With the bitterly cold temperatures we will be having this week, did you ever wonder why your house makes cracking or bumping noises during a cold snap?

According to CBS News, extreme changes in weather temperature can cause shrinking in all exposed building materials. Many of its parts are exposed to warm environments (on the inside) and at the same time to cold environments (on the outside.)

Outside parts of the structure are shrinking while inside parts are staying essentially the same. When parts of a building shrink quickly, stress is produced in the connections and joints, and when stresses are released quickly, a loud popping sound can be heard as one member moves against or away from another, or from the connectors.

Builders plan for this type of movement, and try to cut down on it by using similar products next to each other.

But sometimes the movements need to be addressed.

One of those is movement on the roof. If you hear creaking or popping from a roof burdened with snow, that’s something you need to take care of.

Source: CBS News

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