NEED HELP! Constant popping, banging and cracking noise coming from ceiling and walls of the house day and night (fireplace, laminate)
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Thanks for your kind words. It's hard to get real empathy these days. I've pretty much read through thousands of pages on the internet about structural noises in wood frame buildings and any possible solution. I've talked to many home inspectors, had many licensed contractors come to the two previous houses, no one really has any solid idea how to fix this, other than trial and error. So far whatever they've suggested and we tried has failed. I know there are many people out there with the same problem. But No one has been really able to fix this other than to live with it, like a per-existing condition. I've read comments of people who never had this problem and lived in their house for many years, but the house one day starts making all kinds if unsettling noises that won't go away.
I guess in America we don't care much about quality of life, building materials, or noise. Until the average consumer demands better quality built homes nothing will change. What's disturbing about the whole thing is that many folks out there are trying to normalize these loud frequent noises from the walls and ceilings of homes, by saying it's normal for homes to make disturbing noises. This is madness. To do the same thing over and over and expect a different result instead of building homes with cement blocks, concrete or brick as the rest of civilized world do. Plasterboard and Drywall aren't durable building material and eventually something will horribly go wrong with them, it's just a matter of time. Using staple guns to hold plywood to beams is usually going to end up shabby. Contractors tend to use the cheapest materials and thrown up buildings as soon as they can in order to maximize profits. For some reason this shabby building tradition has become the norm in America. Not to mention that a poor quality house is a source of incremental revenue for the government: Home Depot sells materials and tools needed to keep that house standing. Medical conditions caused by molds keep doctors and pharmaceuticals in business. Making room for mice and roaches behind that drywall makes Exterminators and chemical industry rich. Fights between neighbors on unbearable noise through paper-thin walls makes lawyers wealthy, and as if all that wasn't bad enough, and you end up paying more for a single family home not to share walls or ceiling/floor with neighbors, your ceiling and walls will pop and snap so loud that you have to sleep with white noise machine that will give you tinnitus. All these are winners at expense of American consumers.
Well I have lived in a lot of houses in my 65 years and I have never ever heard anything like the noises you are describing. Not ever. No one I know has ever had a house like that either. It is NOT the norm I assure you. Stop trashing USA home construction for a poltergeist that only you seem to have.
Is it normal to get constant banging, snapping and cracking noises coming from ceiling and walls of a wood frame building, day and night? Every couple of hours we are being woken up by a loud snap or popping noise coming ceiling or walls, maybe the roof itself, it's hard to tell. Sometimes it constantly hits and doesn't go away. The noises are constant and reoccurring, all the time, not just when temperature outside is changing. There is no wind outside and the weather has been nice (80s during the day, 60s at night). It's hard to get a solid night of sleep. Some nights it hits every hour or couple of hours. Any ideas?
Agree with what others have said. Get a licensed structural engineer to check out the home (not a house inspector). Yes it might cost you several hundred dollars but it would be well worth it in this situation.
Just a guess, but there is something in the underlying construction of this house that is causing those noises. You really have to wonder if the truss joint connections were made properly. Abrupt noises like that have to be coming from joints that are moving or slipping.
In the house no#3 I haven't talked to neighbors yet, but house no#1 and No#2, I did and out of the whole neighborhood, I couldn't find anyone who's heard these, except two neighbors. Some homes have them, some don't, it's 50, 50
I wonder if there is a correlation to the flexible duct work. Ducts go throughout the house so every room would be exposed. Do yours go through ceilings? Perhaps if the ducts were a little too long then a sudden rush of air would cause them to jump up then drop right after as they settle. I could imagine that making the sounds you describe.
Maybe you could get a good installer to come out and look at yours. Either they could be shortened slightly or alternatively some kind of “pad” placed between the duct and where it might thunk back down. Just an idea. But it would be a lot easier than moving again. Different installers in half of the houses might have done a little better job in deciding the lengths and positioning of the duct tubes.
None of these structural theories address the fact that OP has supposedly experienced this in three consecutive houses. Are you suggesting the same condition applies to all of them?
LOL. But usually it's a single "possessed" house. Do ghosts follow a person from house to house?
She could be right though. I know when we built our house, we deliberately over-sized the joists and used many more screws (not nails) than necessary to avoid "popping" noises when walking over floors.
Really glad our condo here is all concrete. No noises whatsoever. The local shacks are bamboo.
LOL. But usually it's a single "possessed" house. Do ghosts follow a person from house to house?
They can, yes. I actually know someone who works in a very haunted location giving ghost tours who says some malignant spirit attaching itself to you and following you home is a very real possibility. Of course, assuming you believe in all that!
Is it normal to get constant banging, snapping and cracking noises coming from ceiling and walls of a wood frame building, day and night? Every couple of hours we are being woken up by a loud snap or popping noise coming ceiling or walls, maybe the roof itself, it's hard to tell. Sometimes it constantly hits and doesn't go away. The noises are constant and reoccurring, all the time, not just when temperature outside is changing. There is no wind outside and the weather has been nice (80s during the day, 60s at night). It's hard to get a solid night of sleep. Some nights it hits every hour or couple of hours. Any ideas?
Animals? I know animals on your roof, in your attic, walls or crawl space can make a lot of noise, especially if there are nests around. In my own home (concrete block) I often here noises, usually at night and it can be hard to tell the source. In the attic or under the house.
In the late '70s, I lived in a duplex in Tulsa, OK. In the winter months, our roof was ALWAYS popping and banging. I don't know what material it was made of. When the weather started to warm up, the popping & banging got less and less.
Cat
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