Every structure needs to have a plumbing system. It’s also vital to consider where you run plumbing. But before starting the plumbing, it’s vital to take a few key elements into account. These places may vary depending on the type of building you are living in.
Many people frequently worry about whether floor joists can be used for plumbing purposes. Let’s now explore whether or not plumbing can be run via floor joists and learn some additional details and fascinating plumbing facts.
Running plumbing through floor joist
You can run plumbing through the floor joist. There are certain rules that need to be followed in order to run plumbing through the floor joist to keep the flooring strong. If these rules are followed accordingly, you can make holes in the floor joist and run pipes for plumbing easily.
You may need to run various kinds of pipes in your building for multiple purposes. It is often seen that people want to keep the pipes hidden from the outside. Thus, running the lines in a concealed place is a standard method.
But for this reason, you may need to run the pipe through various areas.
Plumbing pipes are often placed under the floor or through the wall. But running them under the floor means that you need to cross a lot of hurdles. This can be avoided by running the plumbing through the floor joist.
The floor joist is an essential part of a building. This is more important when you are using wooden floors. Floor joists provide the necessary support to the floor and keep them in place. Plumbing can be laid through the floor joist by following some essential regulations and rules.
Many people think that running plumbing through floor joists is not possible. According to experts and construction builders, it is possible. If you maintain the regulations in your region, you can easily run your plumbing through floor joists.
But it would be best if you kept in mind that the plumbing pipe size is fixed for each joist size.
There are many kinds of plumbing that you may run through floor joists. Although almost all plumbing can be run through floor joists, you may ask which of them can be run and what may be the reason.
Let us discuss the most popular plumbing that you can run through floor joists and elaborate on the reason behind it.
Toilet plumbing:
You can run toilet plumbing through certain floor joist sizes. Toilet plumbing is required to be run through the floor joist because of the short distance from point to point.
It is required because the plumbing line needs to run under the toilet floor to reach all the points where access is required.
Rerouting plumbing:
Rerouting plumbing can run through the floor joist. Reroute plumbing is a method that plumbers adapt to make a new way for an existing plumbing connection to another point.
This can be done and run through the floor joist without any issue, as the size of the reroute plumbing is usually the size of the plumbing pipes.
Drain plumbing:
You can run drain plumbing through the floor joist. The reason why you can do this is the size of the plumbing pipe. Drain plumbing that runs under the floor through the floor joist is usually a suitable size for the floor joist to handle.
Can you notch floor joists for plumbing?
You can notch floor joists for plumbing, but it is not recommended. While running plumbing through the floor joists, you may need to set the plumbing connection through the top or bottom. In this case, you need to make notches in the floor joists.
Floor joists give the plumbing pipe a small hinge of space to set the pipe properly. It is often found to be a suitable way to put pipes right under the floor.
If you need to run plumbing just under the floorboard, making notches under the floor for the plumbing is the best possible solution.
Many building regulations accept this method. But certain factors need to be kept in mind while making these notches. The size of the notch and floor joist has to be taken by the building regulations of your area. The notch placement is also important while doing it on the floor joist.
3 things to consider while running plumbing through floor joists
Plumbing through floor joists is a popular way to route plumbing connections. Toilet and drain plumbing are often run through floor joists. The reason behind this is that the plumbing connection needs to be right under the bathroom or kitchen floor to reach all the drop points.
There are certain things to consider while running plumbing through floor joists. Although the number of them is many, you may want to know a few of them which are essential.
Here are the 3 things that we think are things to consider the most while running plumbing through floor joists.
Placement of the hole to run the plumbing through the floor joist:
If the hole you are cutting is almost half the diameter of the floor joist, you need to place it right in the middle of the floor joist. This will ensure the integrity of the floor joist.
But if the hole size is a quarter of the floor joist’s diameter, you can make the hole at any place. While making the hole, you need to remember that you should not make any hole at the 2 inches of the top and bottom of the floor joist.
Size of the hole to run the plumbing through the floor joist:
You have to consider the size of the hole that you are making on the floor joist to run the plumbing. Keep in mind that you can not run more than plumbing pipes that are bigger than half of the diameter of the joist. If you do so, it may make the joist weak
Space above and below the hole of the plumbing on the floor joist:
It is a must to make no holes for plumbing between the 2 inch no hole zone in a floor joist. The no hole zone is usually at the top and bottom of the floor joist and is sized 2 inches.
If you make any holes within this region, it may break the regulations of the building code in your area.
Plumbing through floor joists vs wall – What’s better?
Plumbing through floor joists is always recommended compared to plumbing through the wall. There are various reasons behind this factor. If you want to know the facts that provide an explanation for this matter, here are the things that we think you should know.
Walls may have electrical connections:
It is commonly found that electrical connections are often placed in the wall. According to various building regulations, running any plumbing connection near the electrical connections is prohibited.
It is also not safe to run plumbing through the wall for this reason. Thus, plumbing through the floor is better than doing it on the wall.
Plumbing through floor joist can prevent water damage:
Water damage is a common matter when plumbing. As most plumbing connections are used for wet use, the connections may leak at any time if the joints are not correctly set. If these connections are set in the wall, it may damage the wall.
Bigger pipes can be placed in the floor joists compared to the wall:
Walls usually have a small amount of space. Plumbing pipes are generally big in size and require a lot of space. So, plumbing through floor joists is ideal compared to the wall.
How to run plumbing through floor joist?
You may want to know the simplest way to run plumbing through the floor joist. Here are the steps that we think are the best ones to do plumbing through floor joist.
Select the appropriate plumbing pipe size:
Selecting the correct plumbing pipe is crucial. Depending on your use case, choose the right size. It would be best if you also kept in mind that the size you choose needs to be appropriate for your floor joists.
Drill the hole to run the plumbing:
Use a drill machine to make the hole to run the plumbing in the floor joist. Keep 2 inches on the top and bottom of the floor joist. This will ensure the integrity of the floor joist.
Run the plumbing connection through the floor joists:
After you make the hole, make the plumbing connections. Please make sure that there are no leaks in your connection before using it.
Final Thoughts
You may run plumbing through the floor joist. It depends on the size of the plumbing pipes that you are setting through the joists. If the size of the joists can handle the hole made for the plumbing, you may run the necessary plumbing through the joists according to the regulations of your area.