House is keeping me awake at night

[James]

I have been living in our new house from Clayton for almost a year now. Last winter the ducts under the house would pop and creak all night long, every time we turned on the heat. I didnt do much about it but put in some ear plugs, I thougt it was because the house was new or the house may be settlling. Well, winter has set in and so has the poping, it has not improved. I called the warranty dept at the dealership and he talked to the HVAC contractor who told him this was normal. My question is....is this normal? It is not a mild or suttle poping sound, it is very loud and continuos. The warrany dept wants me to finish up the year and give them high marks for the work that has been done on the house. There are other issues but I would be satisfide if they just correct this one problem. I dont belive this is normal, and if it is, buyer beware. If you are considering a home please cover all your bases. I did not even think to ask if the HVAC system was going to keep me awake at night. How stupid was that?
Thanks for your help,
James

[rmurray]

Metal ducts do expand and contract...but they should not be annoying...Loud continuous noise is not normal..

I would renew your complaint...and not give them a good report until it is solved...This problem would have nothing to do with the HVAC contractor..this is a duct installation problem...which is the Clayton factory responsibility..

[Mark]

It could be your furnance rather than the ductwork, the sound is just travelling along the only open path available to it.

The furnace housing in my old place would pop when it heated up, and then pop again when it cooled down. I fixed it by wedging a board again the metal housing. No more popping. It was an old furnace and worked for many many year without the popping. To be doing it when it's brand new is not normal.

[Joe]

I am having the same problem, in the bedroom its a continuous pop and crackle when the furnace is running and it is very annoying. I have been told this is normal do to the cheap duct work they use in these homes, by the way my home is a Wick Artcraft. If you find any solutions to this problem please!! let me know.

Joe

[Eugene]

I have found that if the metal heat ducts risers (the portion that comes up from the duct to the top edge of the floor decking) are too long, by just a shade, or if when they stapled them to the decking, they didn't have the main duct secure, that can cause big popping noise.
I would remove the registers and pull the staples out of the edge of the decking. See what that does. I'd bet it will take care of the problem.
If not, the main duct needs to be secured. not easy to do without slicing the bottom board.