My floor joists's make a crack sound.

cprince

Hello, I have a problem. And I am seeking help from anyone who could help. My house was built in 2002. With the basement unfinished. I have recently finished my basement however, now that it is finished, in my basement every time the A/C or Heat comes on the joist starts to make a crack, tick sound or pop sound every second. (not sure how to describe the sound). After it shuts off the sound starts to go away slowly. It is only coming from one spot in the ceiling. It's by the main HVAC duct work that I ran off from to supply the a/c or heat to part's of the basement. The sound come after I put up the sheet rock, not before. I have ( not sure what you call it) a pipe running from the main HVAC to my vents that the air comes out from. I think its that pipe heating up or cooling that is making my joist tick. I was thinking about cutting a hole in my ceiling and putting in some isolation to keep the heat or cold air from reaching the joist.
Any help would be much appreciated on what you think I could do to solve this problem. Thank you.....

Off-Grid2009

I'm a newbie, too, and not an expert in this area, but I see you've been waiting for an answer since Halloween.

I've often noticed sounds made by materials expanding and contracting due to heat/cold. I believe it is more common to get these noises from metal than wood, but they can come from almost any material. It's possible to get these sounds from just a single piece of material, but I think that case is rare. More common is two pieces of material joined together, which have different rates of expansion/contraction -- one material expands more rapidly than the other, and the result is the creaking and popping sound when the force overcomes the friction of the joint...it's a little like how an earthquake fault stays dormant for years, building up the pressure, and then lets go in a big quake. I think you're hearing the "quakes", as the pressure is released.

If you can open up the area a bit, and find the place where the materials are rubbing, you may be able to force a thin metal or wooden shim in between them, letting the movement happen without the buildup of pressure, so no noise (or at least, a lot less noise). Even driving a nail between them may help.

Again, I am no expert, so my suggestion may be just a load of BS. Anybody else want to take a shot at this one?

carpenter man

By your own description, it sounds like heat expansion and contraction . If you can access the hole again where the noise is , try more than one fix . If possible use a tube of sub floor adhesive in a caulking gun and force glue in between any gabs in the framing where joists meet a beam or sit on a wall plate. Glue the top of the joists where you see the upstairs floor sitting on the joists and push the glue in with yiur fingers . In addition you can get L brackets for 2X8's or whatever dimension your ceiling joists are. Attach the L brackets at any intersecting framing members you may suspect. May be easier to screw these on if you have a limited space to swing your hammer. Set the L brackets in a little puddle of glue too . Wont hurt anything. Perhaps as a 3rd option , get a sheet of rigid foam board to insulate around the area of the duct you cut into for your heat supply. Also make sure you seal well around the duct you cut open with HVAC silver foil tape. (Better than duct tape) Availible at the Depot or heating and plumbing stores . One or more of these options should reduce or eliminate the sounds.

cprince

Thank you. I think my first step is to open a hole in the ceiling. I think I am going to use an access panel like what you would use to get to your p-trap through the wall. That way it will be big enough to get my hands in side. Than go to work on it. The sound will go away if you push up on the ceiling, but than comes back in a little while. Pretty sure its the joist now.

Thanks again.