With fluctuating warm then cold temperatures, homeowners around the city have been hearing loud banging and cracking from their walls and attics.
While the sound may not bring your house down, crews that do framing and home rebuilds say the sound is usually to do with truss uplifts.
“The reason you’re hearing those noises and it’s kinda catching people off guard in this cold weather is,” said Moe Barzagar, “because moisture migrates into your attic.”
Modern homes have attics with insulation and ventilation held together by roof trusses, instead of ceiling joints or rafters. What holds the trusses is a series of boards called chords.
During cold snaps, the bottom chord, which is covered by insulation, remains warm. Chords at the top of a truss are above the insulation and can get cold while absorbing moisture.
That moisture can cause them to elongate. In warmer weather, that cycle reverses.
Barzagar, an owner of First General Property Restoration, explains that incorrect bathroom venting or even renovations or modifications that cut through vapour barriers to install potlights can create openings for moisture to move into your attic.
Warm boards meeting cold ones can mean nails or other fasteners temporarily pop, especially if installation stops are not added.
The good news is that truss uplift usually reverts back to a tight fit once temperatures stabilize from a thaw-freeze cycle, Barzagar says.
More severe cases of truss uplift can put cracks in the paint in walls or drywall. Barzagar recommends checking the edges of your attic for installation stops, pieces of cardboard helping minimize the sound any banging makes.
Richard Amiotte, who has heard the banging for the past few days, says he sympathizes for his more than 50-year-old home.
“(I’m) getting old,” Amiotte said, adding how he understands his own bones getting a little creakier each winter. “I can see how she feels.”