Has anyone ever had "ticking" plasterboard before?
Discussion
I've got a single storey extension on the side of my house. A few weeks ago, i could hear a ticking noise coming from the plaster above me. It's near the corner, about 1ft away from it, where the ceiling meets the wall. It sounds like it's just above the plaster.
It's the same sound you hear when a car engine is ticking itself cool, or sometimes when the floor clicks when you've not had the heating on all winter.
Thing is, it's doing it all the time. I'm confident it's not dripping water. The loft space is so small (literally 2-3 foot in height) and none of it is boarded and I cant get over. Along with that, there's a s
tload of insulation in the way.
It does it day or night, and regardless of time of day or weather. It did it for about 5 hours the other day, and the temperature was about 14 degress, and the roof had no heat/sun on all day. I'm confident it's nothing cooling down and if I crack the ceiling plaster with my hand, the noise stops for maybe 10 minutes. I cant get up the side of the extension because the who built it, didnt leave a walkway down the side of the house, and decided to get it flush with a neighbours fence.
The only thing in that area, was I heard a buzzing noise from the light fitting (which is about 12 inches from the noise) a few weeks back. I popped the light fitting out (it's a ceiling spotlight flush with the ceiling) and a half crushed dead wasp dropped out. The noise definately sounds more like wood movment than any type of buzzing/natural noise, so I don't think it's any insects or anything.
It's starting to drive me totally mental. Any ideas?
It's the same sound you hear when a car engine is ticking itself cool, or sometimes when the floor clicks when you've not had the heating on all winter.
Thing is, it's doing it all the time. I'm confident it's not dripping water. The loft space is so small (literally 2-3 foot in height) and none of it is boarded and I cant get over. Along with that, there's a s
tload of insulation in the way.It does it day or night, and regardless of time of day or weather. It did it for about 5 hours the other day, and the temperature was about 14 degress, and the roof had no heat/sun on all day. I'm confident it's nothing cooling down and if I crack the ceiling plaster with my hand, the noise stops for maybe 10 minutes. I cant get up the side of the extension because the
who built it, didnt leave a walkway down the side of the house, and decided to get it flush with a neighbours fence. The only thing in that area, was I heard a buzzing noise from the light fitting (which is about 12 inches from the noise) a few weeks back. I popped the light fitting out (it's a ceiling spotlight flush with the ceiling) and a half crushed dead wasp dropped out. The noise definately sounds more like wood movment than any type of buzzing/natural noise, so I don't think it's any insects or anything.
It's starting to drive me totally mental. Any ideas?
thebraketester said:
If you switch of the power dies it still do it
Power on or off, still does it.stewjohnst said:
Ugh I hope not!!The only thing with this, is that all the videos i've just watched (and worried myself with) have the beetle bouncing it's head very quickly and rapidly to make a fast click noise. Mine is very slow in comparison, maybe one1 'click' per second, so I'm hoping it's not this.
However, a 'wood boring beetle' might be an answer, it seems to make a slower noise. Ugh.
Murph7355 said:
Agree on the hardwood bit...though they're not always that quiet depending on where they are. Damp and poor ventilation are the killers.
Insect infestation would be easy to spot though by taking a bit of plasterboard away and looking at the condition of the wood.
OP - could it be heating pipes? Are there any behind the area(s) you hear the ticking from?
Nope, no pipes in this area.Insect infestation would be easy to spot though by taking a bit of plasterboard away and looking at the condition of the wood.
OP - could it be heating pipes? Are there any behind the area(s) you hear the ticking from?
In terms of the wood, I'd assume it's good quality dry wood. The house is about 15 years old, and the extension is about 12.
Some sort of an insect is the primary culprit.
I can see where this is going, I'm going to have to pull all that f
king insulation out and get into the corner and have a look. That in it's own right is going to be a nightmare 
Some Gump said:
Any clue as to what those creatures are?
My assumption - Wasps. Although they seem a bit thinner and smaller than wasps, but then I've discounted hornets because they don't move liek hornets. I think we'll just settle for small wasps.Pest guy coming out in an hour to hopefully nuke the little f
kers. I hate wasps.Superhoop said:
He rocked up with what was essentially a telescopic pole with a little nozzle on one end and what looked like a bike pump on the other - pumped a load of what I suspect was ant powder around the entry to the nest and 48 hours later, no more wasps.
This is exactly what he did. They started dropping out within a few hours.No more scratching noises either.
When im feeling brave one day, i might get up there and fish the nest out and bin it.
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