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Snapping or cracking sound in floor

| Posted in General Discussion on March 23, 2001 04:52am

*
First, some background.

I have a new two story home. My architect spanned a 22 foot room with a steel -beam. The building dept. said it was not the correct size (I don’t know what size it was) but the architect said a structural engineer had designed it and stamped the drawings. He is a very reputable architect.

The framers attached the beam to another I beam on one end and sat the other end on top of one half of a 3 inch steel pole. A micro-lam buts to the I beam and sits on the other half of the steel pole.

The second story room (over the beam)has 2×12 floor joists 20 feet long which run from the band and are attached to the I beam with joist hangers. The floor of the second story room has a floor of 5/8″ tongue and groove sheets of wood (5′ x8′). Its not plywood but is similar. It is supposed to be guaranteed against warping and splitting from water, etc.

Now the problem:

When I walk on the half of the second story room nearest the pole/-beam/micro-lam, the floors snaps. It dosen’t thump like a typical loose piece of plywood. It actual sounds like wood snapping. The floor does not bounce. Moreover, the other half of the room does not do this?

Does anyone have a theory?

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Replies

  1. Mark_McDonnell | Mar 18, 2001 05:59pm | #1

    *
    Mike, is the framing still exposed?
    Luck

    1. Bob_Woodhead | Mar 18, 2001 06:11pm | #2

      *Check for any loose bridging or loose bridging nails. Check the joist hanger nailing and make sure all the nails are in place and not moving. Check the points where each joist rests on a wall or beam and see if any are slightly elevated, then shim if required. Is there any piping, duct work, or wiring installed yet? Duct noise can be eliminated with adjustments to hangers and creating relief folds. Pipes may rub on joists and the noise can be eliminated with adjustment techniques.

      1. Mike_Yashko | Mar 18, 2001 06:28pm | #3

        *Mark and Bob,Thanks for responding. The framing is not exposed. The house is finished. There are no ducts or pipes that run through these joists. There is some wiring.I can't check the issues Bob raised but I don't recall any of those when I looked at the framing before drywalling.Bob, what is a relief fold?

        1. nathan_wegemer | Mar 19, 2001 02:08am | #4

          *What kind of flooring do you have down? Any adhesive at the point of snapping?

          1. Ralph_Wicklund | Mar 19, 2001 02:10am | #5

            *Could you post a diagram of the actual orientation of the room(s), beams, micro-lam, 3" post?Is there a plate on top of the 3" post? If not, a 1 1/2" radius is not enough bearing surface for a micro-lam.Tongue and groove, not securely fastened at their junctions, can flex against each other enough to create a snapping sound. But the diagram would sure help.

          2. Bob_Woodhead | Mar 20, 2001 03:17am | #6

            *Mike, Some sheet metal installers will pan from one joist to another usually to create cold air returns in a forced air system. These pans frequently "pop" when someone walks over that floor area. By putting a slight bend or fold in the metal, the noise can be eliminated. Is the noise near a wall? If it is, it may be a nail from the bottom wall plate into the floor moving back and forth. I fixed one like that once by placing a sawzall blade under the wall and cutting the nail.

          3. Mike_Yashko | Mar 20, 2001 11:49pm | #7

            *Ralph, I can't scan anything on this computer. I'll try later. The microlam runs through the ceiling of an adjacent one and one half story section of the house. The microlam and the i beam butt over the steel pole. There is no metal top plate. There is no floor above the microlam. The snapping floor is the one over the joists spanning between the i beam and the rear exterior wall of the house. The floor joists run perpendicular to the ibeam and are hung with joist hangers from 2x8's bolted to the i beam.

          4. Mike_Yashko | Mar 20, 2001 11:56pm | #8

            *Bob, there is no sheet metal under this floor. The nail idea is interesting but this seems to be way too loud and involves too much area to be only one nail.

          5. Mike_Yashko | Mar 21, 2001 12:00am | #9

            *Nathan, carpet on the top. The sub floor is a tongue and groove plywood type material in 4x8 sheets. I don't know about adhesive. But its more of a snapping sound than the sound typically made when the plywood is not adhered to the joists.

          6. calvin_ | Mar 21, 2001 02:27am | #10

            *Mike, your location and what was the time of the year for framing, drywall, and heat? And a drawing with a little more detail including whats under that steel post would sure be helpful. And what has the builder said? He built it and he's a little closer to it than we are.

          7. Bob_Woodhead | Mar 23, 2001 01:06am | #11

            *Mike, My official guess is a loose joist/hanger connection. I've had them before and they can be a loud snapping noise. I hope I'm wrong. Good luck, Bob

          8. nathan_wegemer | Mar 23, 2001 04:42am | #12

            *Bobwhat is it in the loose connection that snaps?all I could think of would be the release of tension on the end of a joist in friction against the girder. Actual wood movement would make a snap...even a very small amount of movement. Perhaps there were no toe-nails at the sides of the hanger. Mikecan you find one spot that you can bounce on to repeat the snap over and over?stay off that spot. : )are there any walls below, that might be acting as a fulcrum for the joist to rotate over? If this wall was just a little high, and they weren't able to seat the joist into the hanger fully, there might be room and cause for that joist movement.

  2. Mike_Yashko | Mar 23, 2001 04:52am | #13

    *
    First, some background.

    I have a new two story home. My architect spanned a 22 foot room with a steel -beam. The building dept. said it was not the correct size (I don't know what size it was) but the architect said a structural engineer had designed it and stamped the drawings. He is a very reputable architect.

    The framers attached the beam to another I beam on one end and sat the other end on top of one half of a 3 inch steel pole. A micro-lam buts to the I beam and sits on the other half of the steel pole.

    The second story room (over the beam)has 2x12 floor joists 20 feet long which run from the band and are attached to the I beam with joist hangers. The floor of the second story room has a floor of 5/8" tongue and groove sheets of wood (5' x8'). Its not plywood but is similar. It is supposed to be guaranteed against warping and splitting from water, etc.

    Now the problem:

    When I walk on the half of the second story room nearest the pole/-beam/micro-lam, the floors snaps. It dosen't thump like a typical loose piece of plywood. It actual sounds like wood snapping. The floor does not bounce. Moreover, the other half of the room does not do this?

    Does anyone have a theory?

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