Brick House making a pattern of crackling sound?

Question

I am a new home owner who has lived in an apartment all my life. Please excuse my "dumb" question. I just recently noticed that my house with wood floors downstairs/carpet upstairs is making almost a pattern of noise. The short burst of crackle (like stepping on a wood floor) comes from different rooms, 5 cracks within 2-3 minutes. It sounds like it is coming from the upstairs more.

Is it the heater making this noise or a foundation issue or anything else I should be alarm about? The house is about 80 years old, so wouldn't be settling of a new house. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

two good explanations......you may want to observe what else is going on just before & during the cracking sound, is it on a wall the sun hits ( heat expansion ) , 5 minutes after the heater turns on/off ( metal box tic ), when someone is taking a bath ( water pipe tic )??? These clues may help determine the origin....

Answer 2

It sounds like the normal creaking of an old house as it heats and contracts throughout the day. However, it is still worth paying attention to for a while just to be sure.

Answer 3

Remember the scene from Christmas Vacation? Be definite it is not a squirrel! LOL. Anyway I could reduce off a small department and take it to a nursery and spot if they may be able to let you know what it would be.

Answer 4

God only knows without actually being there. It's probably just as you suspect though, thermal expansion/contraction cycles.