Drilling Floor Joists For Pex

Drill a series of holes along alternating floor joists on the other end.

Drilling floor joists for pex.

You can t drill a hole more than a third of the thickness of a joist in the middle third of the joist. Place the bit up to the stud and slowly start the drill allowing it to build up speed. Have a helper feed the line to avoid kinks and snarls. The picture above shows what can happen when an untrained plumber is working on your home.

Drill through the sill plate and sub floor for each water line. Drilling floor joists to run plumbing wiring or ducts can be tricky. When drilling through a stud be sure that each hole is at the same level so the pipe runs parallel to the floor. Run your main lines first.

There is a side to this that i have discussed with inspectors. 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. Drill holes with a diameter of no more than one third the depth of the joist staying 2 in.

If the span requires say a 2x 10 joist spanning 12 the above rules apply. Holes anywhere in the web area of engineered i joists except within 6 in. Of walls and rim joists. Drill a series of holes through floor joists along one end of the room where you ll be adding hydronic radiant heating.

If you re running pex through joists or studs drill 3 4 in. 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. The maximum allowable diameter of a hole in any solid lumber joist is one third of. If you have a 12 span and the joist is a full 12 you can drill a full 4 hole in the first and last 4.