Gas boiler and neighbour problem

[Fred]

Hi all,

A friend of mine has a terraced house and in the bathroom airing cupboard is a combi boiler fixed to next doors wall and apparently it is making a noise akin to an aeroplane when it's on and the old dear can't sleep at night due to the noise. The other night her son was pounding on her door and shouting obscenities at her to turn it off. The boiler was already installed when she moved in 8 months ago. When the boiler is running I can hardly hear it in the bathroom so I can't imagine it's as loud as they claim next door. Is there anything that can be done to quieten it down without major work and cost?

Thanks.

[Mike]

Sounds like it's a single skin wall, the boiler is attached to the wall and the sound is being transmitted through the wall.

If there has been no change to the noise made by the boiler it could be that there was a piece of furniture or fitted wardrobes that were muffling the sound and they have been moved. It could also be she has only just started using the room as a bedroom or she has got a new hearing aid ;-)

Assuming the boiler is working properly I doubt there is a cheap solution. Even a new boiler wouldn't necessarily be quieter.

Mike

[the_constructor]

Buy her some earplugs

[Andrew Gabriel]

Someone needs to go next door to work out which part of the boiler is making the noise which is coming through. It could be a noisy fan or pump which might be fixed by changing it, or a pipe or other component vibrating against the wall which could be fixed by packing it. Might turn out not to be the boiler at all, but something else.

[malc]

Good advice. Try and keep it friendly. Show them that you are making an attempt to live with them and hopefully they'll calm down. At least then you can find out if they're just being malicious or if there is a genuine problem.