Attics Joists Creak And Pop

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Attics joists creak and pop.

In older home attics unsettling bangs are more likely to be the sounds of trusses joists rafters and sheathing expanding or contracting as the roof heats up or cools down. Most people store clothes antiques junk photo albums and many of their long forgotten things in this rather dingy area often known as the dead load. Further the carpenter may need to add nails or reset them shim shore add joists or rafters rebrace etc any or all of these methods might indeed pull it off and get rid of the unwanted noise. The attic is one of the most unused and under designed spaces of a home.

Metal roofs are major offenders but shingled roofs also can be quite noisy. In the case of 2x6 joists you can pair them up with additional 2x6 joists by nailing them together side by side. Sistering is the process of adding a new joist next to each existing joist. If your house is giving you the creeps because of popping noises from inside the walls and up in the attic you can probably chalk it up to something other than spirits from beyond the grave.

Popping is a common way to describe a variety of noises that a house makes and the causes are varied. If the attic joists are not adequate one way to strengthen the floor for live loads is to sister the old joists. Often minimal live load requirements are four times that of dead loads. But live loads are a different matter.