My house is wood pier and beam, built in 1941. I’ve lived in it for 15 years and know its quirks inside and out. I had the roof replaced from shingles to standing seam metal. Sometime after this, I started hearing a noise that happens every now and then night or day usually only once or twice at a time coming from the general area of one corner of the attic. Because it happens so randomly, I’m not able to record it. It has a muffled juddering sound of wood on wood, loud at first then tailing off, like a vibration that loses its oomph. Sometimes I suspect it might be wind-related, like a suction. I don’t think it can be gutters or vent pipes as it is in no way metal sounding. Any ideas?
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2Does the timing seem to match large outside temperature changes?– crip659Commented Dec 12, 2023 at 20:30
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1Or when the sun hits or stops hitting the roof?– UnhandledExcepSeanCommented Dec 12, 2023 at 20:55
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1You could be hearing a critter. Look for scat and entry points to seal.– Phil FreedenbergCommented Dec 12, 2023 at 21:42
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3Yeah, most likely to be the standing seam sheets sliding as they expand and contract, as hinted at by crip659 and UnhandledExcepSean. One or the other or both of whom should write an answer.– EcnerwalCommented Dec 12, 2023 at 22:16
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1 Answer
I'm with @crip659, @UnhandledExcepSean, and @Ecnerwal.
The sound is your metal roof. You say the sound is random, but I'd wager that if you kept a "strange roof noise diary" and then cross referenced the sounds with outside temperature and solar exposure of your roof (sunshine + shade), you'd find a pattern so obvious it would bite you.
The most likely explanation is that steel (the most common metal used in standing seam roofs) expands and contracts at the rate of .08" / 10' / 100°F. If your roof has a 20' span, on a hot day your metal roof can easily heat up to 100° above ambient and drop as low as ~20-30°F cooler than ambient. As the temperature of the metal heats and cools during this diurnal cycle, a 20' run of metal can expand and contract by 3/8".
There is probably a spot on your roof that isn't completely free to expand and contract as the roof temperature changes. That restricted section builds up tension in the metal until the tension overcomes whatever is impeding expansion and then it breaks free, making fun noises.
