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Notching Floor Truss Cord

carloa007 | Posted in General Discussion on November 2, 2006 10:23am

Here is the situation

14″ tgi floor trusses 16″ OC. Cross braced, 3/4″ T&G ply glued and nailed. Top and bottom cord are laminated 2″x4″

overflow pipe on jacuzzi is cocked and not seating properly because it hits the top cord on the floor truss.

I know your not supposed to notch a floor truss. But to get the pipe to seat properly, I would need to make a small notch in the top cord.

Any suggestions?

diagram attached to demonstrate

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Replies

  1. User avater
    Gene_Davis | Nov 02, 2006 11:21pm | #1

    Is that drawing to scale?  The cut looks pretty minimal, if it is.

    Plumbers do much worse damage than that, all the time.

  2. Cirrus8A | Nov 02, 2006 11:31pm | #2

    Trusses can be funny things and that includes floor trusses.  Your notch is on the upper (Compression) eliment and wood is not as good in compression as tension.  And you stated that a tub will be supported on this truss - that can be a BIG load.  Find the manufacturers literature or call the manufacturer.  I bet thay have a recomended notch allowable and or a patch for when this happens. 

     

    1. User avater
      BossHog | Nov 03, 2006 02:52pm | #10

      "...wood is not as good in compression as tension. "

      Actually, the opposite is true.

      Take SYP #2 for instance. It's good for 825 PSI in tension, and 1,650 PSI in compression parallel to the grain.

      So the compression value is about double the tension value.
      Sometime when you're bored, try putting a slinky on an escalator.

  3. woodway | Nov 03, 2006 12:07am | #3

    Sure, why not. If plumbers can do it all the time, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be included.

  4. Stilletto | Nov 03, 2006 12:08am | #4

    Are they trusses or tgi's? 

    If they are tgi's sister one next to it and cut the other one out where needed. 

    If they are floor trusses don't cut them.

     

     

    1. User avater
      carloa007 | Nov 03, 2006 05:12am | #5

      TGIs.

      This is a retrofit. Anyway to restore what little (if any) integrity will be lost by this small notch? Blocking perhaps?

      1. FastEddie | Nov 03, 2006 05:33am | #6

        Apply a liberal bead of structural caulk. 

        "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

      2. Stilletto | Nov 03, 2006 12:33pm | #8

        Problem with this is a jacuzzi sitting directly above the joist. 

        Punch the nails through the subfloor and wedge a block in between the joists to move your joist.   

         

      3. User avater
        BossHog | Nov 03, 2006 02:52pm | #9

        I'd suggest contacting the manufacturer through the place you bought them from. BTW - These appear to be I-joists, not floor trusses. The manufacturers deal with this sort of stuff all the time. They can tell you what you need to do to the joist.When you contact them, they're gonna ask for some specific information. Like the clear span of the joist, the spacing, where the tub is in relation to the bearing, how big it is, and maybe some other stuff that I haven't thought of. Don't buy the BS that "plumbers do this all the time". Lemmings jump off cliffs all the time too. That doesn't mean it's a good idea.
        Shin: a device for finding furniture in the dark.

  5. stikineriver | Nov 03, 2006 09:31am | #7

    Fill in the web to the flange with layers of plywoodm both sides for 4' either side of the cut. That will help stiffen the web and should make up for a small cut in the flange.

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