What’s this sound in my walls?
December 24, 2024 6:37 AM   Subscribe

I have a condo. This sound happens only periodically. It seems to happen around the microwave, then up to the light and elsewhere. Video inside

Video is here

(Turn it up, it’s quiet at first. There’s a fire crackling sound on the TV, I am talking about the rattling/whirring sound that soon overtakes it)

Another take

I think it might be an electrical issue? I know some of the wiring in this place is unusual.

Nothing was on except the TV and hvac. My neighbour wasn’t making noise or using a blender or anything , it was quiet at almost 2 am.

This is a LEED building.

The weird wiring things:

• ⁠bathroom fan switch wiring is apparently strange, asked Home Hardware and they’d never seen anything like it, cannot hook up any new model
• ⁠bottom plug on one wall outlet doesn’t work
• ⁠when the cable people came to hook up wiring for the TV/Internet, they said they’d never seen anything like it before
posted by cotton dress sock to Home & Garden (6 answers total)
 
It's difficult to tell from the video, but is the microwave one of the over-the-stove models that vent outside? If so, could it be airflow in the ducts causing vibrations? Your HVAC is sucking in air and pushing out air and if that microwave vent isn't in perfect shape, I can see how that rattling sound might occur.

I am not a handy person, but I do live in a house that exhibits strange sounds due to winds.
posted by kimberussell at 6:55 AM on December 24 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: It is one of those models. I’ll ask to see if it vents outside and update.
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:15 AM on December 24 [1 favorite]


That sounds like a vibration, possibly due to some kind of ventilation fan that is unbalanced. It does not sound like an electrical issue at all.

LEED building and weird bathroom fan situation suggests to me that you have a heat recovery ventilator providing fresh air, which could be a source of vibrations. In any case, I'd investigate all air vents within the unit and try to figure out where they vent to and how. Understanding the ventilation system is likely to make it easier to figure out what's going on.
posted by ssg at 8:07 AM on December 24 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: Waiting for a reply about where things vent to. ssg, you’re right, it’s an HRV system. Noting also that it wasn’t very windy at the time, wind was at around 10km/hr/7mph.
posted by cotton dress sock at 8:39 AM on December 24


Do you have an upstairs neighbor? This sounds like a washing machine spin cycle shaking the shared walls/floor.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:49 AM on December 24


My floor used to make a noise like this when the furnace was on. It turned out to be a rigid metal duct that had broken free from its strap and was vibrating against the wall. I agree with the others that it is unlikely to be electrical in nature, although there's a slim outside possibility that it's a second-order effect of an electrical fault, like a fan that's running wrong.
posted by dbx at 9:01 AM on December 24 [2 favorites]


« Older Christmas week in Helsinki   |   Where can I order small (~1.5") fake scenery... Newer »

You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments