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Houses, specially older ones, make noise when expanding and contracting. These expansions and contractions are temperature dependent as follows: as winter creeps in, the house contracts at some places, then as summer approaches the house expands as it gets hot. At the points of contraction and expansion some sort of rub spots are left behind. It's at these spots where weird noises are produced
The noises are often accompanied by a jolt, and can be quite loud sometimes.
^^This is so true and is what happens in our house frequently, especially the very cold nights then it get very warm in the day then vice-a-versa. We usually hear that pop between 10 & 11 pm each night.
^^This is so true and is what happens in our house frequently, especially the very cold nights then it get very warm in the day then vice-a-versa. We usually hear that pop between 10 & 11 pm each night.
Scares the daylights out of the dog, too Dogs get somewhat but not totally used to it eventually.
I've experienced exact same thing - did you ever figure it out?
Hey!
Just sitting in my kitchen with my friend and we just experienced the exact same thing. No smell, no flash, nothing is broken and no fuse blown. Have looked around the entire room and everything is as it should be but as you've described - it it sounded like a balloon popping or a fire cracker going off behind us! Did you ever figure out what it was?
I'm sitting at my desk in the living room with my back to the sofa and the kitchen. I hear a noise that sounded like a popped balloon or a single firecracker. It sounded like it was within 10 feet behind me.
Last year when I replaced my dead fridge with a Whirlpool french door bottom freezer model, it came with several interesting "features." One was an intermittent water puddle that would appear when the drain line froze up (an acknowledged design defect by Whirlpool which they will retrofit for free -- don't take no for an answer) and the other was an occasional loud POP -- just as you describe, like a balloon or firecracker. The best answer I found on line was this one:
After the repairman fixed the drain line problem, I don't hear the pops as frequently, so maybe rerouting some of the tubing stopped the freon flashing.
What time of day? Was the sun shining directly on the house? Or was it after the sun had been shining on the house and it was starting to set and cool down?
Likely what you heard was expansion and contraction, especially at this time of year. As the sun heats up the house, the wood expands. The joints "stick" until the stress from expansion becomes great and then they "POP" as the tension lets go. It can be VERY loud.
The process reverses at night as the house cools down, the wood starts to shrink, gets "stuck", and then, when it is cool enough, will "POP" once again as the shrinkage overcomes the friction between the (usually) studs/framing.
Wood moves a LOT (easily fractions of an inch over a several foot span) and this time of year the heat on the house can go from 50 degrees at night to over 100 degrees in the daytime sun. Likely that is what you hear. It will happen again, more than likely.
my guess IS a firecracker. I have been subjected to several that sounded like they were right next to my house for the past two weeks and still getting a few every night.
Did you ever figure out what the sound was that you heard? I heard a sound just like the one that you described. I searched the house smelling for smoke. I went outside to see if there was any smoke coming from the roof, or if anything was on the roof. In each case I found nothing. I didn't find where anything had fallen, not that it sounded like a fall anyway.
It really concerned me. I have lived in this house just shy of 30 years and I have NEVER heard a sound like or similar to it. I just want the peace of mind to know that my family and home are safe. I checked every outlet, they all work and don't have an appearance of having an electrical arc. The fuse box was normal. Any ideas?
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Dogs get somewhat but not totally used to it eventually.
I've experienced exact same thing - did you ever figure it out?
