Cutting A Floor Joist For Plumbing

How to cut the subfloor to access the floor joists for plumbing.

Cutting a floor joist for plumbing. The picture above shows what can happen when an untrained plumber is working on your home. Holes anywhere in the web area of engineered i joists except within 6 in. Recently when replacing a cracked 36x60 fiberglass shower i discovered the plumber had cut 4 inches out the top chord and field of the tji floor joist. There are very specific locations and sizes in the code telling you what is allowed.

Engineered floor joists can be drilled only according to their manufacturer s guidelines the code specifies the maximum size of the holes you can drill or the notches you can cut where you can and can t place them and how far apart they can be spaced. Let s review what is wrong with this particular joist and discuss what the proper technique is for. The idea behind this is pretty simple. Cutting a floor joist.

How do you support loads when a joist must be cut for plumbing. I am converting a bath to a shower stall and will have to move the drain. In order to maintain the support integrity of the ceiling or floor joist or rafter system it is important that if joists are cut that the load that was bearing on those joists be transferred to a modified support system. When it s time to remodel it s often also time to reroute plumbing or replace subflooring that may have become rotted or cracked.

Zzxx nc i am in the middle of demoing a 5 x8 bathroom in a 1952 home. The joist was encased in spray foam so it was invisable to the home inspection we had done. Sometimes joists are notched at the end where they bear on a wall or sill. If the cut outs are too large or in the wrong location the joist can be weakened and unable to support the load it was designed for.

Tradespeople often need to cut notches or holes in floor and ceiling joists to run pipes ductwork or wires. I get to the removal of the tub drain and to my dismay the floor joist was cut completely to accommodate the drain. Cutting and or removing joists to provide an entry or access can be the most difficult part of the overall project. Drilling floor joists to run plumbing wiring or ducts can be tricky.

Where and how to drill joists for electrical cables or plumbing runs depends on what type of floor framing you have.