Thing that goes thump in the night?
November 27, 2019 8:23 AM Subscribe
Weird noise in our house. Can you help identify?
Over the past month, a weird thing has developed in our house. Every night, within 15 minutes of my wife and I going to bed, we hear a single sharp thump above us up in the roof area of our house. It sounds sort of like a large acorn, or a small tree limb hitting the roof. But it only happens once a night. And it happens in that same time frame no matter when we go off to bed. I thought it might be a vapor thing in a pipe after we use the bathroom or something like that, but it's up high, and there is nothing above us but roof ... all the plumbing goes down. Any thoughts about what this might be?
Over the past month, a weird thing has developed in our house. Every night, within 15 minutes of my wife and I going to bed, we hear a single sharp thump above us up in the roof area of our house. It sounds sort of like a large acorn, or a small tree limb hitting the roof. But it only happens once a night. And it happens in that same time frame no matter when we go off to bed. I thought it might be a vapor thing in a pipe after we use the bathroom or something like that, but it's up high, and there is nothing above us but roof ... all the plumbing goes down. Any thoughts about what this might be?
Are you on the second floor, or first floor on a floating/pier-type foundation? I wonder if the weight of the two of you getting into bed makes something shift slightly.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:49 AM on November 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Lyn Never at 8:49 AM on November 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
Best answer: all the plumbing goes down.
Do you use a vent in the bathroom that might be on a timer? It could be a flap closing.
Also, your plumbing system would have a vent pipe going out on the roof.
posted by bondcliff at 8:49 AM on November 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
Do you use a vent in the bathroom that might be on a timer? It could be a flap closing.
Also, your plumbing system would have a vent pipe going out on the roof.
posted by bondcliff at 8:49 AM on November 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
Could it be related to heating? E.g. you/wife adjust thermostat before bed and you're hearing furnace/boiler/whatever changing state. Heating systems can make all kinds of weird noises.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 8:57 AM on November 27, 2019
posted by forbiddencabinet at 8:57 AM on November 27, 2019
Could it be external? On one side of my house is an alley by a bus stop. For a week one summer, every day there was a new pop bottle in our fenced backyard in about the same location. I wouldn't be surprised if it was tossed over at the same time every day. There isn't much of a difference between tossing a bottle over a fence versus tossing a bottle (or ball) onto someone's roof when walking by.
posted by nobeagle at 8:58 AM on November 27, 2019
posted by nobeagle at 8:58 AM on November 27, 2019
Critter in the attic? Moving or adjusting in reaction to your movement below in the bedroom?
posted by jquinby at 9:01 AM on November 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by jquinby at 9:01 AM on November 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
Thermal expansion/contraction, as the attic warms and cools, is a usual suspect in house noises. Nail pops too.
posted by sageleaf at 9:06 AM on November 27, 2019
posted by sageleaf at 9:06 AM on November 27, 2019
Response by poster: All great thoughts. All outside lights are off ... thermostat is on a timer but thump happens at different time but always 15 mins after we retire ... not on a pier-type foundation ... we live pretty much in the woods so no passing people/cars etc. ... we've had animals in roof, but this is one single thump, not a continuous random scratching ... I was thinking the plumbing vent pipe but don't know enough to confirm.
posted by lpsguy at 9:09 AM on November 27, 2019
posted by lpsguy at 9:09 AM on November 27, 2019
Best answer: What if you tried "going to bed" without either of you using the bathroom? Close down the house as usual, skip everything in the bathroom, both of you go sit in bed and read quietly for half an hour and listen for the noise. That'd help to narrow down whether it's a bathroom-related thing.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:19 AM on November 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:19 AM on November 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
Alternative to LobsterMitten's suggestion, of course, would be to flush toilet and run the since as if going to bed, some other time like middle of the day, and see what happens in 15 minutes. No need to play bedtime, because I highly doubt your getting into bed itself is causing it. I'm going with some kind of pop in the vent due to incorrect flows. If so, that needs to be addressed because it could be putting sewer gas into your living space.
posted by beagle at 10:15 AM on November 27, 2019
posted by beagle at 10:15 AM on November 27, 2019
The fan in our bathroom makes a little thump after running. It has some kind of flap that closes. Occasionally the wind whips outside and rattles the flap.
posted by amanda at 11:40 AM on November 27, 2019
posted by amanda at 11:40 AM on November 27, 2019
Do you live in a cold climate, and did you just recently move there? Our house does this when it gets very cold, and we think it's the building materials shifting in response to temperature and humidity changes. In our house, this happens at night, and sounds like a big branch hitting the roof.
https://journaltimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/the-sound-of-cold-house-pops-creaks-blamed-on-dry/article_04866fb5-9edb-522b-bd2b-9ac825d48fe5.amp.html
https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2014/01/homes_pop_creak_as_they_adjust.html
posted by webwench at 9:03 AM on November 28, 2019
https://journaltimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/the-sound-of-cold-house-pops-creaks-blamed-on-dry/article_04866fb5-9edb-522b-bd2b-9ac825d48fe5.amp.html
https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2014/01/homes_pop_creak_as_they_adjust.html
posted by webwench at 9:03 AM on November 28, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Glinn at 8:40 AM on November 27, 2019