anyone live in an old house?

Question

I am currently renting a basement since I am in college. its not THAT old of a house, but its not new neither..and the bedroom is right next to...some sort of closet type room, that i'm guessing is used for the heating system cause I see metal boxes and pipes.

anyway, from time to time I hear this "whump" sound that freaks me out big time, I always get the impression that the pipes are about to explode or someting. what I want to know is, is it going to explode?

Answer 1

it is pretty common in older houses when the older furnace kicks on it makes that whump sound. Sometimes very loudly , especially in a basement, where the sound will echo or sound kind of 'hollow'. It is not going to blow up. Most basements have a variety of creepy noises coming from just about every where.

Answer 2

Don't worry about it. You are living in the basement, where the heating and plumbing branch out from to the rest of the building. Usually the "whump" sound is from the water heater(s). This is normal. You will get used to it after a while.

Some boiler heating systems also make a sound similar to someone rapping on the pipes with a hammer, usually means the system has air in it and needs to be purged (really old), but this is far from the "whump" sound!

Answer 3

I would ask for reduced rent to put up with the pings, pongs, thuds, bangs, bumps, floor stompings, bugs, rattles, scratches (mice), whomps, whumps, gurgles (pipes), swooshes, creaks, cold and dampness, cracking sounds and any other real or imagined happenings and sounds

Answer 4

It's likely the burner of the furnace igniting. As long as the flames are a blue colour, everything should be fine. But it sure doesn't hurt to get it checked, every year or two.

Answer 5

don't worry its just the boiler kicking in