New home's 'noises' won't be easy to silence

Q. We live in a 16-month-old house. There are noises coming from pipes in two areas: the water heater - a few thumps happen each time water starts to flow; and the furnace - two pipes go from the furnace up through the ceiling, and there is a lot of creaking going on when the furnace is on, which is most of the winter here in the Chicago area. These noises are driving us nuts. How do you suggest we tackle them? The builder has ignored our complaints. Is there some other type of supplier we can hire to tackle this?

A. There is some restriction where the pipes go through framing, and the pipes are rubbing when expanding. Unfortunately, to insert some cushions, some walls or ceilings may need to be opened.

A licensed HVAC contractor is the person to call.

Q. I am hoping you can help with this problem. We have a Pella storm door on the front of the house, in addition to a steel door with a small window. The storm door has the attached screen that rolls up and down with the window.

The storm door freezes over completely with the extremely cold weather and has been doing this for the last several years. It did not do this when it was originally installed. The front of the house faces west, so it does get more wind.

I have changed the weatherstripping around the steel door several times, but it hasn't solved the problem.

We have the same storm door in the back of the house with a different type of steel door and have no problems with the storm door freezing. It will get frosty when the steel door is open but that goes away when the steel door is closed.

Obviously, there must be warm air escaping somewhere, but I can't seem to figure out where. Any assistance on this problem would be deeply appreciated.

A. Have you checked the door's bottom weatherstripping? These plastic pieces break off after a while, which would allow warm air to bypass the main door.

Q. We are experiencing problems related to extremely cold conditions here in Pittsburgh. We'd like your advice regarding the issue of condensation occurring in the eaves of the roof where the bathroom heater/fan vents.

The condensation travels from the eaves down around the window and continues along the exterior wall forming thick ice, which is, of course, a potential ice dam scenario. (In fact, water did enter the house as a result of this ice dam last winter.)

While I am aware that more insulation is necessary, I am not confident that this action alone will solve the problem of the vented bathroom air. What do I need to do, specifically, to address condensation at the attic eaves to avoid the formation of ice and subsequent melting, which could very likely enter indoors?

Thank you for your time with this frustrating problem. I have been unable to convey my specific concerns to insulation contractors who are quick to advise more insulation without attention to the more significant problem.

A. In cold climates, bathroom fan vents should not discharge in eaves or through a wall just below eaves. Doing so causes the problems you are experiencing.

Bathroom fans should not be vented through roofs, into the attic, through gable vents or ridge vents. They should be vented through a gable wall, with the duct lying on the attic joists and covered with insulation to reduce the problem of condensation. This means that you may have to redirect the duct's course.

The ideal bathroom vent is a Schedule 20 bell-end PVC pipe. The bell-ends should face the fan, and it is best to slant the pipe slightly toward the outside by placing small blocks of diminishing size wood under the pipe to facilitate condensation running to the outside. Terminate the vent with a plastic or aluminum hooded wall jack. Avoid louvered jacks, as the louvers are prone to breakage, which would not only admit cold air, but also could be an entry point for unwelcome vermin.

The vent should be insulated as follows: Snug R-15 batts on each side and on top of the pipe to reduce condensation.

Q. We live in an 1850s farmhouse in the Champlain Valley that has been renovated over the years, including two modern bathrooms with sewer gas vents going out through the roof above each.

The problem we have is that each winter these stacks frost over, especially on cold days with blowing snow. We get a lot of cold wind here. The gas then backs up into the house, making the place pretty unpleasant smelling. One stack I can reach by ladder and clear out, but that is not a great solution.

Can we modify these stacks to stop them from frosting over or put some sort of vent on our septic tank so that it vents out of that instead?

A. The stack vents are probably undersized, as was common in those days.

If there is access to the attic, a licensed plumbing contractor should be able to increase the size of the vents to 4 inches, starting at the floor level and going through the roof.

Q. I have one main bathroom in my home and have an ongoing problem with mold developing underneath the caulking. The place where I have the major problem is along the entire front of the tub into the corner underneath the spigots.

On numerous occasions I've had the caulking removed and redone because of this problem. I have tried using bleach to no avail. There is both a window and an exhaust fan in the bathroom.

A. It is likely that the caulking is regular silicone, which is prone to mildewing. The mildewed caulking will need to be stripped off and all remnants thoroughly removed. You can do so with special caulk removers, such as McKanica 0351 Silicone Caulk Remover Gel by Neutraders LLC, which you can buy from Amazon. An 8 oz. cartridge will cost you less than $20, including shipping.

Use a caulking made for baths and kitchens that contains a mildewcide, such as DAP Kwik Seal 3.0 Advanced Caulk With Microban. It's silicone-based and advertised as mildew-proof. I have tried it and it did remain a bright white.

Q. Since moving into our new house two months ago, the floor of our second-floor, fiberglass, one-piece tub/shower unit moves and squeaks. I contacted the construction foreman, who at first didn't believe me until he saw and heard the problem for himself. He felt it wouldn't hurt anything, but, after consulting with three different suppliers of these units, they unanimously agreed it could and would be a problem - the floor of the tub could crack and/or leak around the drain, and should probably be replaced.

The foreman felt the tub was installed correctly, showing me similar units currently under construction. Nevertheless, the problem remains. His solution is to open the wall behind the tub to see what he can find. That entails setting up scaffolding to reach that part of the wall.

I spoke to the owner of the construction company and he gave me some story about the kiln-dried wood picking up moisture during construction, and as it's drying the tub is moving. Once it is thoroughly dry, in May, the problem should be eliminated. Meanwhile, all the caulking is cracking and cracks are starting to appear in the drywall next to the tub, and the tub is still creaking and squeaking and moving. Your thoughts?

A. That the problem is due to the lumber drying, and you are told that the situation will be corrected when the wood continues to dry, makes no sense to me. If the tub unit was installed on a swollen, wet floor, (and is now floating because the wood is drying), the problem should get worse as the wood dries more.

If the floor's framing lumber is drying, the entire floor system shrinks and the tub should go down with it. A problem can develop if the pipes are copper, and there is no room for the water pipes and drain system to move with the rest of the structure. Plastic piping is flexible.

There is a serous risk of the tub floor cracking. The suppliers are correct: It needs to be fixed.

The foreman has offered a solution, which seems pretty drastic, but may be the only way if the tub unit cannot be removed from inside and plywood slipped under the tub to secure it solidly.

From a reader: We had mysterious leakage near our chimney for many years. It was finally stopped when we installed a cricket, or saddle, on the roof between the chimney and the sloping roof. The chimney was more than 3 feet wide, and water would pool along the junction between the roof and the chimney and find its way through, no matter how well it was flashed (or how far the flashing was carried away from the chimney). The cricket eliminates every level place and solved our problem.

A. Thank you for relating your experience. All chimneys going through a roof below the roof's ridge should have a cricket. The builder should have known that.

• Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. His book, "About the House," is available at www.upperaccess.com. His website is www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to henridemarne@gmavt.net, or mail First Aid for the Ailing House, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

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