system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What is actually happening when I hear my timber framed house 'crack'?

I understand that heating and cooling is responsible for it but are tiny cracks actually being made every time I hear it?
gpt
It would be better described as creaking rather than cracking. When a door creaks, the hinges aren't cracking, there's just resistance that builds up until friction can no longer stop the hinge from moving. The same applies to the beams in your house as some parts of the wood heat & expand faster than others.