They sell these pentagon shaped tools at home depot and lowes. I think it's called an Allen key and they come in a set.

Do you have any links as to the correct vapor barrier for each climate zone in the US? Like OP, I've never been able to find good info on that either.

Much thanks

No it doesn't. Now you're just making shit up. Please cite the nec code that says so.

It is not unsafe. A junction box is a junction box, and it doesn't matter whether it is attached to the wall or to the dishwasher.

Don’t forget fireblocking

And... that's why vapor barriers are bad. Air barriers are good. Vapor retarders are good. Use both. Don't use vapor barriers.

Not code. New dishwasher necessitates it being brought up to code.

Additionally, it's unsafe and it can lead to heat issues, then fire.

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should, especially when it comes to safety with electrical. Most electrical code is written because of death, fire or other injury/damage.

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.

Just make sure you put some drywall compound and paint to seal up the exposed drywall core before you put the wood paneling down(not a bad idea btw...). It doesn't have to loom pretty. Otherwise you're likely to get mold, moisture and maybe swelling. Latex paint does a lot to ensure the longevity of the drywall in your home.

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.

I would jail them for that !

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

Mold needs food.

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

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

Could be a Syphon for heating too maybe a little clogged

I'd say you definitely have a leak. I say that based on what the ceiling hole looks like as well as the ripple effect on the wall. Like other commenters have started check your plumbing and if you have an air conditioner check drain lines/ drain pan.

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.

The wires were already installed that way, so clearly it's doable.

That is the stuff, instead of setting when mixed with water via chemical reaction, the bucket/premixed stuff dries, you can't apply it too thick, hence the setting type for the main leveling. Its also a lot softer than the setting type, so its easy to sand.

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!.

Yes, I did. But I'll double check! If all looks good, I'll rma it.

Lathe is suspiciously clean. Looks like the plaster never squeezed through the lathe which is why OP had a spongey wall. This makes me question what is holding the plaster to the wall at this point! Tearing all that plaster off would probably be a breeze, wouldn’t even need a hammer!

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 😣

I am in Michigan where everyone has a basement and they are commonly finished. I did one myself:

I framed my walls 1" off the walls with a pressure treated bottom plate and installed fiberglass insulation with no vapor barrier. You do NOT want a vapor barrier, you want the walls to breath. A vapor barrier will trap water behind it and cause mold. With the insulation being off the wall it will not get wet or damp so no worries. If I was to do it over again I'd use rock wool insulation instead as that doesn't mold if it gets wet. That said in the 10 years I lived in that house after finishing the basement I never had any issues and no musty smells etc that you commonly encounter with incorrectly done basements.

Even if your basement is dry now it will eventually get wet. You need to do everything you can now to prevent it. It happened to me, I had a spot the carpet got very wet 10 feet into the room during a heavy rain. Basements of that era, 70s-80s, it's common for the tie rods to rust out over time and water to leak in via the rod holes. Mine were not leaking when I finished the basement. To fix it I pulled the carpet and pad up and dried it all out with box fans right away. The pad was anti microbial and the carpet nylon so it dried very fast but I continued to run the fans for several days to be sure. To fix the rod holes I took a section of drywall down ~3 feet off the floor and found 2 next to each other leaking. I knocked the whole bottom row out and just plugged them all regardless. The installation was not wet, water leaked down the wall and under the bottom plate and didn't touch it. Regardless insulation is cheap so I just replaced it all in that area just in case. I installed new drywall, patched and painted it, and put the carpet back down. Annoying but an easy a very cheap repair and impossible to tell anything happened. Had I put installation against the wall I would have had a lot more work finding and repairing them. After that no more problems. Next time I would just hire a pro to come out and plug all my spots with tie rods before the walls are up to avoid any potential issues. Also check valves on all your floor drains in case those back up. Have your drain lines snaked and camera inspected. Install a drain pan on your water heater and humifier if you don't have a floor drain nearby the water will naturally flow to if there us a leak so it doesn't leak into your finished space. Upgrade your shut off valves to ball valves if you can and install frost free faucets for your hose bibs. Outside make sure your grading slopes away from the house and your downspouts are getting water away from the foundation.

As far as the floor went I did carpet in most of mine for comfort. I got the thickest anti microbial pad I could get (suggested for basements) directly over the concrete and it was very comfortable. I tiled a room too. There I painted on a rubberized coating to isolate the tile from any moment in the concrete and avoid cracking. If I had the ceiling height to lose a few inches I would have considered installing a snap together subfloor that had plastic channels on the bottom to allow water to flow to the floor drains in any got under it.

If I had a brand new home I would be a lot less concerned with water getting in through the walls as they use plastic tie rods now and are a lot better a water proofing. Same with the floors as there will be insulation under it. In that case I would still frame 1" off the wall and have someone come in and spray foam the walls right up into the rim joists. The reason I like spray foam over ridgid foam and tape is that the spray foam really gets into all the cracks and air seals the whole thing up. That keeps the bugs and critters out as well. A little more expensive but worth it in my opinion.

One area of my basement was also my woodshop. I left that area unfinished. I insulated and drywalled and painted the two walls separating it from the living space. Mostly to keep noise transmission down. The concrete walls I just painted, and I also sprayed the open joists/ceiling with white paint to lighten things up. I had a supply line for my forced air HVAC in there but no return that could suck up dust. That shop served me well until I had kids. At that point I couldn't work down there very often because of the noise. In the living area I finished I put insulation for sound proofing in the ceiling and drywalled the ceiling too. ( drop ceilings I'd have lost some height). That helped a lot but noise still traveled. If I could I would finish the work shop space too. There was a big temp difference between the finished/unfinished areas and noise control would have been better but still far for ideal. I eventually solved that issue by moving to a new home where I have a heated/cooled outbuilding that's soundproofed for my shop that I can work in at any time day or night without bothering anyone.