Causes and Solutions for a Noisy Roof

A roof can make unfamiliar noises for different reasons.

One of the most common causes of roof noise is related to the changes the building materials undergo in the winter. Exposed building materials shrink in response to cold temperatures. However, the cold affects them differently, so they don't shrink at the same rate. What's more, wood loses moisture in the winter, which causes it to shrink even more.

Meanwhile, just under the roof you usually have conditioned air — in this case heated. Therefore, the parts of your roof that aren't exposed to the cold don't show shrinkage. As the roofing materials work against each other, they make noises. You might hear popping or even a loud boom.

Your roof takes the brunt of the wind force, which is part of its purpose. To withstand all that force, the roof has to feature a solid base of construction. Otherwise, the roof system will flex to absorb all that force. When that flex is happening, you may hear a series of popping noises. Gable roofs are especially susceptible to this phenomenon because of the flat wall they present to the wind.

A lot of components go into the makeup of your roof. If they become loose, they will make sounds on windy days. For instance, if you have aluminum soffits, they might be loose in their channel where it meets the wall. So, when the wind blows, you hear clattering sounds. Other components that can rattle in the wind include fascia, chimney caps, and the gutters.

Solutions for a noisy roof sometimes relate to the cause. In other instances, you may simply have to dampen the sounds.

Tighten Up Loose Parts

With loose fascia around your chimney or the chimney cap itself, you may want to call for roof repairs since you'd have to walk on the roof. With gutters, you can inspect all the fasteners and tighten the loose ones. For the soffit, identify which ones are loose. You can insert a screen spline between the loose soffits to stop them from clattering.

Another issue with some roofs, especially metal ones, is the contractors may have used improper fasteners that allow the panels to rattle. You may need to have your local roofers come out and replace the fasteners.

If the source of the noise is physics-related, such as the thermal contraction or wind pressure, you may not be able to prevent it. Instead, you'll need to dampen the noise. One method is with added insulation directly under the roof. The insulation absorbs the sound that would otherwise just travel through the ceiling.

You have a couple of different options for the insulation. One is the traditional batt or blanket insulation. The other option is spray foam insulation, which is ideal if you have unusual corners or a steep slope.

If the issues are significant enough, consider having the roofing contractors inspect your roof frame. They might be able to add some diagonal bracing to bolster the roof frame. When the wind blows, this additional bracing will transfer the load across a wider expanse of the frame. As such, the frame will move less. This solution is ideal if you fear the wind could create damage to your roof frame.

If your roof is making so much noise you're concerned, call the roofing experts at Alton Roofing Services for advice.