Beeping noise in ceiling....

[BuffiBlowout]

It’s almost 3 AM on a weekday so that should suffice at explaining the level were at right now....


Three months ago our smoke detector upstairs was beeping. We have one detector on each on the three levels of our townhouse. I manually changed the batteries and reinstalled the detector. About two weeks later, it started beeping again. I removed it completely, bought a new one and had an electrician come and install it just in case I was doing something wrong. That was on 1/31. They also went ahead and changed the batteries in all the other detectors on that day.

Fast forward to today and we’ve now had four different smoke detectors and eight sets of batteries upstairs. The electrician came out to us for the third time last Thursday and on Sunday at 5:00 AM, the thing started beeping again. This time we noticed it was still beeping even after I removed it from the ceiling and took the batteries out which was weird. We then moved the detector with no power source into a different part of the house and realized the beeping was coming from the ceiling, not the actual smoke detector.

The upstairs detector has been removed since Sunday and now, at 2:30 AM the ceiling starts beeping. It was going off at random intervals between 40 and 55 seconds apart. I went down to the circuit breaker and we tested every switch on the board until we found one that made the beeping stop. Oddly enough, it was labeled as “outlets” and the only other thing in the house I can find that was affected was the computer in my basement (beeping is coming from the third floor).

Does anyone have any damn idea what the hell this could be? The internet is rather unhelpful and filled with solutions we have already tried multiple times.

Any help is appreciated!

-Buff

[dbackschamp2001]

Probably ghosts

[rman112]

Is it possible that you're going insane?

[BostonNut]

That’s some serious Edgar Allen Poe stuff you’ve got going on...

[Boo]

Originally Posted by BuffiBlowout

It’s almost 3 AM on a weekday so that should suffice at explaining the level were at right now....


Three months ago our smoke detector upstairs was beeping. We have one detector on each on the three levels of our townhouse. I manually changed the batteries and reinstalled the detector. About two weeks later, it started beeping again. I removed it completely, bought a new one and had an electrician come and install it just in case I was doing something wrong. That was on 1/31. They also went ahead and changed the batteries in all the other detectors on that day.

Fast forward to today and we’ve now had four different smoke detectors and eight sets of batteries upstairs. The electrician came out to us for the third time last Thursday and on Sunday at 5:00 AM, the thing started beeping again. This time we noticed it was still beeping even after I removed it from the ceiling and took the batteries out which was weird. We then moved the detector with no power source into a different part of the house and realized the beeping was coming from the ceiling, not the actual smoke detector.

The upstairs detector has been removed since Sunday and now, at 2:30 AM the ceiling starts beeping. It was going off at random intervals between 40 and 55 seconds apart. I went down to the circuit breaker and we tested every switch on the board until we found one that made the beeping stop. Oddly enough, it was labeled as “outlets” and the only other thing in the house I can find that was affected was the computer in my basement (beeping is coming from the third floor).

Does anyone have any damn idea what the hell this could be? The internet is rather unhelpful and filled with solutions we have already tried multiple times.

Any help is appreciated!

-Buff

How long have you lived there? Is it possible that there is a detector in the attic (even if the attic isn't accessible)?

[FatboyWu]

Hi buffi, does your townhouse have an attic? I would think it does, I would check there first. If it doesn't, sounds like maybe you ceiling was re-drywalled at some point and someone buried a detector in there. Have your electrician trace the line out to get you close to where it's wired to and you'll probably have to cut a hole in your ceiling to find the ghost.

[BGT Masters]

Originally Posted by FatboyWu

Hi buffi, does your townhouse have an attic? I would think it does, I would check there first. If it doesn't, sounds like maybe you ceiling was re-drywalled at some point and someone buried a detector in there. Have your electrician trace the line out to get you close to where it's wired to and you'll probably have to cut a hole in your ceiling to find the ghost.

This was what first came to mind for me as well.

[GoSportsball]

https://www.thegreenhead.com/2008/12/annoy-a-tron-2.php

Could be someone playing a prank. I’ve used this at work to great success.

[dontcallmejoey]

Continuous beeping like that can be caused by a collection of dust in the smoke detector and fixing it is as simple as cleaning it out. You may not have to replace it... assuming you can find it.

[TheFrenzy]

Originally Posted by dbackschamp2001

Probably ghosts

Townhomes do have a strange knack for attracting ghosts.

I know from experience. The most haunted place I ever lived was a townhome.

[rcmb3220]

I saw this movie before. My condolences.

[codered]

If you’re in a row townhouse I’m thinking of two possibilities. Most attics in row townhomes are shared with no division (saves on building cost) and as others have mentioned there could be a CO/smoke alarm up there. I know it’s fairly common for builders to put an electrical outlet in the attic for this reason (might even be building code). Also a possibility is one of your neighbours could possibly have a alarm that needs replacing on their third floor and the sound might be travelling through the attic (no walls in the attic will obviously allow the sound to travel). Hopefully you find the problem

[iluvfish2]

Id be checking the attic. Either its up there or connected with an a joining home.

[BuffiBlowout]

Thanks for the advice guys. Def leaning towards ghosts.

I’ll be doing a super fun weekend of playing electrician in a crawl space of an attic. Pray for me lol

-Buff

[roro17]

I thought attic right away

[Cactuspies]

check to see if the mice have set up a distribution center in the attic. might be the trucks or fork lifts backing up.

[JeremyNick]

Originally Posted by TheFrenzy

Townhomes do have a strange knack for attracting ghosts.

I know from experience. The most haunted place I ever lived was a townhome.

You should stop killing hookers in the basement. Then they won’t haunt you.

