When you awaken during a chilly night to persistent loud thuds from your house's roof, it might be scary, prompting images of falling tree limbs or intruders on the roof. You're hearing, however, the impact of the building materials on low temperatures. It's just physics, but it doesn't indicate a significant structural problem, so you can get some rest while the house shakes.
Shrinking's the Issue
Understanding the mechanism behind a roof's banging requires an understanding of thermal expansion and contraction. To put it another way, materials in buildings respond to changes in their surroundings. The effects are most apparent during the winter. Cold temperatures shrink exposed building materials, which are connected and interior materials by fasteners such as nails, causing them to separate. Differences in materials shrink at various rates. Wood, for example, loses moisture in the dry winter air, resulting in a greater shrinkage. The excessive amount of heat radiated from exposed construction materials may cause them to shrink rapidly, as well as abrupt changes between warm and extremely cold temperatures, which are frequent in the winter when days are warmer but temperatures plummet at night.
Distortion and Movement
Ceilings and floors are exposed to the elements while enclosing interior walls, which are often covered in insulation, keeping them warm. The shrinkage of the roof is happening quicker than the interior walls, distorting the form of various roof and attic components, such as rafters. The movement of joints and other connections, such as nails and metal plates between the roof and attic walls, can happen when pressure rises. This occurs because of the energy that is generated during this motion. The loud banging or cracking sound is due to this energy. According to Joe Nelson of Twin City Home Remodeling in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, even the tiniest movement may create a bang. The components of the roof return to their normal size and tension as the temperature rises throughout the year.
No Cause for Alarm
Noises caused by thermal expansion and contraction of building materials are usually not a sign of significant damage, such as structural failure. When water pipes are heated or cooled with usage, they contract and expand more quietly than when they aren't being used. When the temperature drops on hot summer days, window and door frames shrink as well. In reality, builders are well aware of thermal expansion and contraction, and they work to reduce it as much as possible by using similar materials close to each other and tightly linking joints to prevent movement. However, once several inches or more of snow accumulates on a roof and makes noise, it has to be removed as soon as feasible.
Insulation Not a Big Help
The thumping sounds made by movement in the roof rafters or other roof components will be muffled by insulation, but they will not be able to stop expansion and contraction as a result of the roof's exposure to external temperatures. Adding additional attic ventilation may help minimize expansion and compression by lowering the daytime temperature in the attic, according to columnist Ari Marantz in his "Ask the Inspector" column for the "Winnipeg Free Press."
Read more: Why Does My Roof Sound Like it’s Cracking?
What Causes a Furnace to Vibrate a House?
Thunderous thunder on the Fourth of July. The floor can shake and the windows may rattle from these two noisemakers. While they're frightening, they're thankfully uncommon, but when your home shakes regularly and vibrates each time the furnace kicks on, it's not just disturbing but also annoying and potentially maddening, depending on the severity of the problem. It's also significant to note that the source of such disturbances is typically readily identifiable and dealt with.
When a furnace makes strange noises or causes vibration problems, it's critical to investigate right away. It might be as simple as an old home with loose window glass that is too easily vibrated, but it can also signal issues in the heating system that result in wear and tear on the furnace, as well as life-threatening risks for that inside.
You might also be interested in: Why Does My Roof Creak at Night
Troublemaking Furnace Problems
The sound of a furnace may talk to us in ways that indicate trouble without shaking the walls around us. However, owing to ductwork, we may distribute all furnace noises and if they're loud enough, induce vibration. Some audible vibrations are simply a sign that you need to do some repair work, but others demand immediate contact with your HVAC expert.
- Bolting issues — shaking and rattling of the system.
- Unsecured ductwork — rattling by forced air.
- Aging fan motor or dislodged blower fan — rattling.
- Delayed ignition causing a loud boom — The gas pressure and temperature are adjusted to the necessary level by adjusting the controls on the burner.
- A rumbling sound after the heat cycle — several causes and a signal that carbon monoxide may be escaping into your home.
- A loud bang or rattle when the heat kicks on — It's common for carbon monoxide detectors to go off when the home is first occupied. This might be an indication of a cracked heat exchanger, which is a source of carbon monoxide leaks.
- Loose panels — rattling.
If you have metal ductwork and want to reduce heating noise, consider replacing a tiny portion of the ductwork leading to each heat register with the insulated flexible duct. Replace a small portion of the system's main plenum with a rubber boot to muffle sound and install separate ductwork lines from the main trunk to each register.
House Structural Issues
Older homes are generally more soundproof and less likely to vibrate than new ones with plenty of drywall, plywood, and hollow-core doors. The more loud a sound is, the more likely it is to vibrate a structure, especially one that doesn't have solid components. Although repairing or replacing the furnace is usually the first step in eliminating a vibration caused by a furnace, making improvements to your house to make it more solid and soundproof makes sense.
Installing sound-absorbing flooring, replacing hollow-core doors with solid wood doors, and ensuring that all window glass is fastened may help to reduce vibrations in an existing newer house. Other things, such as the installation of tight-fitting interior wall insulation during renovation projects, may be done.
If you plan to construct, soundproofing components, such as sound-absorbing wall and floor materials and insulated ductwork for your heating and cooling system, can help prevent future issues caused by an old heating system.