Why does house creak

Many homeowners worry that the sounds and creaks might be a symptom of a larger problem, while other homeowners simply find the sounds to be annoying. The most common causes of creaks in a home include temperature fluctuations causing expansion and contraction of home materials, loose floorboards, home settling, loose hinges, unfastened gutters, and other reasons covered below. While some causes are fixable, others just take some getting used to, especially if your home is made with adaptable materials like wood.

Most people have a bad association with creaks, but oftentimes they are normal. Temperature can have a great effect on materials and as things heat and cool, they also expand and contract. This is especially true for certain materials like wood and metal. In the summer months, when the weather is hot, these materials will expand.

Throughout the day, as temperature changes, these materials will continue to expand and contract slightly, letting off small noises in the process. The video above does a good job explaining why houses often creak at night or during significant temperature fluctuations. The natural wear of floors, on top of the normal expansion and contraction of wood and others materials, can cause creaking to become more noticeable as your home gets older. You can either replace them altogether or you can fasten them with adhesive and screws inserted from below.

Use screws that will penetrate the subfloor but stop below the surface of the finished floor. The video above does a great job explaining how to fix creaking in home floors. Creaking noises around the house could come from doors where hinges are loose. If you have doors that you open and close many times throughout the day, they may start to creak from overuse. The Fix: This one is pretty easy to fix because all you need is some lubricant. Unless your hinges are seriously rusty, you could just spritz a bit of lubricant and let it seep in.

After that, the creaking noise will be over and done with, leaving you some peace and quiet in your home. Setting refers to the natural process in which your home slightly shifts over time due to the shifting and compression of soil beneath the foundation. You suspect you've got critters. Fast moving scurrying noises are often rodents like squirrels or rats, " says Bob Cherrington, owner of Family Pest Control.

You hear scratching in your gutters. A tinny scratching sound could be a bird's feet in your gutters, but this points to a different problem. Birds hang out in gutters when water pools. And if water is pooling in your gutters, it means the slope is incorrect. Have your gutters and downspout inspected to make sure water is being properly routed away from your house.

Your lights are buzzing. Your fridge is popping — or won't stop running. Make sure nothing is blocking the passageway between the freezer and the refrigerator compartments this can happen when you pack too much food in the freezer. The constant battle of a house structure expanding and contracting can result in signs of foundation issues. A few things to look out for include stuck doors and windows , uneven floors and bowing walls. Excessive or uneven settling can cause cracks in flooring , walls and even the driveway.

Addressing these issues at first notice will save you from costly foundation repair. If your house is haunted by excessive creaking or signs of foundation shifting, contact the experts at Baird Foundation Repair for a free inspection. Contact us so you can sleep well tonight.

San Antonio, TX Corpus Christi, TX Get A Free Inspection Why do houses creak? Well, this can mean many things. It could be the plumbing, the flooring, or whatnot.

But ultimately, the biggest cause of this creaking sound would be your roof. The sound is the least of your worries. Roof damage has a lot of problems it can bring to the table. It may be the result of improper installation or poor maintenance. Roofs also get damaged by the elements, excessive heat, rapid and extreme temperature changes, the Read more…. Winter is here and you have to make sure that you keep your roof maintained in the colder weather.

Getting a roofing project done is an expensive and time consuming project that can be difficult to plan and budget for.

You have to take into account the time you need for the project, the Read more…. Why Do Houses Creak? Published by EricAdmin on March 5, March 5, Overhead Bangs If you just moved into a new home then you are at risk of overhead bangs. Plumbing Pops Your plumbing is another aspect of your house that you need to pay attention to.

So what can you do?