Hello,
We had a new house built the year before last. I installed the drywall together with my father-in-law (who works for a drywall company). There is a service shaft in our house with a laundry chute running from the basement to the attic, which is clad with a double-layer drywall partition. Unlike all the other drywall walls, this one was placed on the screed rather than directly on the raw floor due to the construction process.
In summer 2024, I noticed noises (a dull clattering) near the drywall partition on two floors when walking. In the attic, the noise has since stopped, but unfortunately, it has become much worse on the upper floor, now creaking loudly. When moving further away from the shaft (even in the adjacent hallway), the noise changes to a dull metallic rattling instead of creaking. Since this is the bedroom, it is quite disturbing.
I have just removed the cover from the laundry chute again and tried tapping the drywall profiles, pipes, etc. inside the shaft with a folding ruler, but this creates different noises, not the creaking.
Does anyone have any ideas on what else I could do to fix this or at least to find out where the noise is coming from?
Here is a photo from the shell construction (not all cables have been installed yet, and the laundry chute is still missing)
The shaft completely filled after installing the impact sound insulation (unfortunately, I don’t have a photo from a different angle)
Finished drywall partition
We had a new house built the year before last. I installed the drywall together with my father-in-law (who works for a drywall company). There is a service shaft in our house with a laundry chute running from the basement to the attic, which is clad with a double-layer drywall partition. Unlike all the other drywall walls, this one was placed on the screed rather than directly on the raw floor due to the construction process.
In summer 2024, I noticed noises (a dull clattering) near the drywall partition on two floors when walking. In the attic, the noise has since stopped, but unfortunately, it has become much worse on the upper floor, now creaking loudly. When moving further away from the shaft (even in the adjacent hallway), the noise changes to a dull metallic rattling instead of creaking. Since this is the bedroom, it is quite disturbing.
I have just removed the cover from the laundry chute again and tried tapping the drywall profiles, pipes, etc. inside the shaft with a folding ruler, but this creates different noises, not the creaking.
Does anyone have any ideas on what else I could do to fix this or at least to find out where the noise is coming from?
Here is a photo from the shell construction (not all cables have been installed yet, and the laundry chute is still missing)
The shaft completely filled after installing the impact sound insulation (unfortunately, I don’t have a photo from a different angle)
Finished drywall partition
Since the secondary wall cladding was positioned quite close to the shaft, the horizontal finishing profile was not anchored to the floor across its full width, but only at the locations of the vertical profiles. Unfortunately, I did not take any more pictures of this, otherwise it might be clearer now where the noise is coming from.
The sound seems to come roughly from the middle of the wall on the right half (as seen in the attached photo).
The sound seems to come roughly from the middle of the wall on the right half (as seen in the attached photo).
Hi,
I suspect that the drywall lining moves slightly against the shaft as soon as load is applied through the screed. Possibly if the steel stud profiles (e.g., the track profiles) were not fully secured across their entire surface and the screed is not perfectly level in that area. Especially with long shafts spanning multiple floors, such micro-movements tend to amplify like a "resonating body." Slightly tensioned metal studs pressed against the metal duct or a pipe.
I suspect that the drywall lining moves slightly against the shaft as soon as load is applied through the screed. Possibly if the steel stud profiles (e.g., the track profiles) were not fully secured across their entire surface and the screed is not perfectly level in that area. Especially with long shafts spanning multiple floors, such micro-movements tend to amplify like a "resonating body." Slightly tensioned metal studs pressed against the metal duct or a pipe.
A
Allthewayup7 Dec 2025 22:12We have the same problem with the laundry chute as well. My brother and I built the drywall lining ourselves back then. The issue (noise) is caused by the friction of the profiles when the insulation beneath the screed compresses slightly.
I have inserted a pipe camera in there, but of course, you can’t see the minimal movements. I will soon try to apply some kind of lubricant to the profile and hope that the noise stops permanently. If not, I will remove the drywall lining and rebuild it so that the horizontal profiles do not touch the vertical ones. Our drywall lining is only 1.2m (4 feet) high and not full room height like yours.
The problem is installing such a cladding on top of the screed. Normally, drywall construction goes on the raw concrete.
I have inserted a pipe camera in there, but of course, you can’t see the minimal movements. I will soon try to apply some kind of lubricant to the profile and hope that the noise stops permanently. If not, I will remove the drywall lining and rebuild it so that the horizontal profiles do not touch the vertical ones. Our drywall lining is only 1.2m (4 feet) high and not full room height like yours.
The problem is installing such a cladding on top of the screed. Normally, drywall construction goes on the raw concrete.
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