Can anyone post a plain-English explaination of why my roof makes
banging, creaking, and popping noises on severely cold (below 0
Farenheit) nights? Obviously a thermal contraction / temperature
differential thing, and I'm pretty comfortable that it's benign, but if
someone has a link I could point my wife at, ...
Dave:
Same thing here. My flat roof pops in very low temps. Is your wife
also a hypochondriac?... like mine ? To her, every creak in the house
means its falling down. Every body pain causes her to call the kids
and say goodbye. My opinion that it is expansion and contraction has
very little impact on her. I'd also like to find an internet site that
would explain this.
I mean the roof. The wife I've got figured out.
-Mike
You're one up on me, VBG.
The banging and cracking is a common thing meaning its too damned cold to go
outside. I think part of it is the wood being totally dessicated by the
extreme low dew point and also being brittle. Try splitting wood at this
temp - it pops like a piece of glass.
Karl
She'd believe a website but doesn't believe you whom she presumably
knows? Gosh, if your credibility is that low already ....
tell her it's rabid bats shooting each other while fighting over the
few remaining warm places up there.
It has nothing to do with cold or dry, at least in my house.
Even in summer, about 6 AM, when the first rays of the sun hit
the roof, it starts to creak. It does this all the time,
sometimes VERY loudly, when a door is opened suddenly, or a
strong gust of wind hits the house. In summer, the creaking
stops about 11 PM to midnight, when everything has finally
settled to the same temperature. It can be amazingly loud,
making you think burglars are pulling nails out with crowbars
or something.
We live in a "panelized construction" house, with pre-fabbed
panels that were tilted up into place, often with all the
interior trim, windows, paint, etc. applied at the factory.
The roof is apparently made of 8 x 16' panels tilted up onto
tops of the walls and central box-beam. All these panels are
2 sheets of plywood with 2x4's glued between them.
Jon
You're not so far off the mark! A very common thing to find in old houses
is nails "pulled" by the movement of the lumber over many decades. Many of
those pops and bangs you hear probably ARE nails moving a fraction of a
millimeter. Like earthquakes, the tension builds, then is released suddenly
by the nail "popping" to a more relaxed position.
(So as not to cause worry, some of the noise is lumber against lumber, doing
the same thing. I don't think I've heard of a house actually disassembling
itself by this means)
LLoyd
"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote: (clip) A very common thing to find in old
houses is nails "pulled" by the movement of the lumber over many decades.
(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Confirming this, I have had to re-drive the nails in a deck. Many of them
were sticking up 1/4" or so.
Yup, I had a cedar picnic table that was left out over winter and come spring I
would have to drive all the nail heads back below the surface. The constant
freeze/thaw process pushes the nails out over time.
Could also be caused by moisture content of wood declining. I know
the pressure treated lumber I made my deck out was wet as heck. It
really shrunk after a few days in the sun.
Wes
The flat roof on my building (built in 1909) Had so many coats of roofing on
it, that the asphalt was as much as 4 inches thick in places.
It expanded and contracted with so much force, that it was impossible to
keep it sealed to the brick parapets.
I don't remember if it was noisy. Frankly, the busses and trucks driving by
all the time drown out all the little noises.
Paul K. Dickman
It's not about credibility, it's about it being blisteringly farking
obvious to me, and not so much to her. This is why the 8 year old helps
her with computer stuff, as well ;)
Ah. I like how you think.
The tar in the shingles gets cold and brittle. Then under load, it snaps.
I think if the rafters were snapping you would really hear it and feel it.
You might want to venture into the attic and see what you can see. Might
be best to off load some weight if you can.
Maybe a leaf blower would help - Just be careful.
Martin
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Endowment Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot"s Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
formatting link
Dave H> Can anyone post a plain-English explaination of why my roof makes
I respectfully suggest small-team training for you and your lifemate
if she be so. I have no idea where you'd find it, and you each and
both may find the experience unpleasant -- so I merely suggest that
life can be very good for partners who are lovers, skilled as members
of a small team, and committed to their small team.
I am no proponent of psychobabblebullshit but I do know a bit about
small teams and I purely enjoy the hell out of my membership in the
small team Mary and I have built over the years and a few rockpiles.
A teammate would know that was a joke -- and she'd play a better joke
on you. Good friendly jokes are routine in good small teams. If life
isn't fun it isn't worth bothering with.
Inspected up in the attic last night more out of curiousity than
concern. Nothing visible; bit of frost buildup in one spot on the
underside of the roof boards.
Due to the location & direction of the winds & alignment of the house,
the roof is kept pretty clean by wind. As is the driveway. _almost_
like that was intentional ;)
Sure is loud some nights though...for about an hour.
She's good at a lot of things, technical things are not among them. I
was hoping for a plain English explaination of the situation, because
"thermal expansion and temperature differentials" are so far outside
what she needs to know and has background to understand.
I think you're reading questions into mine which aren't being asked.
You only have to start worrying when the doors start sticking. The next
step is to either take the snow off the roof or get out of the house
since the roof is coming in shortly.
John
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