Have you tried calling the owner of the apartment? Something similar happened to my friend and 3 weeks later they discovered that the tenants abandoned their pet cat.

Does the sound correspond to the weather (especially wind)?

Wow! Hmm, they have been in the apartment since the tenants left. I’ve brought it up to them and they said they have no idea what it could be but they would listen for it from their unit when they are back in town. Problem is they live in another state so it may be a little while 😣

Hopefully it is not that ....I mean my friend did contact the previous tenants but they never mentioned the cat....then a neighbor saw the cat from a window and called the fire department!.

I haven’t noticed any noticeable correlation with the noise and the wind outside yet but this could be a good lead. Tomorrow when it’s not dark out I’ll stand outside and have my gf for the noise when the wind is picking up.

It has gotten considerably colder/windier here in the northern Midwest though.

Could be a Syphon for heating too maybe a little clogged

Poor little kitty, I can’t believe someone would abandon their pet!

Do you mean something like a air vent to the outside?

More like a pipe with corrosion perhaps some condensation happens with the changes in temperature and the air or liquid inside makes a movement hence the noise. Just a wild guess

I would jail them for that !

Had the same sound in 2 previous units, both times it was the same thing. Turned out that the drain pipes for units above me (didn’t have to be the unit directly above me as drain pipes don’t always follow precisely per-unit) were expanding any time hot water was ran, and the popping was those pipes pushing against the wood framing they were ran through. When those are installed there’s supposed to be enough of a gap to allow for that expansion, but I’ve been told as wood ages/dries/shrinks sometimes that initial gap isn’t enough, so you’re hearing that wood basically crack. Both times when they opened the ceiling and adjacent wall there was NO space, and had become so tight they had to cut the pipe out in pieces so they could enlarge the hole.

I’m in my 3rd place now and guess what? Yep, same thing, and only when it’s warm water that I or my neighbor (adjacent units in 2-story townhomes) run. In this case it’s above my kitchen so it doesn’t bother me like the last 2 so I’m leaving it alone.

There could be something loose on the siding outside. Also, the backdraft flapper on a vent fan (kitchen or bathroom or even the dryer vent) can be affected by the wind (you can try turning the fan or dryer on when you hear the banging and see if that changes it). And rain can also find its way to dripping onto metal flashing/eves/vents.

Building is brick outside but possible it’s a vent van. I’ll have to take a look at vent placement (may have to rent extremely tall ladder from HD to check out vents in detail ugh). But I will try turning on dryer or fan next time I hear it!

It's a GA GA GA ghost!

3 in a row?! Oh man. 4th times a charm right? Haha but thank you for the idea for potential cause. Any recommendations on how to diagnose without having to cut open the ceiling? Building is roughly 15 years old, do you think could this happen in that time span? Would love to not have to shell out more $$$ as I recently had to replace the dishwasher and furnace replacement prob isn’t too far off. //: don’t feel confident enough to rip out ceiling drywall myself either

The joys of home ownership!

Hopefully a less intrusive fix 😫

Ahh! 😱

Have you tried a ouiji board to get the lottery numbers?

No idea on any age correlation but the sound was identical and took months to isolate the first time. Once I’d heard it I knew exactly what it was by the 2nd time.

The LL and I just had to work with other tenants. Luckily they were all accommodating, let me have one person in their unit running hot water while someone else waited downstairs in mine listening. We found it within the firs couple units both times.

Yes but all ouija board said was “updog” 😔💯

zoinks!

Let's see who this really is!

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If it happens once upon a midnight dreary, it could be a raven.

Appreciate the advice! I’ll have to see if I can get in the other units and try something similar. Fingers crossed it’s something simpler

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping 😕💯

Look if there’s a possibility that a pet was left behind, is trapped there..please be a great human and investigate.

It happens more often than people think… When a person is arrested or something else happens to them, it’s not necessarily the business of the police to check for pets, so they’re often left to starvation and/or dehydration, extreme depression, ultimately a long sad death.

Also, pet animals can make very different sounds depending on their ability to signal need of care.

Please check with SPCA and local animal welfare groups.

Does it sound like this? https://youtu.be/2ktDPAvVRaA

I have this in one of my vents where something is lifting and lowering inside, causing the tapping. Only happens when the furnace is on.

Oh man that’s good info! I have this same thing whenever running hot water in one bathroom, this gives some good context for what to check for, thanks!

That’s exactly what mine sounded like. Suppose it’s entirely possible with any temp mine is just always more prevalent with warm water. But suppose if the pipe passes through an area that’s not well insulated in cold areas even “cool” water could cause at least some expansion.