Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Apr 22, 2014 2:17 pm I recently did an owner builder on a 2 storey brick veneer house - I have a large north facing wall and during strong winds this wall creaks. I had the frame and trusses pre-made to an N2 wind rating and all supports and bracing have been installed to standard. I had independent inspections done whilst under construction and nothing was brought to my attention that there could be an issue. Is this noise simply the house "settling" or is there something else in play here. I have done a lot of reading on new house creaking and there seems to be a lot of reasons why this could happen. Truss lifting is one theory where the truss will arch up over time and strong winds can place extra pressure on the truss causing the noise - is this true? Can anybody shed any light on this matter? thank you Re: House creaking during strong winds 2Apr 23, 2014 5:07 pm Gee, interesting question Moss. I'm not an engineer, so can't help you with specifics... but can you tell from the creak if it's timber-on-timber, or metal on timber, or nail movement in timber, etc etc? Did you glue the floor to the joists? Are all facing connections nailed or screwed? I imagine every timber house is going to creak, in wind or without, as the timber dries and settles. Not a bad thing, as the added tension increases strength. Watch for cracks and any evidence of horizontal shearing, as then you'll know your bracing isn't doing the job... My storybook home build: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=57987 Re: House creaking during strong winds 3Apr 24, 2014 10:46 am Wow - had not thought of nail movement within the timber. The frame is all timber - but I have metal fascia to which metal guttering is attached. This did clang/vibrate a bit in the first 12 months but have not noticed it now. The floor on the second storey was glued with liquid nails, but also nailed. The creaking sound is almost like a twisting timber sound, I guess this could be the nail movement. The house is now 3 years old, and there are no cracks in the plaster. The slab sat for 3 months prior to placing the frame and tiled roof on, in order to give it a chance to "settle" before bearing any weight. All brackets to the walls and roof trusses were nailed - the independent inspector made sure that there was a minimum of 6 nails in each brace - 3 on the truss and 3 on the wall frame and that all trusses were plated on both sides. It is odd that this sound is only evident on the north wall. We get winds from all directions - but the house does not make any noises from any other direction. I thought it may have had something to do with the fact that the north wall is all brick and stands about 6 meters in height, then the roof. I also designed the house with 600mm eaves all round and when thinking about the wind pushing on the wall then flowing up to hit the eave - this would put pressure on the roof trusses - hence the noise. I have spoken to civil engineers about this and they just seem to shrug their shoulders and not really care. I have no idea - I guess I just need to wait for my house to fall down - hopefully I am not home if it does - or anticipate that the noise will stop once the timber is settled. Thank you for your reply - you have given me something else to think about. Cheers Re: House creaking during strong winds 4Apr 24, 2014 5:45 pm What is "horizontal shearing"? Our house also makes scary noises, but it sort of stopped (almost) or at least lessened in the last 6 months or so. Prior to that, there was a period of about 6 months (I think it was winter time) when it was so loud that I once went looking for what had snapped! It was making loud bangs and it was not possible to figure what-on-what it was. I'd say something truly snapped somewehre. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... 2 4501 Ain't that the truth! We used to have a tile roof and had it replaced with colorbond and suddenly everything throughout the entire house sounds louder! 4 7983 And also concerned if there's any risk of any long term issues 1 151 |