I am a builder that has a homeowner with a problem we can't figure out. The owner complains of load noises coming from the attic that sound structural in nature. House is about 3-4 years old. We first thought truss uplift was the problem.But there is absolutely no drywall cracks of any kind in the house. No evidence of settling of any kind either. Just the noise, at night and daytime intermittently.
Warm weather or cold, doesn't seem to matter. House has vinyl siding with brick face. We've built over 130 houses in the same weather all the same way. There was nothing different from this house to any other. I sat with the owner one evening for 2 hours but naturally no noise then! Any ideas?

You'll have to be much more specific in your description of the noise, and also much more specific about the exact roof / ceiling structure.

Sounds like expansion and contraction noises to me. Creaking pops from the trusses and plywood connection is common when temps change. If your sub-contractor failed to properly nail a few sheets of plywood the movement could be occuring there.
Also as you know each owner has there own opinion of what a sound sounds like.
I know from my personal experiance that vinyl if nailed to tight creaks a lot. Of course you hear this at night once in bed and the noise of the day subsides. Which is what I expect when their hearing this sound.
There is not much you could do anyway to fix the issue other then tearing off the roof and renailing or pulling the siding off and renailing it so it is allowed to expand and contract properly.
Good luck sounds like your going to be married to this one.

The specific noise according to the homeowner is similar to a 2X4 cracking. The house is flat ceiling single story except for the great room which is vaulted. The homeowner says the the sounds appear to be coming mostly from the common wall/ceiling area by the vault. We were up in the attic and could find no evidence of anything unusual. We even added extra bracing to further tie the trusses together to reduce any possible movement. This house is pre-engineered, meaning the floor panels, wall systems, and trusses were assembled at the factory, then erected on site. Strictly open wall construction, no drywall, wiring etc. Outside sheathing is on the wall prior to erection. As I said we've done over 130 homes very similar to this one and never had this issue. We also have the same siding, roofing,
and other contractors for most all the jobs, so it's doubtful though possible someone missed something, but then again what could be missed that would make the noise? Remember this house has absolutely no drywall cracks or nail pops anywhere. Not even hairline cracks over headers
in hallways which is fairly common.

Hmm...what is the configuration of the trusses above the vaulted ceiling area? Is that wall where the noise seems to be coming from a load-bearing wall? Are the trusses connected to that wall, if it isn't load-bearing? Is that wall perpendicular to the trusses, or parallel to them? In what region of the country is the ´house located? When was it built? What species, grade and moisture content of wood was used in the trusses? Are the trusses fabricated using gang-nail plates? Or bolts?

Is the noise occuring at times of significant temp change, like at dusk or dawn. Also I've found vinyl siding pops sometimes when the sun first hits it, even during the middle of a cloudy day when the sun first comes out, any chance of any of this?

The noise occurs night and day on and off. Cloudy or sunny, hot or cold, in Ohio.
I can't believe siding could make that loud a noise when it moves. Owners says it more like wood cracking. Trusses are parallel to vault, not load bearing. All trusses bear only on outside walls. Metal plates are stamped in trusses to join components. House is pre-engineered, by certified engineers and plans are state approved. Don't know particulars on wood other than fact company produces these same components at the rate of 3-5 homes per day. I talked with them and there only idea was truss uplift, but like I said before absolutely no evidence of that anywhere.