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I have lived in this house for 6 years. It was new when I bought it. For as long as I have lived here, the noises coming from the attic have been non-stop. I have always thought these noises were just the expansion and contraction of the truss framing members. Sometimes the noises are so loud it sounds as if the entire roof is going to collapse. On occaision, the noise has been so loud , my 4 year old daughter has been awakened (and terrified.) My question is this…how long will this continue? Does wood continue to expand and contract forever? Is there anyway to tone it down at all? Any ideas?
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I doubt that the roof framing is making noise. I suspect it's more likely coming from the plywood. Maybe it's not nailed down properly or something ?
Have you ever tried going up in the attic when it was making noise, to try to locate the source ?
*Ron is right, check vent flaps, loose objects/plywood, pipes etc.Gabe
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See if the plywood is spaced and/or has clips betweeen the sheets. They will be "H" shaped and made of aluminum or steel. Wood is hygroscopic and definately expands and contracts. Hopefully, your plywood/OSB deck sheathing isn't butted up tight to allow for the expansion and contraction. Another possibility would be truss lift if the trusses are cantilvered on an outside wall. There will be a crack where the wall and ceiling meets..... being more open in the winter as the wood dries and closes in the summer during humid conditions as the wood swells.
*Ron, I have gone up to the attic to listen, and as you would expect, nothing happens when I'm up there. I have also tried to locate the noise from below, but it always seems to come from the other side of the house. This is a small 1 story 1700 sq ft house, with cathedral cielings on one end of the house over the living and family rooms, and over the master bedroom at the other end of the house. I neglected to mention that the furnace is also in the attic, as are the water pipes for the entire house. The popping and banging noises sound like wood, but could they be from a different source, like the pvc pipes coming from the furnace?
*Gabe, when I first heard these noises years ago, I went into the attic and found that the building paper had never been cut away to reveal the vents at the gable ends. I have never thought to check the plywood. I have checked just about everything else up there. As I told Ron, I never mentioned that the furnace and all water pipes are in the attic. I was so sure it was wood making the noises. It's not "water hammer", because that happens in the main bathroom and that is a different sound. Thanks for your reply.
*Scott, there are no cracks where the walls and ceilings meet. (One of the few places there have been no cracks.) As I told Gabe, I have never really checked the plywood. I know that plywood should have a gap of at least 1/8" between sheets, but if all the joints fall on rafters, how will I know whether the deck sheathing was applied properly?
*Steve, You will still see the perpendicular [8ft] edges of the roof sheathing along with the plywood clips [if they were used ..... I've also seen the use of an 8d sinker as a spacer until the plywood was nailed down]. To show the importance of spacing plywood and paneling I made up a demonstration when I managed in the retail lumber business. I took a 2x4x24" , cut a piece of lauan plywood 3-1/2 x 24" into thirds and nailed the outside pieces only to the 2x4 ... leaving the middle piece of lauan free so that it could be removed. If you remove the middle piece of lauan, insert a dime into the kerf and try to re-install the middle piece of lauan. Just the thickness of the dime will make the middle piece of lauan bow-up 1/2" or so. A real hit at parties and spell bound my buddies in re-hab. [the last part I just made up. Not a hit at parties] ;~) Another good possibility already mentioned is the sched. 40 vent pipes expanding and contracting making the popping noises. Mine do that. Good luck resolving the problem .
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I have lived in this house for 6 years. It was new when I bought it. For as long as I have lived here, the noises coming from the attic have been non-stop. I have always thought these noises were just the expansion and contraction of the truss framing members. Sometimes the noises are so loud it sounds as if the entire roof is going to collapse. On occaision, the noise has been so loud , my 4 year old daughter has been awakened (and terrified.) My question is this...how long will this continue? Does wood continue to expand and contract forever? Is there anyway to tone it down at all? Any ideas?