How long does it take a house to "settle"?

My grandparents built their house when I was born in 1978. Growing up, there was always strange knocking and groaning sounds. My granddad always said it was the house "settling". I went to visit this winter and it still makes similar noises. Shouldn't it be settled by now? Could it have something to do with the furnace? It's a 3 story A frame style house in Alaska.

Answers:
House usually settle up to one year two tops but frame houses especially make those noises because of temperatures changes the wood will contract and expand making some noises also with atmospheric pressure and wind the house will move a little. Every home has some give. In my house I hear noises all the time and it was build in the 50's, I have forced air heating and I can hear the air in the ducts all the time.

Other answers:
That is a very complicated question. The answer will be different for every house based on how the house is constructed, what materials were used and what type of ground the house sits on. If the house is built on top of a clay bed, it may never finish settling... look up info on the leaning tower of Pisa for a very graphic example of this. Also, A log home will take a long time for the logs to dry and move before "settling".
That is a very complicated question. The answer will be different for every house based on how the house is constructed, what materials were used and what type of ground the house sits on. If the house is built on top of a clay bed, it may never finish settling... look up info on the leaning tower of Pisa for a very graphic example of this. Also, A log home will take a long time for the logs to dry and move before "settling".
Billions and billions of years
depends on the soil content the foundation was built on..if sandy soil it will take longer than dirt or clay..and if its mixed..it wil take alittle longer..anywhere from 20 to 100 years
depending on where your at in alaska the house will never "settle"...permafrost is never stable and heaves every winter
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