# Noisy roof?



## Chris (Jan 19, 2015)

Just moved into the new house and the roof/ceiling makes a hole lot of noise at night.

It sounds like some is walking across the roof for a few seconds and then stops. It's loud enough to wake up both my wife and I. The roof is made up from 4x8 beams 3' on center with T&G and clay tile on top of that.

At first I thought it was a hot cold thing but even now at 5am it is still creaking. 

I have been here two nights now and both nights it has done this.


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 19, 2015)

Does it only happen at night?


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## Chris (Jan 19, 2015)

Yes. It has been starting as far as I can tell about 9:30 pm. 

It really could be during the day too but I haven't noticed it. I will have the wife listen today for it.


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 19, 2015)

Take a ladder and look up the roof from the fascia towards the peak and see if you notice and deflection of the tile. Do this in the morning and also late in the evening.


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## Chris (Jan 19, 2015)

Will have to do this tomorrow, today I am leaving for work before the sun comes up.


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 19, 2015)

What you are going to look for is loose decking. You might also, _carefully_ walk the area where you notice the noise and see if it has any movement. Have your wife inside and see if she hears any noise while you move about the area. In case you don't know, walk on the bottom edge of the tile.


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## Chris (Jan 19, 2015)

These are my roof tiles, glazed blue.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Repair1421675582.443998.jpg


I'll have one of my workers walk around up there, he used to be a roof guy and knows a whole lot more than I do.

The roof will be replaced eventually when we do an addition but that probably won't be for a year or two.


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 19, 2015)

When you replace it, carefully take them off and stack them on pallets, there is a market for reclaimed roof tile.


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## Chris (Jan 19, 2015)

That was the plan


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## Chris (Jan 25, 2015)

Still noisy. Doesn't make a peep during the day. Makes noise from sun down to sun up. Sounds like a person running across the roof.

Sounds like an earthquake, starts out with a creek and then sounds like every board on the roof creeks from one side of the house to the other.

Tomorrow I will try and take a look in the morning and evening and see if there is any difference.


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## mako1 (Jan 25, 2015)

Racoons? Only at night.


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## Chris (Jan 26, 2015)

It's done it while I was outside and there is nothing running up there.

Ghosts?


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## havasu (Jan 26, 2015)

Isn't that the infamous Tate / Labianca mansion that Manson loved so dear? BTW, did they disclose any bad things happening inside that house in the past?


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## Chris (Jan 26, 2015)

No. I bought it off the original owner who built it, I am meeting with him today to ask a few questions.


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## beachguy005 (Jan 26, 2015)

Hmmmm...You're in SoCal,  isn't that where they filmed Poltergeist?  They're here!!!!


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## nealtw (Jan 26, 2015)

beachguy005 said:


> Hmmmm...You're in SoCal,  isn't that where they filmed Poltergeist?  They're here!!!!



they're back...............


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## Chris (Feb 3, 2015)

It got so noisy last night I thought there was a Volkswagen driving around up there.

It seems to be mainly in the master bedroom area. Starts at the exterior wall and quickly moves towards the center of the house.


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## nealtw (Feb 3, 2015)

80* during the day, well that's to bad about your noisy roof.


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## nealtw (Feb 3, 2015)

Have you been in the attic loooking for anything that might be broken.


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## havasu (Feb 3, 2015)

Is your well pump reverberating the pipes?


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## Chris (Feb 3, 2015)

No attic. Vaulted ceilings with T&G and clay tile roof on top of that.


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## nealtw (Feb 3, 2015)

Is the pitch on the inside the same as the pitch on the outside?


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## Chris (Feb 4, 2015)

Yes!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Repair1423030146.040468.jpg


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## nealtw (Feb 4, 2015)

Pay attention to wind speed and direction when you hear this.


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## Chris (Feb 4, 2015)

Totally calm most of the time.


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## nealtw (Feb 4, 2015)

OK, I'm out of ideas.


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## bud16415 (Feb 4, 2015)

Just before dark go out and hose the roof down good and report back. Or wait for a rainy day and report back. 

Like everyone else I&#8217;m mostly out of ideas but sometime you have to add a variable to the problem to get more data.


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## Chris (Feb 4, 2015)

I'll hose it down tonight.

I keep thinking it's a temperature thing with the tongue and groove?


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## inspectorD (Feb 4, 2015)

It's temperature. http://inspectapedia.com/roof/Roof_Noise_Control.htm


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## Chris (Feb 4, 2015)

That sounds about right, the noise is in the wood, it sounds like the T&G shifting when it happens. It starts with a creak or two and then that sets it off and the noise goes from one side of the room to the other. It gets so loud that it wakes me up at night.

