How to determine what is causing a newly creaking ceiling

atticnoise

There's an area of my ceiling that has rather suddenly (in the last week) started creaking when the wind blows.

It's at a juncture with a wall, right below the attic, and it is very localized (at least it sounds like it is coming from a very specific spot, above some crown molding). I'm planning to go into the attic to look at it. What should I look for, and what else might it be? (I don't think it's the actual crown molding — I can't reproduce the sound by pressing on the crown molding. But this crown molding is slightly cracked from some years back, presumably from some movement in this area.)

Best Answer

Trusses used for roof support? Peak wind can cause truss movement.

Look where wall plates intersect trusses. May be a nail sliding. Use a mending plate or hurricane tie to reconnect.

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Ventilation

This is basically what you're trying to achieve, with respects to ventilation and insulation of the roof.

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Soffit (eave) vents

Start at the bottom of the roof, with soffit vents.

Baffels

Baffels are used to provide a channel along the underside of the roof decking, to allow air to flow from the soffit to the roof vents. You don't necessarily need baffels, but you do want to provide at least one inch of free space under the roof decking. Baffles simply make providing this gap easier.

Roof Vents

You can use either pot vents, or a continuous ridge vent here.

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^{Pot Vents}

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^{Ridge Vent}

If you don't already have a ridge vent, you'll have to do a bit of work to install one.

Remove the existing ridge cap shingles.
Using a circular saw set to the appropriate depth, rip a straight line along both sides of the ridge.
Install the ridge vent.
Install ridge cap.

Insulation

Now that you have proper ventilation, it's time to think about keeping the conditioned air in the conditioned space. For this, you'll need insulation. If you used baffles in the previous step, insulating the roof is easy. If not, make sure you maintain a one inch gap below the roof decking while you install the insulation.

You can use whatever type of insulation you'd like, just make sure it will provide the R-value you want in the space available.

Vapor Barrier

Once the insulation is up, you'll want to install a vapor barrier to prevent any indoor moisture from getting up into the insulation. If moisture is allowed to get into the insulation, it could condense and cause mold problems and other water damage such as rot.

You'll want to use polyethylene sheeting, at least 4 mil thick. You're also going to want to seal all seams using house wrap tape, to ensure a good seal.

HVAC

Now that the space is sealed, it's ready to be conditioned. You'll have to install appropriate heating/cooling elements in the space, which completely depends on what type of heating/cooling you have. If you have forced air, don't forget the returns.

Carry the Load

The next item to address, is to make sure you and your stuff don't end up on the floor below. You'll want to make sure the floor of the attic is adequate to support the load. If it's not, you'll have to take steps to beef it up. For this, you might want to contact a structural engineer.

Access

Since you've been getting up and down to do all this work, I'm going to assume you have adequate access to the space. If not, you'll want to install a ladder, stairs, etc.

Wood – How to prevent a wooden bed frame from creaking

If you can disassemble the frame, separate the siderails from the head and foot boards. Use a crayon or candle to wax the mating surfaces of the wood. This will help eliminate the squeeks. If the bolt has machine threads apply a small amount of thread lock (Loc-tite) which is available at the local hardware store. Get the smallest tube you can as you literally need four drops. One drop for each bolt. If the bolt has wood threads get some chair-lock. It is a glue designed for assembling chairs. Again apply a drop to each bolt. It also is available at the hardware store. While at the hardware store pick up the correct tool you need to tighten the bolt. Assemble the bed tightening the bolts until no movement is felt at the joints. If you can allow the bed to sit unused for an hour or so your adhesives can set.