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Karam Pack and wife Liquan Wang bought the house in 2023 but since then, they have been complaining about the noise. Video \ Jason Dorday
A Karaka homeowner says cladding on his new $1.27 million home makes “shotgun” sounds, meaning he and his wife cannot sleep and must wear headphones during the day but others say there is nothing wrong.
Karam Pack and wife Liquan Wang bought the house in 2023 but, since then, they have been complaining about the noise, getting only a week’s relief when powder-coated aluminium covering part of the house was removed and replaced.
House builder Fletcher Living, the cladding manufacturer and Master Builders have all indicated there is nothing wrong with the house.
The cladding supplier says it took matters seriously, made many investigations and even partially re-clad the home, replacing the aluminium.
But Pack said he feels trapped because he and his wife want to have a family yet are worried the noise would wake a baby.
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Selling or getting flatmates are options not possible due to the noise, they say.
Homeowners Liquan Wang and Karam Pack outside their Karaka home, which they complain has extremely noisy cladding.
“Within the first 30 days of settling in, we began hearing loud banging and knocking noises. It was so unsettling that we genuinely thought someone was outside throwing stones at our home. The noises would happen randomly during the day and night and impact our ability to sleep,” Pack said.
A Fletcher Living spokeswoman said one of the natural properties of aluminium was its high thermal conductivity.
That means the cladding expands and contracts with temperature changes, which can produce sounds similar to what many people may have heard from a home with a metal roof, she said.
Karam Pack and wife Liquan Wang bought the house in 2023 but have been complaining about the noise. Photo / Jason Dorday
These are the sounds Pack is hearing intermittently, she said, but there is nothing wrong with the house.
In response to his concerns, Fletcher Living and the cladding business had conducted many investigations and interventions during the past 18 months, including replacing the existing cladding.
“All findings confirm that the cladding has been installed correctly and is performing as expected,” she said.
Sounds were a known behaviour of the product and not a sign of a defect, she said.
“Sensitivity to sound will always vary from person to person, and it may be that a property with this type of cladding is not well suited to Mr Pack’s personal preference,” she said.
Master Builders did not visit the home but reviewed the material from Pack, the cladder and Fletcher Living, concluding: “From the evidence/reports/information provided, we believe that this is general expansion and contraction of the cladding product and is not deemed to be a defect.”
Karam Pack and Liquan Wang at their Karaka home which he says has extremely noisy cladding which he wants replaced.
An executive from the cladding business said in a statement: “Thermal expansion occurs within many components of a structure and are particularly prevalent during a hot, dry summer. My observation is that most owners would not notice these thermal movement noises unless they were specifically pointed out to them.”
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