Few things are as startling as hearing a loud POP! from your backyard, especially if it happens during a freezing cold night in the dead of winter. Deck owners no, though, that their decks are going to make all kinds of crazy noises – including pops and snaps – when it gets cold.
The reason that your deck pops has to do with the shrinking and expanding that deck boards undergo when temperatures (and humidity levels) change. All that shifting and changing is going to put stress on the boards themselves, as well as the fasteners that tie them down – and when the pressure builds up too much they pop and shift.
Is popping bad for your deck?
Can you can prevent from happening ever again?
Let’s dig in a little deeper and find out.
Why Do Deck Boards Pop in the Cold?
Temperature changes (even relatively small temperature changes) are going to have a pretty big impact on all the wooden construction components in your home, but especially wooden structures built outside – structures that aren’t heated and aren’t climate controlled.
Something that has an even bigger impact than extreme temperature swings, though, is the amount of humidity in the air (or lack thereof).
Humidity
Basically the amount of moisture in the air at any given point in time – has the ability to cause your deck boards to swell up and expand (when humidity levels are high) or to shrink significantly (when humidity levels are low).
Those bitter cold days in the middle of the winter are always incredibly low humidity days, with the air just as dry as it is bone chilling.
When you get to those kind of conditions boards are going to want to twist, pop, and make a whole bunch of noise.
This situation can be made even worse if your deck boards are tight in against one another, like if you have a cold snap with really low humidity shortly after you had higher temperatures with relatively high humidity.
Those boards may end up squeezing up against one another and popping out of position just because there’s nowhere else for them to go!
Only My Deck Pops – Why?
Sometimes you’ll notice that it’s just your deck that is popping and snapping, and that the neighbor decks don’t seem to suffer from this problem.
What gives?
Are you dealing with some kind of localized humidity situation? Do you have your own special climate in your backyard?
That’s not usually the case.
The way your deck was built, the kind of material used, and even the age of your deck can all have a whole bunch of influence over whether or not it’s going to pop and snap when the temperature drops.
Age Of The Deck
Older decks that have gone through a lot of winter “seasoning” generally don’t have quite as much room to move. They’ve already done all of their moving. Younger decks with young, green wooden construction materials (including recently pressure-treated materials) might be a little livelier when the humidity level shift.
Deck Material
On top of that, the decks in your neighborhood that aren’t making any noise may not be made from wooden construction materials at all.
Composite decks are much more stable and aren’t going to be subject to the shifts in humidity and temperature that cause so much havoc on wooden decks. They aren’t going to move at all!
Of course, then you have to factor in maintenance, the quality and consistency of the stain and sealer applied to those materials, the types of fasteners used, whether or not construction adhesive was leverage, and a whole host of other considerations.
At the end of the day, it’s not all that surprising if your deck is the only one “chattering” when the temperature drops.
Is My Deck Damaged?
No, you don’t have to worry about the loud popping noise being a sign or signal of your deck exploding or falling apart.
Yes, it’s probably going to sound terrible. If you’re outside when it happens it can make you jump right out of your skin, even.
Most decks, though, are specifically designed to withstand extreme temperature swings, humidity changes, and the normal moving and shifting of these types of materials. As long as your deck has been built with room for expansion in mind you don’t have a whole lot to worry about.
If you are still sort of stressing over the loud noise just have a look at your deck the next time you get a chance.
You’ll see that everything is still good to go!
Can I Stop the Pop?
There are a couple of things you can do to stop (or at least minimize) the amount of popping your deck does when the temperature drops, including:
- Pulling deck boards up and giving them more space as soon as things warm up again
- Re-sand, re-stain, and re-seal all of your deck boards to give them better protection against temperature and humidity changes
- Lay down a layer of quality construction adhesive designed for extreme temperatures before you put your deck boards down
- Swap out your deck boards for composite materials that aren’t going to move, shift, or pop at all
If none of those solutions feel like a fit for your specific needs or budget don’t be shy about leaving your deck alone.
Like we mentioned earlier, your deck isn’t getting damaged with all this popping and snapping.
Closing Thoughts
Temperature swings (and, more accurately, humidity swings) are going to have the biggest influence on your deck boards moving and shifting.
If enough stress builds up on your deck boards because of these temperature swings it’s not uncommon for them to shift position violently, causing that popping sound in the first place.
Relax, though.
Even though that sound is terrible (and can be pretty loud) it doesn’t mean that your deck is cracking, damaged, or otherwise falling apart.
It just means that your deck boards needed a little more elbow and had to shift position to be more comfortable over the winter!
