Attics Joists Creak And Pop

But live loads are a different matter.

Attics joists creak and pop.

Most people store clothes antiques junk photo albums and many of their long forgotten things in this rather dingy area often known as the dead load. If your house is giving you the creeps because of popping noises from inside the walls and up in the attic you can probably chalk it up to something other than spirits from beyond the grave. In the case of 2x6 joists you can pair them up with additional 2x6 joists by nailing them together side by side. Popping is a common way to describe a variety of noises that a house makes and the causes are varied.

In older home attics unsettling bangs are more likely to be the sounds of trusses joists rafters and sheathing expanding or contracting as the roof heats up or cools down. Sistering is the process of adding a new joist next to each existing joist. All attics joists can carry a minimal dead load weight i e 10 pounds per square foot. Often minimal live load requirements are four times that of dead loads.

If the attic joists are not adequate one way to strengthen the floor for live loads is to sister the old joists. Read to learn more. Further the carpenter may need to add nails or reset them shim shore add joists or rafters rebrace etc any or all of these methods might indeed pull it off and get rid of the unwanted noise. How to build attic flooring on joists.