Drilling Floor Joists For Pex

Drill a series of holes through floor joists along one end of the room where you ll be adding hydronic radiant heating.

Drilling floor joists for pex. When drilling through a stud be sure that each hole is at the same level so the pipe runs parallel to the floor. Where and how to drill joists for electrical cables or. If you re running pex through joists or studs drill 3 4 in. Let s review what is wrong with this particular joist and discuss what the proper technique is for.

Drill a series of holes along alternating floor joists on the other end. 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. Have a helper feed the line to avoid kinks and snarls. Holes anywhere in the web area of engineered i joists except within 6 in.

If the span requires say a 2x 10 joist spanning 12 the above rules apply. Place the bit up to the stud and slowly start the drill allowing it to build up speed. 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. Some manufacturers recommend adding abrasion clips at each hole.

Drilling floor joists to run plumbing wiring or ducts can be tricky. There is a side to this that i have discussed with inspectors. The maximum allowable diameter of a hole in any solid lumber joist is one third of. The picture above shows what can happen when an untrained plumber is working on your home.

Run your main lines first. Away from the top and bottom. Of walls and rim joists. You can t drill a hole more than a third of the thickness of a joist in the middle third of the joist.