When a house “settles” what is actually happening that causes popping, creaking, groaning noises, etc.?

1.46K views

When a house “settles” what is actually happening that causes popping, creaking, groaning noises, etc.?

In: Engineering

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If we are talking about North American stick construction…often the wood used is wet. As it dries it shrinks…more across the grain than along it. This means that all the wood used in the walls is changing dimensions after the house is built. Since each piece wants to change size in its own ways…things move.

When you build a house you put things in place before the weight from the roof goes on. This means there are all sorts of little gaps. These gaps are in addition to wood changing shape. So, over time, things squish down.

When you build a house a whole bunch of weight gets put on a skirt…the foundation wall, and on some pads in the middle where posts come down. If these are resting on a compacted gravel bed…that may compact a bit. If compaction is uneven…things will want to move. If you build on a structural pad…that may not move much at all.

Putting these together…when things that are mostly stuck move…they make all sorts of odd noises.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Are we discussing settling, or thermal expansion/contraction?

I’d you are talking about the mid morning and late afternoon groaning, the house is just growing/shrinking ever so slightly. As building materials heat up, they expand, often at different rates. Your home is a mix of wood, vinyl, abs, copper, pex, asphalt, rubber, plastic, paper, foam, and fiberglass. The CREAKING you are hearing is usually nails or screws moving ever so slightly, or the wood itself shifting a tiny bit. Some materials are insulated to stay warm (or cool), while others are directly exposed to the icey cold air or the summer sun. These materials, while screwed or nailed together, undergo completely different rates of thermal expansion. Therefore, minor twists and pops.

Settling is much worse. Basically, the house wasn’t built on a solid enough foundation, and the weight of the house “finishes” compacting the soil after usually a year or a few. Then that part of the house sinks to it’s new depth, bringing everything directly above it down with it. This is not good.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Your house is built from rigid structures, fastened together to prevent them moving. As the added weight of the building causes things to compress (both the building materials themselves and the ground under the building) you are hearing the joints and fasteners shifting and making noise. Eventually things will equalize and the shifting will slow. As temperatures and humidity levels change things will continue to shift and make noise but it will be less frequent.

Anonymous 0 Comments

[removed]

Anonymous 0 Comments

**Please read this entire message**

Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):

* ELI5 requires that you *search the ELI5 subreddit for your topic before posting*.

There are no exceptions to this rule.

Users will often either find a thread that meets their needs or find that their question might qualify for an exception to rule 7.

Please see this [wiki entry](http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/how_to_search) for more details (Rule 7).


If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. If you still feel the removal should be reviewed, please [message the moderators.](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Can%20you%20review%20my%20thread?)