Look especially at the sunniest portion of the house when you hear it
early in the day....ductwork, ac, pipes, rafters...something knocking
when something else is warming/cooling. *I lived a long time in Florida,
but never had that sort of noise....only an occ. rattle, like mild
earthquakes and I lived in sink-hole area ) *In a different location,
I used to have clunking noise from aluminum siding as it warmed and cooled.

The creaking noise is most noticeable on the side of the house with
the most sun exposure in the afternoons. What bothers me is the sound
is like the sound you'd hear if you pried on a stuck nail and it first
started to come loose... that *POP* noise :O(