Hey everyone! I've been dealing with a really annoying issue for about two months now. Every night at exactly 11:30 PM, there's a series of loud popping or cracking sounds coming from my kitchen ceiling, almost like someone is knocking on the drywall from inside. I've done my homework and checked all the usual suspects:
- The HVAC system is off during this time.
- My water heater isn't running (watched the indicator closely).
- No appliances seem to be cycling on or off.
- I even turned off the fridge completely one night, but the sounds still occurred.
- There are no plumbing lines running through that section of the ceiling.
The kitchen is right below our master bathroom, but no one is using it at that time; we're usually in bed. I wonder if it's temperature changes that cause this, but it's peculiar that it happens at the exact same time each night. The thermostat lowers to 68°F at 10 PM; it's puzzling why the sounds start an hour later. My wife jokes that we might have a ghost in the house, but I'm hoping for a more logical explanation. Any thoughts?
1 Answer
It sounds like it could be related to temperature changes or the pipes cooling down after someone showers. Have you thought about keeping the thermostat at a steady temp for a night to see if that helps? That way, you might be able to rule out temperature adjustments. If it pops again, consider switching to another bathroom for the night and see if that changes anything.
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll definitely try maintaining a steady thermostat tonight. It makes sense that the pipes could be cooling down after showers since we tend to shower right before bed. I’ll test using the downstairs bathroom to see what happens. At this point, I just want to prove to my wife it’s not ghosts, lol. I’ll keep you posted!