I got a question regarding a load bearing wall, hopefully somebody can help me.
I’m changing the location of my upstairs bathroom, I have to move the 3″ drain pipe. The wall were I have to hide the pipe is 8 1/2″ finished thickness and load bearing.I have to run aprox. 5 feet horizontal in this wall before I can drop it to the vertical straigt down in the waste pipe. What is the best way to frame this wall so I can put the 3″ pipe inside it?
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Is the pipe 3" nominal, which actually measures 3 1/2" diameter, or is it 2 1/2" nominal, which is 2 7/8" actual?
If you built the wall using 2x8's and 1/2" drywall, you'd get a total of 8 1/2" actual thickness. The rule on holes in bearing studs is a maximum of 40%, which is exactly 3" for a 2x8.
So, if the pipe is 2 1/2 nominal, you could be barely legal by giving up a lot of space to an unusually thick wall. If it's 3" nominal, that won't work with 8 1/2" of wall.
Given that the run is only 5', at a quarter inch per foot, you only need 1 1/4" of drop. I'd look at the whole problem again from bottom to top. Is there room below the downstairs floor for the pipe with 1 1/4" of drop? Is there a basement or crawl space down there? What are the rooms on both sides of the wall on the first floor? Could you hide the pipe in a soffit or cabinet work in either room? Could you re-orient the bathroom floor joists or re-think the bathroom layout?
We'd have to know the whole situation to give any solid advice. Can you post picutres? But incredibly thick walls are usually not the best answer.
-- J.S.
I had a closer look today and the wall is only 2X4. At one end of it it is doubled for a heating duct. I opened part of the wall inside a pantry(my wife hates me for that!!!) and I think I will box the pipe in. It would be max 7" below the ceiling and 5" thick. Do you have a better idea?
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> I think I will box the pipe in. It would be max 7" below the ceiling and 5" thick.
That's called a soffit. It's an excellent solution to this kind of problem. If there's upper cabinet work going into this pantry, you might make the soffit bigger, to line up with the cabinets. If the soffit is over a counter, it can be nice to make it bigger by enough to contain some can lights.
-- J.S.
you might make the soffit bigger, to line up with the cabinets
Which is a very professional look. Another term in the kitchen biz is "furr down."
Now, if the rest of the cabinets go up to the ceiling, sometimes making the soffit fit behind the cabinet faces frames can be slick (or to build a hidden soffit within the upper cabinets in remodel work).
Something I have learned (only a little bit the hard way) is to mock up the soffit in cardboard in scrap. This can help you "see" where a mirror image soffit may be nice.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
It seems I am on the right track with my plan.
I`m with John.....way too little info to offer specifics.
That being the case, at this point I`m building a soffet to contain the horizontal run.
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