Kitchen Renovation - Now Pipes Shudder

We just had some kitchen renovation done, adding lighting cans to the ceiling. The contractor had to reroute some of the waterlines that were run up there to make room for the lighting fixtures. Only thing is, now the pipes make a kind of loud shudder when the kitchen faucet is turned off. Didn't used to happen. What's the cause of it and what can we do about it?

Reply to
Fleemo
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was the kitchen faucet replaced with a different unit? or just the can lights?

add water hammer arrestors at the hot & cold angle stops under the sink

turn the water off more slowly when using the kitchen since

have the contractor property restrain the re-routed pipes

cheers Bob

Reply to
DD_BobK

No other plumbing was touched except for the pipes that needed to be rerouted. They were cut, moved, resoldered. Now they shudder.

What's the best way to restrain them?

Thanks.

Reply to
Fleemo

Cuffs and leg irons?

Reply to
Bob F

are the pipes accessible? ie in an attic?

if they are accessible I would use a stock tubing clamp

cheers Bob

Reply to
DD_BobK

clamp them down, some wrap rubber around the lines at the clamps

Reply to
hallerb

No, don't drive a nail through the pipe to secure it. *snicker* I've seen it done and the culprit was very puzzled by the result.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

I think what you have is called air hammer or pipe hammer?, Its common to extend a piece of capped pipe up 12" at the sink plumbing area to make a "air bumper" , ones you buy are mechanical and will eventualy fail. A air bumper I think its called just cushions the shock of turning off the water. Mine are behind the wall and standard to do by a plumber here. You city code dept will tell you if its mandatory or recomended so you wont have to pay to get it fixed. If you see its going to cost you you can still get a permit and they will make him fix anything that fails. Point is you paid for a good functioning job and didnt get one. If a guy missed that I would want everything verified as correct and to code. Getting a permit is always thought of as a wastefull tax by homeowners, im a contractor, people I hire try to rip me off every day and permits and free inspections catch what I miss. A permit gets you free inspections to cover you from being ripped off in the first place. Next job, get a permit and dont pay till it passes, is normal business practice.

Reply to
ransley

If you didnt pay him yet dont, if you did stop payment if you can, you paid for a proper job, you didnt get it.

Reply to
ransley

Use more pipe straps and add a hammer arrestor. An expansion tank will help to protect valves and pipes. Or, you can learn to turn the water off slowly.

Reply to
Phisherman

I've seen references suggesting that "arresters" are not code anymore. Is this true? Anyone know why?

Reply to
Bob F

Mark-

Air chambers...a length of pipe extended some distance above the angle stop location to act as a pressure pulse absorber have a couple shortcomings;

They need to be rather tall to retain useful air space, when they go from atmospheric pressure to system pressure they can lose over 75% of the initial air space depending on system pressure.

the air in the air chamber eventually gets absorbed into the water & the air gap goes away requiring them to "drained" ....an easy process but most homeowners wont do it.

"mechanical" water hammer arrestors do eventually do wear out but the piston style ones made by Sioux are guaranteed for the life of the plumbing system and were tested to verify life beyond 500, cycles without failure and are rated for concealed installation. Despite this guarantee and testing, I prefer to install them such that they can be easily unscrewed and replaced.

air chambers or water hammer arrestors all aim to add "distributed compliance" to the plumbing system; a "soft element" not unlike a car's shock absorber or an energy absorbing bumper.

OP- I would suggest that before you get too heavy handed with the guy who did the work......just give him a call and see what he says about the problem. If he's a stand up guy and you didnt hire him solely on price (did you?) and you didnt beat him down on price as well.......I'd bet that he'll take care of the problem.

If the piping is sealed up into a space with no current access....well, then this might be a bit more problematic.

please let us know how this all resolves

here is is a pretty good discussion of water hammer & the remedies

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scroll down about 1/3 of the page & click on Water Hammer topic

cheers Bob

Reply to
DD_BobK

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