Question - I recently moved in to a 15-year-old house with siding. Whenever the temperature drops below 50 degrees and the sun shines on the house, there are noises that seem to come from the siding.
One side of the house has no windows or doors. That is the affected side.It makes loud popping sounds and sometimes sounds as if something is dripping.
As soon as the sun sets the noises stop, and it doesn't happen on cloudy days.
Do you have any ideas as to what is causing these noises? G.D., Evansville, Ind.
Answer - Easy enough. As the sun heats the siding it expands, causing the popping noise.
The larger the area affected, no windows or doors, the more siding there is to expand and the more noise it will make.
This affects both vinyl and metal siding.
However, metal siding appears to make the most noise when expanding.
Question - Four years ago a fellow replaced the ceiling fan in our upstairs bathroom.
I remember watching some debris fall down when he pulled the old fan out. A couple of weeks ago we added new insulation to our attic.
Since then we've noticed a few bits of the new insulation on the bathroom floor.
Is this situation dangerous (are we inhaling fiberglass)? What would you recommend? H.G., Evansville
Answer - The fiberglass insulation takes a little bit of time to compact into the areas where it is likely to stay.
Some loose fiberglass may come through the fan opening, but the glass fibers you breathe are too large to cause any long-term damage.
Research on fiberglass particles in the environment has been ongoing and to date there is no reason to be alarmed.
The fibers in your nose are caught and expelled by mucus.
The same for the fibers in your lungs, if they get that far.