To want to know what this bloody noise is?

[TammySwansonTwo]

Help me MN. I'm going a bit bonkers.

Bought our house in July. Shortly afterwards my husband asked me if I'd heard "that weird noise". I hadn't and thought he was messing around.

Then one night I was up in the middle of the night feeding the babies and went to the loo - I heard what sounded like a neighbour drilling through a wall. Told my DH and he said "no, that's the weird noise - doesn't seem to be coming from the neighbour's".

I've heard it on and off, day and night, since then. Seems to last about a minute and then abruptly stops. Just heard it again and now it's really starting to annoy me. I only ever hear it in the bathroom which is upstairs at the back of the house, and joined to one neighbour's house. It doesn't seem to be coming through the wall though, it's too loud for that.

I'm worried it's something weird in our house or garden but I can't figure it out (if it were coming from our house it would have to be from under the bathroom floor or outside.

I haven't started keeping track of times I hear it yet, but will probably do that now.

What could it be? Anyone heard anything similar and figured out what it is? It's so weird!

[Missonihoni]

OMGGGGGGGG

This happened to me

It's your neighbour a bathroom fan !!! Mine has it to it drives me fucking mental.

[GoingRogue]

A drilling noise you say? How loud? Is it just on the one wall? Deffo start keeping a diary!

[GoingRogue]

I thought bathroom fan at first, but surely that wouldn't sound like drilling?! More like humming.

[Missonihoni]

Does it sound like faint drilling/ loud electric toothbrush ?

[SweetEnough]

Could it be a macerator toilet either yours or next door? They can be bloody loud, last a short time and sound like a drill.

[FretYeNot]

We had a noise similar for weeks downstairs in the dining room. I thought it was the neighbours, they thought it was us. I think it stopped eventually on it's own. Have you bled your radiators? Could be air in the pipes.

[Missonihoni]

My neighbour does sound like muffled drilling or an electric screw driver. I had to move bedrooms because of it. 😂😂😂 its horrible I feel your pain

[AntiHop]

A water pump?

[WorraLiberty]

It could be your neighbour's extractor fan.

The sound travels through the vents and sometimes makes it louder in the neighbouring house, than in the house it's coming from.

[Justcallmecaptainobvious]

We have something similar, took me ages to realise its next door's outside tap! Makes a hell of a racket.

[Ttbb]

Do you have solar panels by any chance?

[Marmite27]

We had a weird drilling noise for months. Turned out to be a woodpecker... (I didn’t realise they existed in urban Yorkshire )

He found a lady woodpecker apparently because it stopped, but we still see him / them. I just hope any babies ate as quick to mate!

[SheRaaarghPrincessOfPower]

This thread explains why my old neighbours were ready to kill me after I'd accidentally left the bathroom fan running and gone away for the weekend.

Cornering me in the street may have been a tad OTT though

[Devonishome1]

This happened to us. It turned out that it was a toy in the attic who’s battery was going and it made a weird droning sound. Took days to work out what it was!

[Homemadearmy]

My sky box has recently starting making a low humming sound. It took me days to work out what the noise was

[TammySwansonTwo]

Ooh, thanks everyone, some good ideas here!

It's a lot louder than a toothbrush or similar - and given the randomness and short bursts throughout the day / night I don't think it's something they're actively doing.

No solar panels or anything like that, standard mains wager and sewerage.

I was thinking maybe it's an extractor fan or some sort of macerater, although I think the latter is unlikely.

Will keep an ear out, and see if I can spot any patterns.

[Leilaniii]

Is it an automatic fan that goes on when they flush the loo? I had this in one of my houses. The fact that you say it lasts a minute or so suggests it might be...

[oldlaundbooth]

Waste disposal in their kitchen?

[CheapSausagesAndSpam]

Does anyone remember the thread where the poster thought her neighbour was spying on her via her bathroom fan or something like that?

[TammySwansonTwo]

Oh my god Cheap! Luckily there's no fan on our shared wall. Shudder.

Going to see if I can spy a fan on their outside wall, I'm going with that or weird toilet / pump so far. The bathrooms in these houses were downstairs - ours has been moved upstairs to the room directly above where it was so there's no pumps or anything but they might have something like that.

[TammySwansonTwo]

One slight error in my post - I can hear it in our bedroom if it's quiet (which is at the front of the house) but it's loudest in the bathroom. Definitely louder than a toothbrush or an appliance / toy making a weird noise although those are good suggestions.

[Melony6]

Possibly a water hammer effect (sort of dddddddddddddddddddd) when the water tank in the loft fills? We have this, the valve, which is (I think) attached to the ballcock as it tops up the tank, is worn and needs replaced. Most notable if toilet is flushed but happens a bit with washing machine filling etc. Could be next doors, I think you might still hear it.

[magpiemischief]

Central heating pump on its way out?

[CheapSausagesAndSpam]

Found the thread about the spying neighbour!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a1508031-to-think-our-neighbour-is-spying-on-me-through-a-wall