Now my new question is how can I stop it or slow it down?


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## nealtw (Feb 4, 2015)

Insulation over the t&g, tile on sleepers of some sort, steel??????? It won't be the t&g.


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 4, 2015)

Did you ever get your worker to walk the roof and look for loose tile or decking?


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## Chris (Feb 4, 2015)

No he has been busy on real jobs.

I believe it is 2" thick with paper then tiles.


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## nealtw (Feb 4, 2015)

Chris said:


> No he has been busy on real jobs.
> 
> I believe it is 2" thick with paper then tiles.



Are you sure?  That is what it looks like but that can be deceiving. Take a photo of the soffet unless it it the same look.


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## Chris (Feb 5, 2015)

Will do in the morning when the sun comes up.


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## nealtw (Feb 5, 2015)

Chris said:


> Will do in the morning when the sun comes up.



Don't you hate it when the sun never comes up.:rofl:


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## Chris (Feb 5, 2015)

Yup, stupid sun.

I didn't get any pics but I did dig around a bit. My roof is 1" T&G with 4" of foam insulation then ply and paper then tiles. I'm 99% sure on this.


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## frodo (Feb 5, 2015)

do you have t-stat controlled fans in the attic ?   I had one, the blade hit the edge of the cowling...made a hellofa racket


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## Chris (Feb 5, 2015)

I do in my garage but my house has no attic in that area.


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## nealtw (Feb 5, 2015)

Metal soffets?????????


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## Chris (Feb 6, 2015)

It's all stick built. As far as I know there is no metal.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Repair1423198935.536462.jpg


View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Repair1423198955.287195.jpg


View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Repair1423198996.788743.jpg


View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Repair1423199021.920017.jpg


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## nealtw (Feb 6, 2015)

Have a look at how the fasia is pulling away from the rafters.
You are missing the liner, the 2x4 or 2x6 nailed to the end of the rafters that the 1x6 and fasia is nailed to.
Don't know if that's the noise but I wood knock that back in place and drive some very large deck screws in there.


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## Chris (Feb 6, 2015)

That fascia is a brand new piece of wood installed just before we bought the house. They had an old patio cover attached the the original which was rough sawn. It isn't flush because the tiles and insulation are pushing it funny. I can try and suck it up but I don't think it is going anywhere.


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## nealtw (Feb 6, 2015)

So if they changed the fasia, the weight of the first row of tile is one the 1x6. The tongue and groove is what allows it to span the distance between rafters. The noise indicates a problem. all we can do is look for problems and that is one.

I'll take the 1% chance the 4" insulation is not there, maybe 2", The fasia don't seem to be wide enough to hide 4" but with foam I'll go back to wondering if there are sleepers to nail the tile to. If not how long do the nails have to be to hold the tile go thru the foam and go into the wood no more than 3/4".  As the foam would give the nail no structual support the bending moment would be at the wood deck. With a few tremblers I could see the tile pulling at the nails, bending them in the downward direction.
Still don't no if anything here would cause noise everynight.


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## inspectorD (Feb 6, 2015)

Chris said:


> Yup, stupid sun.
> 
> I didn't get any pics but I did dig around a bit. My roof is 1" T&G with 4" of foam insulation then ply and paper then tiles. I'm 99% sure on this.



And how is the Plywood and foam fastened...screws, nails, washers, glue?

I think this is where the expansion is at different rates when it cools down...then it POPs and it moves on the foam. I have seen this happen before but with metal roofs.


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## Chris (Feb 6, 2015)

I will climb up there again to verify today


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 6, 2015)

The weight of the tile along the bottom edge should be bore by the bird stop. The bird sop is the half round pieces in each flute of the tile and they should be nailed into the roof deck, not the fascia. 

Does this noise happen on cloudy days?


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## Chris (Feb 6, 2015)

Don't know, this is sunny California.


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## nealtw (Feb 6, 2015)

I am having trouble computing the third photo in post 41. Why are we looking at an angle?


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 6, 2015)

That's a view of the fascia, the tile flutes and bird stop.


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## nealtw (Feb 6, 2015)

oldognewtrick said:


> That's a view of the fascia, the tile flutes and bird stop.



must be camara angle, just  looks strange.

Anyway, noise indicates something is moving, The weight of the tile is sitting on sheeting that is overspanned.

Would just add a 2x4 from the ground to the underside of that span, wedged just a little to see if that changed the noise.


