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sheshe2

(87,736 posts)
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 10:57 PM Feb 2015

Homeowners hearing strange sounds during frigid cold weather

Frost quakes are result of contraction of home materials



BOSTON —Has your home been making strange sound in the middle of the night? The jarring frost quakes have people around New England asking, "What was that?"

A panicked Sandra Tilden, of Framingham, began to search her attic for the source of a series of loud thuds that woke her up overnight.

"It sounded like somebody dropped a wrecking ball on my roof," she said. "Then it happened three or four more times."

She's not alone.

More than 1,000 people posted on the NewsCenter 5 Facebook page to report hearing the loud noises and were glad that there was some sort of explanation as to where the sounds were coming from.

Experts call the noises thermal expansion and contraction. That means the components in your home are shrinking and expanding with extreme temperature changes, especially with the sub-zero temperatures so many of us have been experiencing recently.

Read More http://www.wcvb.com/news/homeowners-hearing-strange-sounds-during-frigid-cold-weather/31449010


Not fun anymore.





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Homeowners hearing strange sounds during frigid cold weather (Original Post) sheshe2 Feb 2015 OP
Yep, I've heard loud booms and strange sounds. I thought a limb fell on the roof. In_The_Wind Feb 2015 #1
I haven't had the booms. Thank goddess! sheshe2 Feb 2015 #2
Icicles inside your storm window is a bummer to say the least. In_The_Wind Feb 2015 #7
Love you ITW~ sheshe2 Feb 2015 #9
Was it ever fun? GP6971 Feb 2015 #3
...and then there was an eek and squeek and a creak notadmblnd Feb 2015 #4
I've had it here too... Historic NY Feb 2015 #5
I haven't had it.... sheshe2 Feb 2015 #6
The first time I heard railroad tracks screaming in the wee hours I thought there was an accident. Shrike47 Feb 2015 #8
Had many strange sounds but figured it was the ice. BUT: Paper Roses Feb 2015 #10

In_The_Wind

(72,300 posts)
1. Yep, I've heard loud booms and strange sounds. I thought a limb fell on the roof.
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 11:11 PM
Feb 2015

Also molding strips warping away from walls. There must be something shifting.

sheshe2

(87,736 posts)
2. I haven't had the booms. Thank goddess!
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 11:25 PM
Feb 2015

I rent, yet have no insurance. I am second floor in a Victorian. Icicles forming inside my storm window. Cracks and water marks in the ceiling. Water dripping on my window sill. My bedroom, cracks running down the walls and across the ceiling. Water marks.

I am a tad Will the roof collapse?

I do believe we are in the twilight zone ITW.

One hell of a winter.

Stay safe my dear.

In_The_Wind

(72,300 posts)
7. Icicles inside your storm window is a bummer to say the least.
Thu Feb 26, 2015, 12:00 AM
Feb 2015

After having one apartment catch fire due to faulty wiring inside the walls, I've had renters (now homeowners) insurance. It's not expensive. Your apartment sounds as if you should check into coverage.

This cannot be an endless winter. Friday night's forecast is -9 degrees.
I hope this is the last bad night this winter.

Stay warm sheshe. Stay safe!

sheshe2

(87,736 posts)
9. Love you ITW~
Thu Feb 26, 2015, 12:22 AM
Feb 2015

It was -12 last night and snowing when I finally left work. Had a customer that kept me past 10. Damn it does seem endless this year.

Love you too. Be safe, no falling on the ice.

GP6971

(33,161 posts)
3. Was it ever fun?
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 11:32 PM
Feb 2015

Yes, as a kid. Not an adult though. I left the east coast almost 30 years ago....I miss it a lot, but not the snow!! My family in New England have been clobbered this year.

Historic NY

(37,939 posts)
5. I've had it here too...
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 11:52 PM
Feb 2015

thought it was from the collar tie they put in for the solar panels...its really loud Thunks..

sheshe2

(87,736 posts)
6. I haven't had it....
Wed Feb 25, 2015, 11:57 PM
Feb 2015

Friends at work have. They were scared to death the first time. Searched the house to see what was wrong.

Paper Roses

(7,506 posts)
10. Had many strange sounds but figured it was the ice. BUT:
Sat Feb 28, 2015, 03:05 PM
Feb 2015

I never go into my attic in the winter, too darn cold. Well, yesterday I had occasion to go up and guess what. The old plaster walls gave way in some areas. Huge chunks on the floor. Another thing to tend to in this old house. This plaster is the old horsehair stuff and weighs a ton. Fun spring project. It seems it never ends. I'll tend to this when I stop pumping the cellar when this mess melts. Been in this circa 1820 house since 1969, never saw anything like this.
Phooey!!

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