That noise in your house?

badtzbadtz
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
it happens in any house but....



sometimes you'll randomly hear a "crackling" sound in the house [coming from the wood?] and I was wondering if anyone knew what causes this?



my guess is the change in weather?



also, how about that TV "crackling"? static build-up?





*just wondering*

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    rodukroduk Posts: 706member
    I put it down to changes in temperature, humidity etc causing the wood to expand and contract.

    I got home from work one day and found the loft hatch had been lifted up. At first I thought a burglar was in the roof space, but I think it must have been caused by the strong wind blowing, causing a vacuum or difference in air pressure in the loft, which sucked the hatch up.



    [ 11-05-2002: Message edited by: RodUK ]</p>
  • Reply 1 of 20
    trevormtrevorm Posts: 841member
    Heat/Cold = Expantion of wood etc. Also you'll find on a really nice hot day you hear lots more activity around your house
  • Reply 3 of 20
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    ghosts :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
  • Reply 4 of 20
    badtzbadtz Posts: 949member
    is temp. changes the for sure answer?



    also, how about the TV?
  • Reply 5 of 20
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    the thing with the TV is electrostatic energy.
  • Reply 6 of 20
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    I think the TV is static build-up... and the temperature changes do affect the wood in a house. I was always told when I was a kid that it was, "just the house settling". Creeped me out after watching a scary movie.



    In my current apartment, during the day the windows creek all the time - only when the sun is out though.
  • Reply 7 of 20
    badtzbadtz Posts: 949member
    I'm not sure if any of this happens in the day for me, or maybe I don't notice it as much with city noise, etc....



    but @ night, when it's quiet, I notice little "cracks" and things here & there............



    have always made me wonder about the exact cause of it.........





  • Reply 8 of 20
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Buildings wiggle all over the place. You have to take that into account when yo make them, especially when you have different materials next to one another. They will expand and contract to different degrees and under different conditions. When you're dealing with wood or any porous material, humidity affects its expansion and contraction more than temperature, but metals and glass will expand and contract more with heat and cold. That's why you have caulk and sealant between changes in material, to take up the difference.
  • Reply 9 of 20
    jesperasjesperas Posts: 524member
    [quote]Originally posted by Defiant:

    <strong>ghosts :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Nah, ghosts don't crackle when they move. They whisper.



    The crackling sound comes from the voyeur in your attic setting up the video surveillance equipment over your bedroom and bathroom.
  • Reply 10 of 20
    bellebelle Posts: 1,574member
    [quote]Originally posted by jesperas:

    <strong>Nah, ghosts don't crackle when they move. They whisper.</strong><hr></blockquote>

    Ignore the voices in your head! Don't listen to them!
  • Reply 11 of 20
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    [quote]Originally posted by jesperas:

    <strong>The crackling sound comes from the voyeur in your attic setting up the video surveillance equipment over your bedroom and bathroom.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    yes? didn't know that I even have an attic ...
  • Reply 12 of 20
    dogcowdogcow Posts: 713member
    Everynight at 10 oclock (within 15 minutes of 10) there is a loud crack sound. Happens every night, any time of year. It used to freek me out, now I don't even notice.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    The expansion and contraction of materials in heat and cold explain the seams built into a bridge. The space is wide enough to let the bridge "breathe" under different temperatures, but close enough to easily and safely drive over them.



    In a building I know (which shares an underground walkway with another), all of the water mains going between the two are exposed as you walk through the tunnel. The pipes themselves are built onto little rollers, so that when the pipes expand and contract with the hot and cold water they're carrying, they can just roll along the wheels.



    Just makes you wonder how much larger and smaller we get when we become hot and cold. I'm sure our bones all do the same sort of thing. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
  • Reply 14 of 20
    trailmaster308trailmaster308 Posts: 699member
    [quote]Originally posted by CosmoNut:

    <strong>The expansion and contraction of materials in heat and cold explain the seams built into a bridge. The space is wide enough to let the bridge "breathe" under different temperatures, but close enough to easily and safely drive over them.



    In a building I know (which shares an underground walkway with another), all of the water mains going between the two are exposed as you walk through the tunnel. The pipes themselves are built onto little rollers, so that when the pipes expand and contract with the hot and cold water they're carrying, they can just roll along the wheels.



    Just makes you wonder how much larger and smaller we get when we become hot and cold. I'm sure our bones all do the same sort of thing. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Also rubber expansion seams in concrete roads are for the same thing. However, black top can actually expand easier than concrete so those types of roads do not have the rubber seams.
  • Reply 15 of 20
    rodukroduk Posts: 706member
    [quote]Originally posted by CosmoNut:

    <strong>Just makes you wonder how much larger and smaller we get when we become hot and cold. I'm sure our bones all do the same sort of thing. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Useless fact: You're an inch shorter in the evenings as gravity has compressed your spine throughout the day. Over night it stretches back out and in the morning you're an inch taller.



    BTW, I get very much smaller in the cold :o



    [ 11-05-2002: Message edited by: RodUK ]</p>
  • Reply 16 of 20
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Expansion joints in buildings and other construction are a major deal, and are a common basis for lawsuits and building failure. Usually, the problem is not enough expansion joints, or contructing over them (which will do things like rip finish walls apart). The only things that are more common are residential complaints and water penetration damage.



    I notice the shrinking posture thing every time I sit in my car. I'm always adjusting the mittor up in the morning, down in the afternoon.
  • Reply 17 of 20
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    I remember one night when I was around 15 hearing this knocking. It was kind of freaking me out. I went outside to see what it was - sounded like something banging the side of the house. Couldn't find a thing. Back to bed, and the same noise.... tap... tap... tap... tap. Could NOT figure out what the hell this noise was.



    So the next day I go into my parent's room looking for my mom. She's in their bathroom, so I plop myself down on the bed.



    Headboard gets jostled.



    tap...



    tap...





    Took me weeks to get over it.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    a few weeks ago, i woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, then i heard what appeared to be someone/something hitting a few keys on my old computer keyboard really fast. freaked me out. i then looked in the room and saw nothing, no cats lurking about. my sister always said this house was haunted :eek:
  • Reply 19 of 20
    badtzbadtz Posts: 949member
    [quote]Originally posted by burningwheel:

    <strong>a few weeks ago, i woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, then i heard what appeared to be someone/something hitting a few keys on my old computer keyboard really fast. freaked me out. i then looked in the room and saw nothing, no cats lurking about. my sister always said this house was haunted :eek: </strong><hr></blockquote>

    <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" /> <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> <img src="graemlins/surprised.gif" border="0" alt="[Surprised]" /> <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
  • Reply 20 of 20
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    [quote]Originally posted by Dogcow:

    <strong>Everynight at 10 oclock (within 15 minutes of 10) there is a loud crack sound. Happens every night, any time of year. It used to freek me out, now I don't even notice.</strong><hr></blockquote>

    very strange
Sign In or Register to comment.