popping noise

[John O'Brien]

My house was built 4 years ago. On a slab, one story, adult community.

Since we moved in we have had a "popping" noise in the master bath. Definetly worse during the winter months. While it was still under warranty, we had the heating contractor take a look. Not heat related, since flexible ducting was used throughout the attic space, sheetmetal down the walls. All the HVAC duct work, air handler, etc is in the attic space. There is a gas pipe that runs through the attic, he said they may have used the wrong clamps to hold the pipe to the floor rafters. Had that checked by a plumber and he said that's not the cause. He thinks it's an expansion and contraction issue.

The builder sent a framer out who put an extra 2x4 across the floor rafters and that seemed to help a bit. That's when our warranty time ran out and the next winter the pops were back again. They appear to be coming from different areas, some times 1 pop in a spot, sometings 2-3 in a row.

With the cold winter nights, when the heat comes on in the morning the popping is at it's worse. We keep the heat at 62 during the night and it comes on at 6am and raises to 65.

It's the only room that has this issue. Someone said it could be the sheetrock expanding as the room warms up, but there are no cracks or nail pops. Could be the rafters expanding as the warm air rises, but how would you fix that. The other issue is that the area in question is at the back of the house and access to the attic space is in the garage in the front. To get to the back requires a lot of crawling, climbing thru the maze of duct work and trusses. Not an easy task for a 250 pounder.

Has anyone experienced a similiar situation, or have any recommendations to eliminate it?

Thanks you in advance.

John

[Alan Melbourne]

i had a similar problem on a job a while back
it was where the pex tubing was sitting on holes drilled in the side of the press
as the pipe heated up it expanded and the pex started moving through the hole.
i put some pipe lagging around the pipe .
it solved the problem


not sure if it helps your situation.

[Kevin Bourque]

Do you have tile in the bathroom?

[phil harold]

Since we moved in we have had a "popping" noise in the master bath.
John

Houses move
heat
cold
moisture
add to that a bathroom with dissimilar materials
plastic copper tile wood Sheetrock porcelain concrete
things are moving at different rates
I have seen electrical wires rub on ceiling joists and duct work that make noise pops and squeaks
along with duct work and water/drain pipes
without tearing the walls and ceiling out looking for the culprit you could put sticky notes where you here the pops every time you here them
after a while you may see a pattern
get a stethoscope place it in the areas and apply pressure to the offending area to create movement listen for noise to pinpoint
then someone will have to go into the attic and see what they can find it may not be easy to see under the insulation
shims, silicone caulk, cardboard to isolate movement may help

or
just keep the house at 65

good luck!

[John O'Brien]

Kevin;

We have a tile floor and tile up about 6' in the shower. Also a raised tub that we don't use that has tile all around it.

Really sounds like it is coming from the ceiling though, or where the walls and ceiling meet. I have tried pressing/pushing on the area where we thought the sound was coming from without success.

And it is random, around the whole room. I was thinking of trying to put some screws in the sheetrok to see if that "tightens" anything up. Think that might help?

Puzzling. Thanks for the ideas.

John

[Harry Hagan]

Sounds like a good plumbing/heating detective segment for Richard Trethewey on Ask This Old House.

You’re not too far from them up there in Yankee territory—they just might help you out. I’ve had to ferret out annoying noises in vehicles and houses. Don’t give up. You’ll figure it out.

[Lee Schierer]

Since it seems to be more prevalent during the morning as the temp rises, I suspect you have a leak in your air ducts that is heating up the walls or framing. Contractors are notorious for not sealing ducts and it is not unusual to find poor fitting or even loose joints leaking air into cavities. I would check all heat runs that come close to the room where the problem is.

Aluminum siding make popping noises it it has been nailed too tightly as it expands and cools.

I have vinyl gutters and we get popping noises from them particularly when the outside temperature goes below 10 degrees. Sometimes these are loud bangs as they contract.

[Ole Anderson]

Not going to help you but when I installed my Trex decking, I ignored the spacing rule and butted the planks together to avoid cracks where the tree seeds get trapped. The first winter after the install the temp dropped below 10 degrees in the middle of the night and out a a deep sleep I almost sat up in bed when something finally let go. Sounded as though someone took a big 'ol swing with an 8 pound sledge right onto the deck just outside our bedroom window. Never did find any damage. Heard it about a dozen times in the first 3 years whenever it got below 10 degrees. Less and less as the years go by.

[Stephen Tashiro]

(I haven't had such a problem.) I suggest that your try to locate the popping using a recorder. Modern digital voice recorders are small and they can record hours of sound on memory cards. You can try taping one at various places and see where the sound is loudest. If the popping goes on long enough for you to listen to it directly, try a mechanics stethoscope.

[David Helm]

Do you have rafters or trusses? If trusses, it could easily be truss uplift due to temperature differential between outside walls where trusses are fastened and the interior where trusses are not fastened.

[John O'Brien]

We do have trusses. Can you explain a little more what you mean by the interior walls not fastened to the trusses, or direct me to a link that explains it?

Thanks

John

[David Helm]

Don't have a link, but the proper way to install trusses is to fasten them to the exterior walls only. Temp differential between outer wall fastening and interior of bottom chord causes the uplift. It is a common winter problem that goes away in the summer. If for some reason the builder nailed the bottom chord of the truss to interior walls (a big no-no) that could also cause popping noises as the nails are pulled or the bottom chord is breaking.

[Ole Anderson]

Don't have a link, but the proper way to install trusses is to fasten them to the exterior walls only. Temp differential between outer wall fastening and interior of bottom chord causes the uplift. It is a common winter problem that goes away in the summer. If for some reason the builder nailed the bottom chord of the truss to interior walls (a big no-no) that could also cause popping noises as the nails are pulled or the bottom chord is breaking.

But when you do your drywalling, you are tieing your stud walls to your trusses, granted the only real connection is the tape at the corner, but if there is any movement it will show up as nail pops and cracks at the corners.

[Jerome Stanek]

We always tied the walls to trusses either by L backers or backers that were nail between the trusses. Never had a problem and that is in northern Ohio.