Hearing loud popping or cracking from your walls? Experts say truss uplift is to blame
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, the owner of First General Property Restoration, specializing in framing and home rebuilds, says the sound is usually the result of truss uplift.
"The reason you're hearing those noises and it's kinda catching people off guard in this cold weather is because moisture migrates into your attic," Moe Barzagar told CTV News Edmonton.
According to Barzagar, attics function best when their temperature is as close to the outdoor temperature as possible. Roof ventilation is designed to enable this. When an attic is not well vented, Barzagar said it can result in moisture accumulation, which can cause a number of problems, including truss lift.
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 absorb moisture, making them expand.
The combination of events can cause the roof truss to bend and flex, and to disconnect from the interior walls below.
Barzagar said incorrect bathroom venting or even renovations or modifications that cut through vapour barriers to install potlights can create openings for moisture to move into an attic.
The good news is that truss uplift doesn't usually cause major problems, Barzagar said.
More severe cases of truss uplift can put cracks in the paint in walls or drywall. Barzagar recommends checking the edges of an attic for insulation stops, or pieces of cardboard that protect a soffit from getting covered and ensuring airflow.
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 his own bones get a little creakier each winter. "I can see how she feels."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'