Noisy Bathroom Pipes

[Paul1977]

Hello

We had a bathroom installed a few months back. We moved the toilet, sink and bath around into a better position but nothing extra added or taken away.

For weeks we had gurgling noises, like air coming up through the pipes at set times on an evening, between 9.30 and 10pm. Tried to contact the original plumber but to no avail.

Anyway, it turns out that we get this noise in our pipes when the elderly next door neighbour is running her sink just before going to bed. I can hear her as her bathroom is backed onto ours.

Is there any reason we are getting this, what I can only really describe as air coming through our pipes and making a popping noise at our bath plug, and is there anything I can do about it?

Thanks in advance

Paul

 

[dextrous]

Have you a shared soil stack for some reason?

 

[Paul1977]

Bear with me as I'm not totally sure what the soil stack is.
If it is, in my naivety, what I would call a soil pipe?, the large pipe heading up to above the roof then no, it is one on each side.

However, thinking on it, there does appear to be one "drain" between the two bathrooms. It sits on the boundary of both properties, so does the inspection lid.

Would this be shared? I am assuming by the location of it it takes the waste water away?

 

[dextrous]

Bear with me as I'm not totally sure what the soil stack is.
If it is, in my naivety, what I would call a soil pipe?, the large pipe heading up to above the roof then no, it is one on each side.

However, thinking on it, there does appear to be one "drain" between the two bathrooms. It sits on the boundary of both properties, so does the inspection lid.

Would this be shared? I am assuming by the location of it it takes the waste water away?

Soil stack has the same meaning as soil pipe in this case.

Not quite sure by what you're calling a "drain" if there's a problem with terminology. Do you mean inspection chamber (manhole)? Also, how are the wastepipes dealt with - do they connect into the vertical soilpipes outside?

If so, then it may be that the manhole lid needs taking up as there may be a blockage of some kind. Your neighbour running water into it via her own wastepipe may be filling it up, thus forcing air back up into your wastepipes, thus blowing through the traps in your bathroom. This shouldn't really happen if the soil stack is ventilated at roof level, but it's the first place I'd be inclined to look.

 

[JayJay1978]

Hi Paul

You say this has only happend since you had you're new bathroom?

Something must be common to both properties and it may be that the old lady next door now has the same problem.

Why wont the plumber come back, was he reputable?

 

[Paul1977]

Thanks for the responses.

The soil pipe is the other side of the house from the bathroom, and I honestly can't see how it would link up with the sewerage pipe. I think it would be easier of I took a quick photo this weekend of what I mean. I find it difficult to explain things in writing.


Paul

 

[dextrous]

The soil pipe will run underground into the sewerage pipe. If you lift the manhole cover, then you can get rods along this run to help clear any blockage.