Floor truss has been cut
#1
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Floor truss has been cut
Hello,
I am remodeling our upstairs bathroom. After looking at how to rearrange or install new piping I discovered that the previous owners cut completely through the top joist of the Floor Truss in two places. From my research I have learned that cutting these trusses is not allowed. Is this something I will need to hire a local engineer to fix? Or are there other options?
Furthermore, I just purchased this home in October of 2015. Are structural modifications like this suppose to be report when selling a home?
Thanks in advance,
Trevor
I am remodeling our upstairs bathroom. After looking at how to rearrange or install new piping I discovered that the previous owners cut completely through the top joist of the Floor Truss in two places. From my research I have learned that cutting these trusses is not allowed. Is this something I will need to hire a local engineer to fix? Or are there other options?
Furthermore, I just purchased this home in October of 2015. Are structural modifications like this suppose to be report when selling a home?
Thanks in advance,
Trevor

#3
Welcome to the forums! Yes, you should have a structural engineer look at this and advise proper methods of rectifying it. It should have never been cut like that. NO truss can be cut. Are you sure the previous owners did this or was it during original construction? Does the house have a homeowner's warranty?
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No home warranty and not sure if new construction or previous owner. However, with how crude the holes are (guessing sawzall) and knowing that the bathroom has already been remodeled once before; I'm betting the last owners cut these holes. This is the 1st truss next to the outside wall, not sure if this changes anything. The holes are not vents: one is for a toilet and the other was the shower drain (p-trap removed). They are about 2.5 feet apart



Last edited by PJmax; 02-19-16 at 05:59 PM. Reason: added pics from links
#6
Does not matter who did it I've seen so called plumbers cut out a simple 4" toilet flange with a sawsall and make a 6" hole in the subfloor. Cut out doubled up supporting floor joist.
A simple 2 X 4 patch as I suggested will work.
A simple 2 X 4 patch as I suggested will work.
#8
In addition to the 2x4 patch, I would screw 3/4 inch plywood to each side of the truss (horizontal, vertical, angled pieces) in the area with the holes. Make the plywood as wide as the base of the triangle formed by the truss gussets.
At the truss cut for the drain pipe, I would first scab in vertical supports between the top and lower joists on each side of the drain pipe. I would use 2 pieces of plywood, one each side of the drain pipe notching half the drain pipe diameter in each piece of plywood. Hope this helps.
At the truss cut for the drain pipe, I would first scab in vertical supports between the top and lower joists on each side of the drain pipe. I would use 2 pieces of plywood, one each side of the drain pipe notching half the drain pipe diameter in each piece of plywood. Hope this helps.