Noisy heating pipes from friction

[coustanis]

The copper pipes in my basement that supply the hot water to the radiators are noisy. When the circulation pump fires up and the water in the pipes heat up, the pipes expand. This causes them to creep over the wood 1x2s that supports them. They only move a small amount but the friction gives them a rough ride. It sort of moves, catches, breaks free, moves, catches, etc. This is on a pretty small scale but it's enough to reverberate through the wood in a suprisingly loud and completely annoying popping and creaking sound. Is there a sheet material or type of grease I can put between the pipes and the wood to stop this? The material has to be safe for both copper and CPVC.

Thanks in advance.

[John McGaw]

There are white plastic low-friction sleeves (probably nylon or a close equivalent) which can be inserted to line the holes in wall studs to prevent heating pipes from creaking and groaning. Both homes I had in Alaska had this problem but in neither case was I aggravated quite enough to spend the time/money tearing into walls to eliminate it. In time I learned to ignore it. In your case, if the only problem points are readily accessible you should be able to fix it for a few dollars in ten minutes. A good plumbing supplier should be able to come up with the liners.