Shaking pipes may require expansion tank

Q. We own a 5-year-old, two-story home. In the summer of 2008, every time we ran water in our first-floor bathroom, the pipes would make a terribly loud sound along with a vibrating noise. As time went on, the problem escalated to the point that even using the hose outside caused the sound. We went into the basement, and the source of the noise appeared to come from where our pipes connected to the water meter. We called a plumber, and he replaced the pressure valve and the problem went away. This sound is now back. We contacted the plumber, and his explanation was that we probably need a new pressure valve. Another person mentioned that it might be a problem with air in the lines. We are not sure what approach to take to correct this problem. Any ideas? A. Just in case the noise is caused by air in the lines, ask your plumber to install a small expansion tank on the water line on the house side of the water meter. It must be an expansion tank for domestic water and not for a hydronic (heating) system. Domestic expansion tanks are set for pressures between 40 and 50 pounds, whereas tanks for hydronic systems are set for 12 to 15 pounds. If that solves the problem, there should be no need to replace the pressure-reducing valve, as it should last a lot longer than two years.My submersible pump of about 45 years was replaced about five years ago with a new one. When this was done, the plumber told me that because of required environmental changes in the packing and lubricating materials now used, it would last approximately six to seven years. Is this correct information? Should I replace it based on its age? Or is there some way to check it to determine when it's time for a replacement? The cost to replace it the last time was about $1,500. A. The new regulations that your plumber is referring to addresses the oil that used to be the lubricant of the older pumps. Over time, the oil could leak and pollute the well water. But now, the water running through them lubricates new submersible pumps. Unless your well pump is hit by lightning or your water is gritty, your pump should last a lot longer than six to seven years.I am writing in regards to a squeaky-floor question. I live in a 2-year-old ranch house (2,450 square feet). We have carpet in the bedrooms and a living room and 3/4-inch oak floors in the kitchen, dining room and great room. The problem is that we have passed our one-year warranty and have many squeaks in the floors throughout the house. The contractor did some work to alleviate some of the problem. They put down 3/4-inch plywood for the subfloor and glued to the joists. We have an unfinished basement the length of the house and have access from below. I have seen that you recommend some screws before for this problem, but I don't remember what they are. How do they work? Are they to be used from above or below, etc.? I would prefer to get this problem rectified from the basement. Would regular wood screws driven into the joist and into the subfloor work? A. You have the ideal situation for working from the basement. You can use the Squeak-Ender by EE Engineering. A plate is screwed to the subfloor after a threaded rod is inserted through its center hole. A bracket through which the rod is inserted is screwed to the floor joist, and a washer and nut are tightened to stop the squeak. You can check it out online at www.squeakender.com, and you should be able to get it at Home Depot. You will need only a few, as each can handle a large floor area.Algae or some type of mold has been appearing on my roof for the past several years. The roof is gray shingles, and the mold is on the side facing northeast. We have been in the house for more than 50 years and never had a problem before. Has the material in the shingles changed over the years? Is there a recommended treatment? The current roof was installed in 1995. A. Algae will grow when the right conditions of humidity and poor drying are present. Northern and northeast exposures are typical candidates for the growth of algae, because they do not get enough sun exposure and the melting snow, rain and dew do not dry fast enough. A slow fix is to install zinc or copper strips just below the cap shingles or, if you have a ridge vent, just below it. You can buy zinc strips from Shingle Shield or StainhandleR from RainhandleR's website at www.rainhandler.com. It will take a long time for the cleaning effect to show. Please remember that it is dangerous to walk on a roof, particularly if it is wet or even damp. It's a job best left to people experienced in working on roofs - building contractors and roofers. Walking on a roof can also void any warranty left on your roof, although these warranties leave much to be desired and can be hard to collect on. For a speedier cleanup, the roof can be sprayed with a solution of three parts fresh Clorox bleach to one part water, using a garden sprayer. One gallon of the solution will cover 50 square feet of roof. Spray from a ladder on a windless day, but do not use so much solution as to cause a substantial runoff. If you have metal gutters, run water from a garden hose during the spraying. Before starting to spray, cover all vegetation below the roof with plastic after wetting it thoroughly. Do not rinse the roof, but rinse the plastic and soak the vegetation when done with the roof.We live in a custom-built home (2005) that has approximately 4,300 square feet of living space. We are in the Chicago area, so we get all four seasons of the year and the winters can be extremely cold. My concern is the family room. It has a vaulted ceiling that is 17 feet high. The section of roof on the east side of the room has the ceiling and roof rafters directly connected and seems to be well insulated from what I can see from the attic. On this side of the roof, there are no vents in outside eaves and there are three outside roof vents that cover the north half of the family room. From the middle of the room to the south end, there are no outside roof vents. The issue is that the paper they used to support the joint compound in the family-room ceiling is coming loose from the base. This happened the first year we were in the house, and the builder came in and repaired the loose area. They did a good repair; however, two years later the problem reappeared. I'd like to fix this problem once and for all. My gut instinct leads me to believe that moisture is causing the problem from the inside of the room. But I'm not sure whether that is correct or how to solve the problem. We have a ceiling fan in the room, and I've been running it all year long thinking that if I keep the air circulating, the moisture won't build up. I have also adjusted the humidifiers to a proper level, according to the furnace repairman. I have no moisture buildup whatsoever on any of my windows, for instance. I am also considering adding three more external roof vents to cover the ventilation in the attic for the north side of the room. I am not sure if I am wasting my money on this idea. A. Looking at your photos, I not only see a ceiling fan but also several can lights. The recurring damage to the drywall tape at the joints between the different ceiling planes tells me that warm, moist air is penetrating the rafter spaces, and that you have a considerable moisture problem in the roof assembly. Running the fan in winter mode (air blowing upward) could make matters worse by pushing the air through the recessed cans. If I am right, you may be facing far worse problems: structural damage and carpenter-ant infestation. You should investigate further by having the builder or someone else open up the ceiling in a couple of areas to see what is going on. If this turns out to be the issue, you may have to remove the entire ceiling and the fiberglass insulation, which I presume was used. After the sheathing, rafters and joists have dried up, seriously consider insulating with closed-cell polyurethane foam sprayed onto the sheathing. Do not use open-cell urethane foam, as it is not impervious to the passage of moisture. The closed-cell foam will effectively be an air barrier and vapor retarder that will prevent condensation within these cavities. If your exploration shows that the cavities are dry, the problem may be due to a poor tape job, but that seems far-fetched, since the taping failure is only found in those areas. bull; Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. Write to him in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or via e-mail at henridemarne@gmavt.net.#169; 2009, United Feature Syndicate Inc.