Lovely to hear a knowledgable tradesman talking seriously about paying attention to the detail required to ensure engineering of structure is respected whilst routing services, and further communicating it well. Well done !

Loved this vid. I knew about sizes of notches & holes, but I NEVER thought about checking to see if the joist is oversized. Shall be using this tip in the future! Thanks.

Really good and well-explained video. Thanks for sharing 👍

Hi roger and the team! Great tip and video content!

Another useful video, thanks Roger!

Plain and simple. Perfect

Nice one Roger good advice. Basically use your noggin too. Don't cut big chunks out near the support.

One more excellent video from my mentor.

Stuff like that was never mentioned when training as spark. Learn something new everyday. All makes perfect sense when explained great work.

thanks Roger. I watch and enjoy loads of your videos so please don't take my criticisms to heart about this particular video :) 1) the camera didn't pan enough to where you were explaining different parts of the joist. I struggled to follow what you were talking about. 2) all your measurements your were saying were in inches and the table was in mm.

awesome info, cheers

​ @Skill Builder Is this video applicable in U.S.A? I plan to run two 1/2 inch water pipes, one cold, one hot. also I plan to run a 3/4 inch gas pipe. also what drill do you recommend to make these holes?do you have a Snap-On Drill bit recommended set and a drill? I plan to run wires as well. I have done it industrially which I think is much easier than residential since everything is out in the open to see.

Hi Roger, are there any guidelines for notches in timber frames? I’ve had builders cut a 50% notch out off a triple beam timber frame support by a window to fit a basin waste through

I can't find the previous episode for the kitchen sink and plumbing series. You state "I have already installed the waste pipe in my last episode". Can you please send video episode link. I'm relocating the kitchen sink and will be drilling holes through 3 joists and would find your video helpful. Thank you

I thought this was a creed 2 trailer when I saw Drago in the picture😂😂

Hi will noggins stop or reduce bouce of a suspended floor (loft).

I wish you'd looked at the joist you were pointing at when you spoke about drilling. That was the info i needed.

Great guide Roger, luckily we never have to notch joists here in Ontario and seldom have to drill holes for waste pipes (think bulkheads) roughing in the plumbing is much easier than back in UK.

What was that angle tisner you had on yer drill me babs?

Hi! I'm in the process of buying a home and the previous owner notched the joist at the bottom to run wires. That's not legal correct?

V useful tips ..helps to keep an eye on those freshie builders :)

Couldn't be explained better.

My joists are supported by bearers, can sections of the bearers be removed instead of cutting the joists?

The stress in a section of a beam subject to bending is linearly proportional to the distance of that section from the neutral axis of the beam (stress = bending moment x distance of section from bending axis / second moment of area), which will be the centre in this case. So, the centre of a beam is almost unstressed, which is why it is OK to drill holes there. Notching a beam, on the other hand, is removing strength from the area that is most highly stressed and has the biggest contribution to supporting the load. Obviously, then, drilling holes in the centre makes sense. Notching does not and only works because the joists are bigger than they theoretically (by way of stress calculations) need to be in the first place.

Thanks for another great vid 👍 However if notching for say a shower waste is the ONLY way to fit that shower - is there a proper way of strengthening the joist after it's been "notched" please?

Hi, just a question. We have built an extension and the builder has laid the floor boarding. However, the plumber seems to think that out only option now is to drill the central heating pipes in but this would mean that he cannot use copper and must stick to plastic. Can you advise?

really like to see you reinforce the structure after weakening it with holes, makes me feel safer knowing builders consider it, if not all of them

Top notch, as usual Roger. Pardon the pun. Peace be unto you.

Hi Roger and team. I’m wanting to put 150mm ducting through several I joists for a flush ceiling kitchen extractor. Not opened the ceiling yet and can’t remember whether the upright of the I (is this called webbing??) is OSB or ply. Either way, one or the other, I have a 150mm hole saw. can this material be cut out to 150mm round, and maybe reinforced with ply or OSB (with the same hole cut through it and sandwiched onto each side where accessible? The last joist is probably tight to the wall and only accessible on the room side). Thanks for any advice you can offer!

I feel more comfortable adding a reinforcing plate as well. Its surprising that some enterprising company hasn't started selling reinforcing steel plates with pre-made say 50mm holes already in them. The steel plate is sized equivalent to a whole joist in strength. You could just screw the plate onto the joist drill through the hole and it's stronger than it was before.

I've been to loads to fit t&g floorboards obviously after the plumbers and electricians have been and they have notched out, absolute nightmare trying to get some fixings in when their notches are as wide as the floorboards and there full of cables/pipes

If you have an old notched joist, where the wire is no longer needed, would plugging it with wood strenghten the joist and is it advisable?

