A Couple of Things - If you can advise

[Rigger]

Hi,

I have a couple of little things i would welcome advise on.

1. My pipes in the house have started to make a banging noise when i have a shower/fill the sink - any ideas?

1. I removed a gas fire (gas isolated by Corgi registred fitter) and would like advise on how to brick it up, do i leave any gaps (i read this once) or do i brick it up completly. There is nothing inside the old gap (no pipes) and i do not wish to use it again. It is a proper chimney.

2. Lastly, i live in a 3-bedroom Bungalow, the wiring is dated as is the fuse boxes (1970's). Any indication how much a re-wiring and new fuse boxes should cost. Rough guide would be useful.

MANY THANKS

[Owain]

Air in pipes. Drain and refill from lowest point.

Cap off the top of the chimney with an airbrick on the stack. Airbrick required at bottom, if the chimney is on an outside wall you can ventilate through to the outside.

£2-3k, depending on lots of things.

Owain

[R]

Water hammer from a ballvalve or similar in the system, assuming the tap that's making the noise is fed from a tank

I'd leave an air brick at the base to one side to prevent dampness

How long is a piece of string? Might be worth asking locally for some free quotes

[Andrew Gabriel]

If the fireplace is on an outside wall, put an air brick in the back of the fireplace to the outside instead of the inside, as this will avoid the flue sucking heat from the room.

A properly installed 1970's installation should not need completely replacing. The wiring accessories (sockets, switches, ceiling roses, fusebox) may be worn or dated and need replacement, but the wiring should still be sound unless it's been badly abused. Replacing the accessories and adding additional sockets to meet today's expectations should be a lot cheaper and a lot less messy than a complete rewire.

[Lurch]

On 19 Mar 2007 19:47:01 GMT, [e-mail] (Andrew Gabriel) mused:

Possibly. I've done jobs before now where the customer has been adamant they don't want a rewire so have spent more on adding bits to the existing installation than it would have cost for a full rewire.

Depends on the spec really and how much extra equipment wants to be installing. I'd go with the piece of string option.

[meow2222]

70s installs are usually basically sound, with a few bits needing tidying up, though certainly some will be so bodged and insufficient that complete replacement can be best at times.

[Oh dear]

Either increase or decrease the pressure slightly by adjusting the stopcock. This has worked for me on several occasions.

[Lurch]

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 09:54:25 -0000, "Oh dear" mused:

Opening\closing the stopcock alters flow. Pressure would remain about the same, this is why you get pressure reducing valves. Flow reducing valves is a long word for tap.

[Rigger]

SORRY to everyone who contributed excellent guidance on the problems i posted. I have been away hence the delay, just wanted to THANK you all for taking the time to respond.

[adder1969]

..but it would reduce the dynamic/flow pressure to some extent.

[Nick]

It never ceases to amaze me why people think that shutting a tap down to e.g."half open", reduces the pressure. Sure, in a dynamic state, flow will be reduced and pressure will be reduced to varying degrees depending on the draw or flow, but pressure will be the same under static conditions, and may well be fairly similar under small flow rates.

Nick

[Steven Campbell]

Did you manage to sort it and if so how?

[Neal]

The OP said "1. My pipes in the house have started to make a banging noise when i have a shower/fill the sink - any ideas? "

So he is talking about dynamic conditions. And I think the guy who suggested adjusting the stopcock knew that. Are you suggesting that his solution cannot work? If so, why not?