I recently bought a house so I can't comment on history, but our plumbing has a water hammer that occurs when shutting off any faucet in the house. The hammer is delayed about 0.5-1 sec after turning off a faucet (or toilet, or appliance).
Many of the pipes are pretty loose from what I've been able to access. I don't know if there is a pressure regulator on the main line. I've tried 'emptying the lines' in case the house does have air chambers, but that made no difference.
Most postings seem to focus on specific faucets or appliances causing the hammer, where as I have an overall hammer .... doesn't matter what is turning off. The hammer doesn't happen if we slowly close a valve or when some other faucet is running.
What would be my next step? How do I know if the house has a pressure regulator? Is there an easy pressure test I can do? Install a gauge on a water line? Find, fix, install main water regulator? What would a main regulator (installed) cost?
Greg