Hoping someone can help, I have a problem where the previous owners have put 2 x 22mm pipes and a 15mm pipe notched Into the top of a joist, but when ever I walk on the floor I can here them rattle, can I take the notch down more and try and secure them, then use a thin metal plate on the joist the bridge the notch, and fill this with a duct sealing kit ?

how do you have a shower drain on the joist or is this not option ? would you have to modify shower base?

Back in the real world many tradesmen, particularly plumbers, notch the hell out joists and pay no mind to weakening. Slap the floorboards over and no one will ever know.

What 90 degree drill bit attachment was used and what drill bit was used. A manufacturer and part description would help lots of readers. Thanks

How do know the joists will be weakened if you drill a hole of 16 - 25mm or notching it? Is there a test for it. I think timber joist will deflect to .003% in the middle 4-5meter.

The plumber has notched the top of several joists for plastic radiator pipes, does this need strength ing now?

all plumbers & electricians note this

Can I ask what the rules are for studs? (non load bearing) i'd like to hide my 32mm pipe and my BCO doesn't want 2" notched out of 3x 4" studs in a row. Bit bemused personally as it's not a loading wall.

how bad is it of the holes are closer together? ive bought a house and we are rewiring it and in some places there are 3 holes very close together from whoever did the job last

How do these rules apply to I beams? These have timber top and bottom but particle board in between.

I took a bath out about a year ago and some one had notched 6 inches out of a 8 inch joist for a waste pipe lol

This is a very important topic as these rules are so frequently flouted. I think this video is missing some vital additional information. For instance how far apart a hole in a joist has to be from a notch in a joist. The region of a joist that is permitted to have a hole through it is different to the allowable region for notches. What is the required spacing between holes? Is that dimension measured from closest edge to closest edge, or center to center? Unfortunately, this Video shows a hole and a notch in the same joist closer together than is permissible. I think it would also be useful to advise that trades cooperate as much as possible when routing services through joists given that every joist has limited real estate through which holes or notches can be cut electricians and plumbers should make sure they can both run their services without limiting the options or routes for the other. that might mean drilling a hole larger than the size you immediately need but within permissible limits if it is likely that other wiring or pipework will need to be routed through the same zone. It is an awful lot harder to increase the size of a hole when there is already a cable or pipe in it. perhaps there could be a more in-depth follow-up video.

I always say plumbers should be taught some carpentry skills . How to take up floorboards without smashing them to pieces would be a start . I have loads of jobs repairing floors for customers because sparks and plumbers don’t cut them properly and I think that’s part of their job as they are lifting floor board all the time .

So the max hole size hole on a 2x6 would be 3/8? That’s not enough to fit a romex cable.

Really clear video - thank you. I think a few tradesmen (including a recent electrician we had) are a bit cavalier about drilling holes anywhere that suits them. Interested in your plywood technique - do you glue/screw/both this onto the joists? My (layperson) thoughts were that with screwing/bolting there are even more holes in the joist.

Can someone point me to the actual regulation all this info was taken from? I can find a million places where this info is (some with slight contradictions or missing/additional info). But I want to read the official document, the actual reg or page number.

There is very little loss in the strength of a joist if you drill a hole in the middle of the joist, the strain is taken up by the low and high edges. Notching on the other hand does have a significant effect and should be avoided. There is no excuse for electricians putting-cables in a notch, and it’s dangerous. Even plumbers can put plastic water pipe through holes drilled in the centre of the joist.

and how you can run a shower waste when the joists are crossed on its way..

With the materials available for building these days I don't see any need for noticing joists

Thanks for the video; it might be slightly more useful if the camera could follow the presenters hands when explaining and pointing stuff out on the materials as opposed to just staying focused on his face.

Screw that. In North America we drill holes willy nilly

Here’s a tip for ya,build a furr down, move the stack figure it out, never notch a joist or truss and it looks shitty

You must be stating requirements of the LOCAL code where you're at. The IRC (International Residential Code) is NOT the same. Like the size of a bore: You say 1/4 depth max but the IRC says 1/3. And a notch, as YOU state, should be within the outer 1/4 of the span whereas the IRC says 1/3.

Never drill holes bigger than you need

Best way to actually cut the notches? Literally just a saw and chisel?

Enjoyed the context, but you showed so little of the actual work at hand, I struggled to understand application. Not sure why the camera stayed on you 95% of the time.

Roger is surely due for a knighthood.

inches?! Ack

Hi Roger and team! I Tweeted you about a collaboration. Would you be interested in getting together and talking about the trades? All the best, James (Copenhagen!)

Why are you brits still talking about inches? :)

USA people - disregard this ! Not code, in USA.