My House Is Haunted…OMG!

Do you wake up in the middle of the night with banging sounds that catapults you out of bed with your heart pounding? Do you hear creaking when it’s very quiet and suddenly turn around to see who’s there? Have you thought about looking into the odd sounds your house is making or assumed it was haunted and have started looking for a new house? Come on now, are there really ghosts hanging out waiting to jump on you or does your home need some much needed maintenance. That is most likely the reason so let’s do some exploring.

Why your house creaks offers simple reasons and it is not that beloved Uncle George is paying a visit! Houses are made of materials that will shift, expand and contract with variable temperatures and settle over time. Pay attention to unusual cracking in the walls or if floors becoming noticeably uneven, as this may be a foundation issue.

OMG…What was that sound coming from behind the walls? Oh, I remember this well when a squirrel ate right through my slate roof and took up nesting in the attic. Then I had a whole family of critters! Trim branches that come close to your roof since this is the perfect landing platform for squirrels. Hire a professional to remove the culprits and then seal any openings. Don’t do what we did!!! We thought we had removed all the critters, cut back the trees, paid big bucks to repair the slate roof and finally breathed deep that the issue was taken care of. One day later, I heard the same scurry of rustling in the walls and crawled into the attic to see little beady eyes starring at me and had to go through the whole process of getting the last squirrel out. I am not sure who was more frightened…him or me!

My porch just collapsed and still you say no ghosts! Have you looked at your porch or sills of late? Have you had any routine extermination done recently? Houses are like baby birds…always hungry with considerable needs. Bug infestation can be a serious issue and certainly feel like your house is haunted because it is a haunting experience to have your house eaten out from under you. The bugs were here before we were and will one day inherit the earth as I have heard many a time. Termites can damage a home significantly as can carpenter ants so make sure to have annual insect checks. Most pest control companies offer maintenance contracts for just that purpose. Keep your house clean to eliminate attraction of insects and avoid standing water, which can be an attraction. If you keep a woodpile for wood stove or fireplace use, make sure to stack the wood away from the house, NOT against the house.

Really creepy events are when lights start to go on and off by themselves. Do your lights flicker or have an irregular pattern totally unexpectedly? The breakers are fine, the bulbs have been changed and there is no seemingly good reason for it…no it is not ghosts! Some of the reasons can be when rodents are living in your walls and start gnawing on wires for dinner; it interrupts the electrical current to the lights. Power surges can have a similar effect when current is intermittent. If you have large appliances such as generators or air conditioners, it can cause flickering when they kick on. If the situation continues, you may have cause for concern and the best course of action is to call an electrician to check out potential hazards. Electrical fires can be a potential real danger.

Gurgling noises and banging are terrifying! What is that!!! Many older homes with original heating systems or at least older pipes can cause banging sounds called a water hammer effect. This happens when a pressure surge happens in the pipes making a banging sound. It can also happen when there is air in the system and the air can be drained. I do this annually for my 120-year-old radiators. Do this task before the heat is turned on or you could potentially scald yourself. When the heat is turned on, it can cause gurgling sounds that if not familiar with, can be a creepy sound. If your pipes and heating system are noisy, a plumber’s consultation is a worthwhile investment to identify the problem to address your haunted pipes.

HAPPY HALOWEEN!

Written by Laura Rossinow, Broker, Agent, Keller Williams Realty