# Strange noise from fireplace



## mefinneg (May 30, 2019)

Strange noise from my fireplace this morning.  Sounds almost like rushing water and I can hear it throughout the house.  Very similar to a toilet filling with water after a flush.  I hear it for a second and it goes away, but comes back.  Sometimes in a matter of 10-15 secs, other times a minute or two.  It's gas, but doesn't sound like it's coming from the gas pipes, but instead from up inside the chimney.  Everything is on the other side of the house too like water heater, water main, furnace, etc.  I'm pretty sure there's no water pipes on this side of the house and only the gas lines.  It's not loud at all in the basement either .  It's also louder when I open the flue.   Any idea?


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## begreen (May 30, 2019)

Windy day?


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## Millbilly (May 30, 2019)

Woodpecker


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## begreen (May 30, 2019)

Millbilly said:


> Woodpecker


LOL we get them frequently here. Woodpeckers, sapsuckers and flickers love to make a loud noise to attract a mate. Our woodstove chimney gets visited in spring with this noise. The description of rushing water threw me. When a flicker pounds on our cap it sounds like a riveter. It's loud!


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## ct01r (May 31, 2019)

This is a stretch, but could it be a pipe in the wall, near the chimney, and the flue is amplifying the noise?  Don't know why you wouldn't have heard it before this, though.


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## mefinneg (May 31, 2019)

Thanks for the replies.  This had me worried as I wasn't sure who I should call...  Someone for the chimney or a plumber.  It was definitely the sound of pressurized water running thru a pipe though and I agree with ct01r in thinking the flue was just amplifying the noise and that it was coming from some other part of the house.  If you guys knew the setup of my house, it still doesn't make sense though.  There 's absolute nothing water related on that side of the house.  Closest thing is an upstairs bathroom which is a good 15-20 feet from the wall where the chimney is and those pipes run the other direction and down the back of the stairs.   Outside spigot is on the other side of the house too.  I don't know if it this is good news or not, but after I got home from work, I was going to shut off the water main and see if the sound would stop, but the noise stopped before I could try and hasn't been back yet.


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## Tech Guru (Jun 10, 2019)

Could've been a back burning condition.  Often sounds like a gurgling noise.  If the gas ignites at the air shutter it sort of burns inside the burner and makes that weird off-putting noise.  it can be condition related (windier or colder appliances).  Can often correct itself as the appliance warms up, or the exterior condition goes away.


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