it IS a pipe, you'll need to open the wall anyways and lock it in place.

DM


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## fabrk8r

If it is "water hammer" the first thing to do is check your home's water pressure. This can easily be done by connecting a water pressure gauge, available at any hardware store or home center, to a convenient tap. I usually use an outside hose bib. If your water pressure is excessive...anything over about 80psi is too much...you will need to see if you already have a PRV (pressure reducing valve) on your incoming water supply.

Check those things first and then let me know what you find. :whistling2:


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## Blauvster

I think I have solved the mystery!

The only variable I have changed since last fall, a variable I didn't take into consideration, is the water line that runs outside. I attached a hose to it and left pressure to it and the 2 valves open.

My guess is there was some sort of oscillation of pressure caused by slight changes in water pressure throughout the neighborhood. Which was then harmonically amplified through the semi-elastic hose. I had to do some work on the wall that contains the line connected to the hose. The pipe runs very snuggly through a few 2x4s. For some reason the sound seems to be projected up into the wall above, which contains no pipes :huh:. I noticed it was louder in the day, which would make sense with this theory, as the hose is more elastic when it is warm. And the hose is directly in the sun for most of the day.

No sounds since I closed the valves and revealed the pressure. :thumbup:

Thanks for your help everyone! I sure am glad I didn't open up the wall!


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## fabrk8r

Well, that was easy!

Glad you solved the mystery. :thumbup:

No animals were harmed in the posting of this thread.


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## chanlondon

Hi,

I've just moved into a house and this problem was in the bathroom. Loud clicking noise every now and again. We thought it was a woodpecker until pest control said unlikely as we don't get them in this area. (Austin TX). After a few weeks of this noise, I was standing in the bathroom when it happened again and was just about to bang on the wall to scare said 'thing' away and I saw the electrical socket vibrate. I then googled this and there is lots of info on the net.


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