Houses, in fact, settle. When they begin to fall, joints and flooring might creak, which explains the strange sounds of settling homes (no ghosts). The noise is actually the result of water expanding as it freezes; as the ice crystals form, they create small cracks in the concrete or mortar. Over time, these cracks grow wide enough for sound to travel through. The cracking noise you hear when you walk across a frozen yard is caused by each foot hitting an uneven spot in the surface. As your weight forces the air out of its cavity, the crystal begins to fill up with more ice, causing the crack to get wider. The reason you never hear this activity mentioned when talking about houses settling after a big storm is because it happens so slowly that you wouldn't notice it until it's finished. During a severe weather event, such as an earthquake or hurricane, all the loose dirt, rocks, and debris allow the energy from the storm to be transmitted into the home through the roof or walls. This sudden burst of power can cause parts of the house to collapse, but over time the energy dissipates and the house returns to its original state. There are several factors that determine how much a house will settle over time. The type of building material used to construct the house affects how much it will move.