Drilling Floor Joists

Below are the basic guidelines.

Drilling floor joists. But modern living requires electrical wiring and plumbing. Section r502 10 of the international residential code states that header joists can be the same size as the floor joists when the header joist span isn t greater than 4 feet but if the header joist span is more than 4 feet you ll need to double the header joist and ensure that it s capable of. Drill holes with a diameter of no more than one third the depth of the joist staying 2 in. Cutting notches and drilling holes in joists.

To find out if this might be the case you can find guidance on notches and holes in solid timber joists for use in domestic properties in section 3 22 of eurocode 5 published by bm trada. The picture above shows what can happen when an untrained plumber is working on your home. Away from the top and bottom. But this could weaken the floor to such an extent that it becomes structurally unsound.

In a perfect world floor joists are left whole to provide the greatest support. How to drill a hole through the side of a floor joist. Of walls and rim joists. Keep holes in these joists to a maximum of 1 5 inches in diameter 38mm.

Holes anywhere in the web area of engineered i joists except within 6 in. If you re drilling a hole in the center of the joist then you can drill up to a maximum of 4 inches in diameter 100mm. As part of any new installation work or a re wire a cable trunking or cable tray sometimes has to pass through an element of building construction such as a floor wall or beam necessitating the formation of a notch or opening in the element. Let s review what is wrong with this particular joist and discuss what the proper technique is for.

There are very specific locations and sizes in the code telling you what is allowed. Where and how to drill joists for electrical cables or. Additional support for the floor joists is achieved by nailing the ends of the joists into headers. Drilling floor joists to run plumbing wiring or ducts can be tricky.

The joist is deeper than 250mm it does not meet the guidelines in this chapter or it is close to heavy loads such as those from partitions cisterns cylinders and stair trimming. B the framing member that runs around the perimeter of your house and that the floor joists butt into often gets riddled with large holes this space is the logical exit point for dryer and furnace vents big electrical service wires and fireplace fresh air intakes.