u/bobclewell

I've been hearing a snapping sound randomly all around the house we moved into a month ago. It sounds like it's coming from the walls or behind the walls, but there's nothing regular about when it occurs.

The house is 100 years old, but fully renovated 12 years ago.

I notice it more at night, but I also hear is sometimes during the day. It happens less than once an hour and there are long stretches when I don't hear it.

I've found some cracking in the corners of the drywall that I didn't notice when we first moved in, so perhaps it's that? Maybe it's the result of a poor paint and spackle job prior to them putting the house on the market.

I've been in houses that creek or pipes that rattle in the winter when the heat goes on, but this is a completely new sound to me.

Is this something I should be worried about? Do I need to make a call to a structural engineer? There's nothing physical that I've noticed except for the drywall cracking. Is there a visual symptom that I should look for?

I've got a section of my basement that is unfinished so the interior walls are simply the stone foundation. I want to mount some simple shelves and small bins to help organize tools, hardware, etc. and don't want to screw into the foundation.

Is it reasonable to just throw up some 2 x 4 studs and make the walls out a basic plywood material? Looks don't matter and I just want to do this as quickly and inexpensively as possible, so drywall seems like overkill.

Or maybe the plywood isn't even necessary and I just attach things directly to the studs? Thoughts? TIA

I've got a section of my basement that is unfinished so the interior walls are simply the stone foundation. I want to mount some simple shelves and small bins to help organize tools, hardware, etc. and don't want to screw into the foundation.

Is it reasonable to just throw up some 2 x 4 studs and make the walls out a basic plywood material? Looks don't matter and I just want to do this as quickly and inexpensively as possible, so drywall seems like overkill.

Or maybe the plywood isn't even necessary and I just attach things directly to the studs? Thoughts? TIA

The case for staining them is to match some of the stairs, railing, and wood floors in other parts of the house.

The case against is that they are 100 year old pine floors. Thoughts? TIA

Newly renovated house with A/C pumping into the bathrooms via the ceiling, but no exhaust fan. I've been assuming that any bathroom with a shower needs an exhaust fan, but maybe not? Thoughts? Am I wasting money if I have exhaust fans installed in these bathrooms? TIA