this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2025
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Thanks that exactly proves my point. As your diagram says. You're allowed to drill a hole at a max of 1/4 the width of the joist. So even if that's an 8 inch wide joist the biggest hole you can put in it is 2 inches wide.
That looks like 4" waste pipe. So to drill a hole through a joist for that the joist would need to be 16" inches wide.
So you can't just drill holes in joists in the "middle that isn't critical" As I said there are specific rules about where the size of holes you can put in joists because the size and location matters very much to the strength of the joist.
Well, the joist loses perhaps 25 % of its strength to the big hole, as opposed to some 75 % to the bottom notch. It's still fair to call it "much better".
It also “won’t pass inspection” and it has the additional effect of “making your property worthless without repairs”.
Additionally it might still “kill you” when the fridge slides over and tips on top of you when your floor is suddenly 28 degrees sloped downward because it cracked in half.
Imagine dying pinned under your own couch because you did this thinking it made your house stronger