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Building a Home Plumbing Other

Size of hole for floor joist

3 years ago

We are building a house and on a recent trip to the house I was looking more closely at the floor joists and plumbing in the basement. I noticed this hole was cut in one of the 2x10 joists to accommodate a 3 inch schedule 40 PVC drain pipe for a bathroom toilet that is above this location. The outer diameter of 3 inch Schedule 40 PVC is 3.5 inches and you can tell from the picture that the hole is at least a half inch bigger than that so this is likely a 4 inch hole. I know this exceeds the specifications of having a hole no more than 1/3 the total depth of the joist (9-1/4" actual depth) and I already see small cracking (also can be seen in the picture) on both sides of the hole spanning most of the joist. The cracking is not very deep and is not cracked on the opposite side.

What do you recommend doing in this situation? I really am not happy about it, and would ideally like some kind of brace plate installed to reinforce this area or perhaps have blocking installed perpendicular to the joist and create a box around this area. Maybe I'm overreacting and worrying for nothing? I know the size of the hole is not compliant but should I be concerned if the builder doesn't seem motivated to fix?

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Comments (10)

PRO
PPF.
3 years ago
https://joistrepair.com/products/2810hr
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
3 years ago
Is your four person hot tub located directly above the hole in the joist?
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All great advice. Yes, I will have a city inspector, but depending on which one I get, I will be more or less confident in their "inspection". (I have to be honest and say, with our addition, one of them was much more thorough than another--who didn't go into the crawlspace to inspect anything, for example). As for where in the span, it could go anywhere along the length of it, I believe. So wherever is best, we can do.
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You could just put the bathroom in the basement... because that's where it's going to be if you drill 3" holes in a 6" joist... and Cyndy is right - that pipe has to slope, you can't keep it in the center of the joists. 3x6 on 24" centers isn't something that's common. Reframe it. Go below the joists. Build supports on piers on either side of the holes. Figure something else out. A photo would help a lot.
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Kevin
Original Author
3 years ago
No just a walk in shower.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
3 years ago
Call the framing inspector. If he doesn't like it, he'll red tag it. Your builder won't ignore that, believe me.
millworkman
3 years ago
Custom Home or developer/tract type home?
Kevin
Original Author
3 years ago
It's a custom home build.
millworkman
3 years ago
The do as Joe states. Have the building inspector look at it. Or just demand the builder fix it to your satisfaction.
Kevin
Original Author
3 years ago
I'm ok with the hole there, although I also would have been fine with them just running that pipe below the floor joist level and avoiding cutting through it since it only runs perpendicular for one joist. Do you think I should have them reinforce it with a metal plate similar to the link that was provided below or leave it as is for now and see and the crack gets any larger over time? The builder (who subcontracts the work) has a 60 day and 1 year service call where they come out to address things like this, and the house will be covered under a 12 year structural warranty.
PRO
Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
3 years ago
Building inspector (as said above). Typically an exception or repair like this requires a review or letter from the engineer of record (the structural engineer who provided calcs and stamped the plan).

Haven't seen lumber used for joists for a long time, so it's likely a local preference. TJIs etc have larger allowable hole patterns that most plumbers are aware of.
PRO
Greaves Construction Inc.
2 years ago
Metwood.com joist reinforcement plates

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