[Sushiyoshi]

Sequel to "People under the stairs"? "People in the Attic"

[JWinn]

Could be a bomb?

Just kidding.

I have a clicking, that sounds just like the old time bomb from the movies/cartoons (picture the classic round black bomb with a little clock on it- tick, tick, tick) that comes from the ceiling of a bedroom in the basement.

There should be nothing up there, between the ceiling and floor. Nothing electrical, or plumbing.

There's some wiring from the AC outside to the furnace that's about three to four feet away, but that's all that should be anywhere near where the click comes from.

And the heat/ac vent is like three joists over. And it's just a vent.

Thing is, it's a custom home. When we bought it, we had the basement finished, including this bedroom. I saw the whole area before they finished it, and there was nothing anywhere near there that would explain the clicking. Just the frame of the house.

The builder came over (like twenty year ago), and couldn't figure it out. He thought maybe one of his workers had left a clock, or something like that, but couldn't remember anyone having anything like that, or missing anything after it was done. No idea.

We could demo, and spend who knows what to find it, or live with it.

It's been clicking all this time. Non stop. It's not loud, but if you stand and listen, it's there.

Over the years, we've had several people listen to it, and try to figure it out. Hvac people, electricians, plumbers, know it all neighbors, you name it. Nobody has offered up a reasonable explanation.

Other than a clicking time bomb, lol.

Hasn't gone off yet.......

[Branesergen]

Originally Posted by JWinn

Could be a bomb?

Just kidding.

I have a clicking, that sounds just like the old time bomb from the movies/cartoons (picture the classic round black bomb with a little clock on it- tick, tick, tick) that comes from the ceiling of a bedroom in the basement.

There should be nothing up there, between the ceiling and floor. Nothing electrical, or plumbing.

There's some wiring from the AC outside to the furnace that's about three to four feet away, but that's all that should be anywhere near where the click comes from.

And the heat/ac vent is like three joists over. And it's just a vent.

Thing is, it's a custom home. When we bought it, we had the basement finished, including this bedroom. I saw the whole area before they finished it, and there was nothing anywhere near there that would explain the clicking. Just the frame of the house.

The builder came over (like twenty year ago), and couldn't figure it out. He thought maybe one of his workers had left a clock, or something like that, but couldn't remember anyone having anything like that, or missing anything after it was done. No idea.

We could demo, and spend who knows what to find it, or live with it.

It's been clicking all this time. Non stop. It's not loud, but if you stand and listen, it's there.

Over the years, we've had several people listen to it, and try to figure it out. Hvac people, electricians, plumbers, know it all neighbors, you name it. Nobody has offered up a reasonable explanation.

Other than a clicking time bomb, lol.

Hasn't gone off yet.......

I'd get a stethoscope and try to trace it, if that failed there would be a $5 admission sign out front with all the proceeds going to a pot to be awarded to the person who can solve it lol Knowing the story and that its been going on for 20+ years, I definitely want to come over and hear it lol

[AwesomeBrian]

Had an elderly couple call us for a similar issue, kept saying something in the wall was beeping. Changed out all smoke detectors to newer ones. Still happening. They said they even had the fire department out and they couldn't find anything. I trace the beeping to the 1st floor master, hear it in the cold air return. Decide to look in the bedroom and of course... plug-in CO detector in an outlet behind a shoe rack.

[BGT Masters]

Originally Posted by JWinn

Could be a bomb?

Just kidding.

I have a clicking, that sounds just like the old time bomb from the movies/cartoons (picture the classic round black bomb with a little clock on it- tick, tick, tick) that comes from the ceiling of a bedroom in the basement.

There should be nothing up there, between the ceiling and floor. Nothing electrical, or plumbing.

There's some wiring from the AC outside to the furnace that's about three to four feet away, but that's all that should be anywhere near where the click comes from.

And the heat/ac vent is like three joists over. And it's just a vent.

Thing is, it's a custom home. When we bought it, we had the basement finished, including this bedroom. I saw the whole area before they finished it, and there was nothing anywhere near there that would explain the clicking. Just the frame of the house.

The builder came over (like twenty year ago), and couldn't figure it out. He thought maybe one of his workers had left a clock, or something like that, but couldn't remember anyone having anything like that, or missing anything after it was done. No idea.

We could demo, and spend who knows what to find it, or live with it.

It's been clicking all this time. Non stop. It's not loud, but if you stand and listen, it's there.

Over the years, we've had several people listen to it, and try to figure it out. Hvac people, electricians, plumbers, know it all neighbors, you name it. Nobody has offered up a reasonable explanation.

Other than a clicking time bomb, lol.

Hasn't gone off yet.......

If you can pinpoint exactly where the sound was it wouldn't cost much to knock a hole in the ceiling and patch it. Have you ever tried shutting off your main breaker, cutting all the power to your house and see if it stops then?

[hxcmilkshake]

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

[sthoemke]

Not sure if this will help solve they mystery, buy many smoke detectors have a backup power reserve, so if you remove the battery they will still beep.

[JWinn]

Originally Posted by BGT Masters

If you can pinpoint exactly where the sound was it wouldn't cost much to knock a hole in the ceiling and patch it. Have you ever tried shutting off your main breaker, cutting all the power to your house and see if it stops then?

Uuummm, NO! lol

In all these years, I don't think we have ever thought to check the clicking when the power went out, or tried that.

Shutting the power off is a PIA, all the crap that has to be reset, but I think we will try that, someday.

It's a spare room that gets little use, so it really isn't a problem. Nobody sleeps in there or anything.

Great idea! Thanks!