Hearing Popping noises at Night? (renter, condos, house)

[john3232]

I've never experienced or heard this mentioned before: Recently a renter told me she hears popping noises at night. She thinks there might be structural damage. (Home built 2003 and there are no visible signs of any issues.)

I explained the summer heat is causing the sounds and not to worry. She told me she wants to hose up against the house so the foundation won't move. I told her that's not a good idea.

I like the renter but she appears bit neurotic.

Any suggestions how I can ease her mind and explain the popping she hears at night is normal. And that watering outside against the house before going to bed isn't a good idea.

Thanks

[sandy6879]

Does she have water running in anything at night? Our dishwasher did that in our pipes while it ran, I guess it's called a water hammer. They make something to install to stop it, it seemed to be a quick fix. It could be something similar - I'd try to track down the source of the sound just to make sure it's not anything else. If it only happens at night though, my guess is it's something that's specifically occurring at that time.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by sandy6879

Does she have water running in anything at night? Our dishwasher did that in our pipes while it ran, I guess it's called a water hammer. They make something to install to stop it, it seemed to be a quick fix. It could be something similar - I'd try to track down the source of the sound just to make sure it's not anything else. If it only happens at night though, my guess is it's something that's specifically occurring at that time.

I'm familiar with water hammer which is fairly easy to isolate. In this instance the renter isn't running any water and she only hears the pop at night.

Here's what I found on-line:
It’s thermal expansion and contraction. The sun hits your roof and heats it up. As the lumber expands, it moves and rubs against other pieces of wood that aren’t moving at the same rate. This movement creates the popping noise. When the wood cools down after sunset, the same thing happens in reverse.
https://www.dispatch.com/entertainme...has-simple-fix

[hikernut]

I occasionally hear a pop in our attic, which I'd guess is a result of exactly what you describe. It doesn't happen very often, but any individual "pop" can be fairly loud. It seems to happen primarily in the evening, after the sun has set.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by hikernut

I occasionally hear a pop in our attic, which I'd guess is a result of exactly what you describe. It doesn't happen very often, but any individual "pop" can be fairly loud. It seems to happen primarily in the evening, after the sun has set.

Actually now that I think about it I've heard the popping sound from time to time in my house as well but usually in the afternoon.

[john3232]

O.k. I contacted the renter and explained the popping sound is fairly normal esp. this time of year. She thanked me.

So, all is well that ends well.

I can only imagine if this happened a few years back when I was using property management. I'd have gotten an email telling me there could be structural damage. That a contractor needs to go out and do an inspection.

And God only knows what kind of recommendations/estimate to "fix" the popping noise and save my home from further "structural damage" I would have ended up with.

[thinkalot]

Is it the same time that the irrigation runs? That happened in our condos.

[ajonesaz]

Originally Posted by john3232

She told me she wants to hose up against the house so the foundation won't move. I told her that's not a good idea.

People like her are the reason I am happy to no longer be a landlord. At least she asked though.

The constant drying and swelling from introducing water to the foundation would kill your foundation.

The popping is most likely the extreme heat in the attic cooling down. Wood naturally expands and contracts and it usually isn't an issue.

[Minntoaz]

That’s interesting and I imagine for people like myself who aren’t well-versed in how the heat affects a home, something we’ve never dealt with. I reckon one time when we lived in chandler our friend said he could hear water running all night. We just figured it was our reverse osmosis but maybe not...

[Hal Roach]

air handlers can make a popping noise (coil).and often, it is only at night, when it cools down.