Frequent questions & replies help in diagnosing & curing building noises.
Questions about building noise control, tracking down wierd building sounds, soundproofing, or just diagnosing what the heck is making that sound?
This article series includes catalogs of types of building noises & sounds, common sources for each of these noises, & methods of sound or noise control in buildings during construction or as a building retrofit.
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These discussions of finding and curing the source of noises at, in, or around buildings were posted originally at NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE - topic home. Be sure to see the suggestions found there for diagnosing and stopping aggravating building noises.
I have a howling noise coming in my bedroom whenever it is windy weather. It is really awful at night when it gets really loud. Can anyone tell me how to fix this horrible sound problem? - Kate
Kate, please take a look at the articles on tracking down building noises beginning
at SOUND CONTROL in buildings where you will see a series of suggested places to look when tracking down annoying building noises
. In that article you'll find a section on identifying common sources
If that information leaves you with questions don't hesitate to ask and I'll research further and do my best to help.
Specifically about wind, we have traced house noises to loose shingles, roof openings, and even signs or other things hanging on the building. But take a look at our house noise articles.
We had our house stuccoed and a new roof installed this summer. Now there is vibration from the roof, about 20 dB inside and a little louder outside. It is on one side of the roof only and can be heard in all rooms on that side of the house.
I see a buckle between 2 shingles at the bottom edge but cannot detect movement in any shingles.
Current wind is about 20 mph with gusts at 30; temperature is about 40 degrees. Sound is present regardless of precipitation. - Harper Snapp
When I listen to it now, I notice that the sound resembles snoring. Earlier in the morning I thought perhaps it was somebody starting and restarting a motorcycle, maybe 1/8 to 1/4 mile away.
Harper:
That's a remarkable house noise - snoring due to wind noise through roofing materials. The noise could also be roof-related but by other components such as wind blowing through a vent or across guy wires of an antenna or over a chimney.
If you trace the problem to roof shingles it may be that the self-sealing tab feature has not yet activated - the risk is shingle wind damage.
Inspect the roof and the house exterior for things that might be the noise source, and see if you can interfere with movement in each one individually. For example I've put bricks along a roof edge (with obvious safety warnings about falling bricks) to hold down suspected loose shingles to test for reduction in wind noise.
keep us posted. What you learn will help other readers.
Reader follow-up:
Thanks. I have now read about the self-sealing tabs. There is one shingle at the bottom edge which is raised. I am guessing that would be because it is improperly installed. We have also discovered that the snoring sound and the idling-motorcycle sound are coming from different areas.
As soon as the rain stops I will try the brick trick and look at some other things. I had previously consider the soffit vents, but they haven't been altered or even removed. I will keep you posted.
i live in a new build , wooden framed house, that has a constant hum going round it. the housing association had sound recording equipment put in to monitor it, and this recorded a humming , but the source couldn't be detected, the ha decided not to investigate any further as it was not cost effective.
But i am going round the bend with this constant humming. No one else in my street is bothered by it, as they all live in busy households , so don't really hear it, but i live in a quiet house , and have an illness.
My hearing has been checked, and apparently i have very poor middle and higher hearing, and the clinic thinks my lower hearing is overcompensating for this.
but i think the wooden structure of my house is somehow amplifying the outside noises, possibly from my air source heating system , and all my neighbours ones, and and my house is acting like some kind of vacuum to it. I cant take much more of this constant noise, I am so tired and irritable - A Schulen
A Schulen:
It sounds as if you want to take a dual approach: consulting with your physician or audiologist as well as having independent confirmation of the noise around your home.
There are quite a few potential sources of humming noises in buildings. Once any question about the role of your hearing has been sorted out and the humming noise independently confirmed, I'd start some detective work using the suggestions in the list above.
...
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