Investigating a building or structure
Of course these are the most common places that we as investigators tend to visit, walking around with an EMF meter just isn’t going to cut it, take some time and check the premises first, look at the location, the year it was built, what was there before, don’t just walk into a place set yourself up and then hope for gold as that will achieve nothing compared to finding out what is really happening around you. After I left the reserves (Australian Army – in the ranking of professional bullet stopper), I worked in building and construction for a company called AQH where I was the manager. Part of my job was to check the progress of a house from the pouring of the slab to full lock up. This knowledge has come in very handy when it comes to debunking suspected haunts.
Creaking, Popping and Footstep Noises
- Slab or Sub-flooring, due to the nature of buildings whether being two years old or hundreds, the basic principles are the same. Most of the materials used are the same, but like I have said on many occasions look at your location and what and where the structure is built on, for example, in a single story house the major problem is in timber sub-floors. Everyone knows what this is, over time people living in a house will become used to it, but if you have just moved in to an older home, this can be a big problem. Wood subfloors can be the cause of creaking and popping in a number of ways.
- Structure may not be strong enough: if the subfloor is not firmly fasterned to the underlying joists with the floor screws, there will be space left between the joists and subfloor.
- Wrong subfloor material for nailed installations. Particleboard is not a suitable material, it should be plywood or OSB panels. Creaking and footstep noises can be the fault of an improper subfloor thickness.
- Other areas causing issues are cupping, floor unevenness, floor sinking when walked on and slanting floors. A simple test is to jump up and down in certain locations on the floor and the old marble trick, see where the ball rolls. This may also account for doors opening up on their own.
- Beware of cement and concrete, most old construction employed relatively soft materials such as stone, brick, lime plaster and compo render. Concrete and strong mixes of cement mortar are usualy incompatible with 19th and 20th century buildings. If used to restore a building, this can lead to cracking walls, drummy render, uneven settlement and permeability problems, causing gaps forming and exterior noises seeping into a premises, this can be anything from voices to wind, causing cold spots. The best bet is to have a really good check of the outside of the building, and pay attention to the corners and just above the ground level, also around window surrounds where flashings may be attached.
- Pipes behind plaster, recipe for disaster. While we are on the subject of subflooring and concrete slabs let’s look at air space and crawl spaces where your all your pipes hide, most of these are only around 1″ of space and don’t allow much room for movement. This needs to be taken into consideration while conducting an investigation as a lot of investigations I have done involve strange noises and taps turning on, but I will get into the tap part a little bit later. The best way to explain it is either the pipes are bracketed in or run through pilot holes that have been drilled into the framework. If a bracket works loose or a pilot hole wears, then the slapping movement that arises from this causes internal bangs and clanks or knocking noises. To locate these areas you need to use a stud finder or electric razor, as the razor goes along the wall you will hear it change pitch as it comes into contact with the pipe or stud within the wall. Keep an eye on these areas throughout the investigation, if the sound travels through the wall and is following the same path each time it is just pressure going through the lines. So picture this – the pipe is in the concrete slab, from the slab it winds its way around the house and if the slab moves so will the house and the direction of travel will be the same. The pipes will be out of alignment, hence knocking on the brackets and or pilot holes. Same goes with taps turning on by themselves. This can be caused by faulty heads and seats and the water pressure forces them on, but then again if you can’t trace the movement or if it is too erratic, something more could be going on.