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## Chris (Feb 6, 2015)

Alcohol makes funny pictures.

Where should I wedge the 2x4? The noise is worst in the master and second the living room, the kids rooms not much at all. So worst is the east side gets better to the west.

Back of house faces south and gets sunn all day long.


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## frodo (Feb 7, 2015)

have you got a exhaust wind turbine?

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608030488966005340&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0


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## nealtw (Feb 7, 2015)

In the photo the first 1x6 isn't supported between the trusses near the fasia, so just in the center of that 1x6 between each of the rafters.


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## nealtw (Feb 7, 2015)

frodo said:


> have you got a exhaust wind turbine?
> 
> http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608030488966005340&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0



No attic.............


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## frodo (Feb 7, 2015)

no attic ?   where do you store the Christmas decorations?    grand mas old picture ?  

that hideous  sculpture  crazy uncle gave you?


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## nealtw (Feb 7, 2015)

We have a pick up and storage outfit that comes down the street weekly.


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## frodo (Feb 7, 2015)

when I moved in here.  I had to school the garbage man.  

I put out 6 bags of garbage,  He took five and left one.  the next week, 

the same bag was out on the curb,  when he went to pick it up,  the bag ripped

cause it is a cheap bag, been in the sun for a week.  He lift the stank garbage on the ground.

So I called his supervisor, someone else was sent out to clean up his mess

evidently,  his brass was chewed.  because I can put out as many as I want and they  picked up now


 but, I hooked him up,  before Christmas.  pint of jack black on top of the can
with a red ribbon


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## Chris (Feb 12, 2015)

It's still noisy and I have been too busy to even look at it.


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 13, 2015)

After a while it will be just like having train tracks down the road, you won't notice it anymore.


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## frodo (Feb 13, 2015)

oldognewtrick said:


> After a while it will be just like having train tracks down the road, you won't notice it anymore.






your correct,   have a track abut 1/2 mile.  we do not hear it anymore


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## Chris (Feb 13, 2015)

It scares the crap out of the family when we get a good one at two in the morning. It is just as loud as an earthquake without the shaking.


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## nealtw (Feb 13, 2015)

frodo said:


> View attachment 8392
> 
> your correct,   have a track abut 1/2 mile.  we do not hear it anymore



I've never found the track to be all that noisy.


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## frodo (Feb 13, 2015)

nealtw said:


> I've never found the track to be all that noisy.




I see what you did there!!!   :beer:


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## Chris (Feb 13, 2015)

I keep telling my daughter it's Santa on the roof


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## nealtw (Feb 13, 2015)

Chris said:


> I keep telling my daughter it's Santa on the roof



Tell her to write Santa and ask for a new roof.
You said they had changed the fasia, there might be some quality of workmanship going on here.
In one photo of the soffet you can see the edge of the 1x6 next to the facia and the fasias lening out a little. When the house was built there should have been a liner, 2x4 or 2x6 across the ends of the rafters and 1x6 would have been nail to that. The fasia should have been high enough to hide the 1x6.
I think what happened here was they uses the facia as the liner and likely had another 1x4 fasia higher to hide the 1x6.
So when these guys changed the fasia and luck would have it the last peice of 1x6 was only 1 1/2 inches wide and came out with the facia. So they just rased the new fasia to hide the edge of the  1x6 . But with out the tungue and grove to help support that span, the 1x6 is sagging along that edge and maybe moves up and down with the heat of the day.
If you can prove that is the problem the fix is easy.


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## Chris (Feb 13, 2015)

Might be? The noise starts closer to the eve and moves from left to right like you are running. Don't know if that means anything.


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## nealtw (Feb 13, 2015)

You might just take a stick and push up in the middle beside the fasia and see if you can make the noise happen.


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## Chris (Feb 13, 2015)

I will give it a try


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## Chris (Feb 14, 2015)

Pushed up on the fasia and was able to get it to make noise


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## nealtw (Feb 14, 2015)

Whether that was the problem you were looking for or not it should be fixed, there should have been no movement there.
The fix will be to install 2x2s between the rafters where they can be screwed first to the deck boards and the to the facia. The 2x2s will want to be ripped on the angle so so they fit snug against both surfaces.. It would be nice if you could work the facia back into place too. Might have to put the Bobcat to work on that. The trick will be to cut the 2x2 about 1/8 short and then wedge it up to make sure everthing is straight before you screw it in place.


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## nealtw (Mar 16, 2015)

Ant progress?


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## Chris (Mar 16, 2015)

Not yet. Things keep coming up. Roof is still noisy. I need a vacation to take care of stuff.


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