Remember when everyone said to always notch studs for plumbing?

I was running a new drain line in my own house about five years ago and the old way would have meant cutting a huge notch in three load bearing studs. Instead of doing that, I offset the pipe by just an inch and a half using two 45 degree elbows. It added maybe $12 in fittings and 20 minutes of work, but the wall stayed strong. I haven't had a single issue with it since. Now I see all these old timers still hacking away at structural wood when a simple reroute works better. Has anyone else found a better way to handle in-wall plumbing runs?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaronrobinson19h ago

Saw a video where a plumber argued that notching is basically a crime against carpentry now. He showed how using a combo of offsets and re routing through non load bearing spaces keeps everything solid. Your fix with the 45s is exactly the kind of smart work they were praising.

faitha4016h ago

Totally agree. That plumber gets it, you're basically just moving the problem around instead of fixing it. Smart framing is way stronger in the long run.