**Yes—this can often be reduced with a local repair, without replacing all the ductwork.** Your explanation is plausible: sheet metal expands as it warms and contracts as it cools. If it catches against framing or a tight support, it can release suddenly with a “ping.” Some ticking is common; how the ducts are supported helps explain why one house is noisier than another. [This Old House’s heating expert describes this mechanism and possible fixes.](https://www.thisoldhouse.com/heating-cooling/how-to-quiet-noisy-ducts)

Start with these steps:

1. **Check the filter and vents.** Replace a dirty filter with the type specified for your system, open closed supply registers, and make sure return grilles aren’t blocked by furniture. Airflow restrictions can make flat duct panels flex and pop—called *oil-canning*. [A Canadian HVAC contractor explains these causes.](https://bcwide.ca/furnace-ductwork-oil-canning-noise/)
2. **Note exactly when it happens.** Pings as the ducts warm up or cool down suggest thermal movement. A pop immediately when the blower starts or stops suggests pressure-induced flexing. This distinction helps identify the repair.
3. **Locate it before changing anything.** During a quiet heating cycle, listen along accessible basement ductwork, particularly near supports and places where ducts pass through framing. Record the noise and mark the suspected location for a technician.

For thermal movement, the repair may be adjusting a hanger or providing clearance and suitable isolation padding where the duct rubs against wood. For a flexing rectangular panel, a sheet-metal technician can add reinforcement or repair that section, while also checking for excessive duct pressure. Insulation can sometimes reduce transmitted sound, but I’d locate the source before paying to wrap the ducts. [Repair guidance](https://www.thisoldhouse.com/heating-cooling/how-to-quiet-noisy-ducts), [panel reinforcement guidance](https://bcwide.ca/furnace-ductwork-oil-canning-noise/).

**Ask an HVAC contractor who does sheet-metal duct repairs for a “duct noise diagnosis and localized repair.”** Tell them you want the source located, supports/contact points inspected, and airflow/static pressure checked. That is a reasonable service call; wholesale replacement is not the starting point. Access may be the main complication if the offending section is behind a finished ceiling.