To counter the frigid temperatures outside, you might feel inclined to set your home's thermostat to the most comfortable temperature for you. Extreme cold makes the movement more noticeable.
In addition to that, temperature differences between the cold outside and a home's inside warmth - heat causes materials to expand - also contribute to the contracting.ĭemerly says those building materials, nailed together, move at different rates and have to a tendency to create friction, which causes the popping sounds you hear.Įverything - including houses - moves, but most of the time you don't notice, he says. Instead, it's the friction between your home's building materials as they contract and expand at different levels, says Mark Demerly, owner and president of Demerly Architects in Broad Ripple.Įxtreme cold air reduces the moisture content in the building materials, causing them to shrink, he says. That loud popping noise you've noticed your house or deck making isn't a poltergeist or structural issue. But perhaps the most noticeable concern isn't a winter woe at all. Why is my house popping?įrom broken furnaces to busted pipes, extreme winter weather can wreck havoc on your home. Here's what you need to know to protect the place you call home.
View Gallery: Extreme cold weather settles in Indianapolisīitter cold temperatures can make your home do strange things in the winter months.
