Wish I'd thought about insulation when I redid mine—I was mostly focused on alignment and hangers like mentioned above, but now I'm wondering if that's why my pipes still creak a bit when the heat kicks on...would insulation help with noise too?
Insulation might help a bit with noise, but honestly, creaking usually comes down to expansion and contraction as the pipes heat up. If your hangers are too tight or spaced incorrectly, insulation alone won't solve the issue. I redid mine last winter—thought insulation would magically silence everything...nope. Had to loosen a few hangers slightly and add some felt padding between pipes and joists. That did the trick for me. Worth checking before you wrap everything up in foam!
Good points, but honestly, insulation did more for me than I expected. Sure, expansion noise is mostly about hangers and spacing, but wrapping my pipes in foam noticeably reduced the sharpness of the creaks. Didn't eliminate them completely, but made them way less annoying. Maybe it depends on pipe material or how extreme your temp swings are...either way, insulation isn't totally useless here. Worth trying before messing with hangers, IMO.
Interesting take on insulation—I gave it a shot myself, but honestly, my results weren't quite as impressive. I wrapped mine up tight thinking it'd quiet things down, but the pipes still sounded like an old pirate ship creaking around midnight. Maybe my house is just haunted by plumbing gremlins or something...
In my case, spacing and hangers made the biggest difference. When I finally got around to adjusting the hanger placement and adding a few extra supports, it was like night and day. The pipes still expand and contract (can't fight physics), but the noise went from horror-movie-level creaks to more of a gentle reminder that my boiler is actually doing its job.
I guess it really might depend on pipe material or even how your house is built. Mine are copper pipes in an older home, so maybe they're just stubbornly noisy no matter what I do. Foam insulation probably helps dampen vibrations a bit, but if your pipes are really moving around during temp swings (like mine apparently love to do), hangers might be the bigger factor.
Still, glad insulation worked for you—wish I'd had your luck! At least foam wrapping wasn't too expensive. If nothing else, my pipes look cozy now...
"Foam insulation probably helps dampen vibrations a bit, but if your pipes are really moving around during temp swings (like mine apparently love to do), hangers might be the bigger factor."
Totally agree with this. Insulation alone rarely solves the creaking issue—especially with copper pipes in older homes. A few things I've learned over the years:
- Pipe hangers and spacing adjustments usually make the biggest difference.
- Plastic clips or rubber-lined hangers can help absorb vibrations better than metal ones.
- Sometimes adding small expansion loops or flexible connectors can ease tension from thermal expansion.
Insulation's nice for heat retention, but noise-wise...it's usually secondary.
