What size pipe can I put through a 2x4

[pmccurdy]

I am finishing my basement. I put in an inside wall for a bar with a sink. I need to run my drain pipe through the wall. Can I run a 2" drain pipe through a two by four?

Thanks for any help,

Pat McCurdy :)

[King3244]

The od of a 2 inch plastic pipe is 2 3/8 inches, you will need at least a 2 1/2 inch hole which leaves you with 1/2 inch on either side (obviously). Just make sure that you have nail guards in place so that you don't end up with a drywall nail through your pipe.

King

[Taylor]

Guide to holes and notching:

http://www.tileyourworld.com/construction/JoistBoringGuide.pdf

[pmccurdy]

Looking at the guidelines it appears it is not possible to put a 2" drain into a 2x4 wall. Is there another way to do this? Could I put steel plates on either side of the wall to support the pipe and then have less greater the 60% bore?

[jrejre]

Why do you think that it is not allowed? The link has Figure 3 showing exactly what you are talking about. The note on Figure 3 says:

"60% allowed in any non-bearing wall or in bearing walls with not more than two successive studs bored and doubled."

Your situation is more complicated than that??

[dx]

Pat,

Are you trying to go through a vertical 2x4, the horizontal (bottom) 2x4, or both? Keep in mind that in a basement, it's extremely rare and unusual to have a load-bearing stud wall. All your 2x4 is doing is supporting drywall. So, for an oversize hole in a vertical stud, just use appropriate blocking above and below the hole to support and stabilize the stud. For a bottom 2x4, it is sufficient to nail the 2x4 to the concrete slab a couple of inches either side of the hole.
Around here, in new construction, the pipe stub goes in the slab first. Then, the wall is framed around the stub. There is no hole at all in the bottom 2x4, it just stops and starts again on the other side of the pipe. As long as it is properly nailed to the slab, it passes inspection just fine.

[Taylor]

If this is a 2x4 stud, then you will need at least 2-1/2" hole and probably something bigger (2-3/4" say). There is no way you can do that and stay in code, even with a non-load-bearing wall, and remember, code is a minimum.

You're going to have to make that a 2x6 wall, or leave it as a piece of hack work for some future owner to worry about (say when he decides to hang a big cabinet on that wall.....).

[jdkimes]

Be careful, there are many, manyf 2x4 stud, load bearing walls, just about every residential house w/ a basement built before 1980 probably has a load bearing wall right down the middle of the basement, later the steel beams came into favor.
That being said there are a lot of non-load bearing walls too. But it doesn't matter because you still shouldn't put a 2" pipe through the middle of one even though a lot of people do it.

[sulconst2]

teco makes a stud shoe for a single 2 x 4. it will stabilize the notched stud plus works as a nail plate.
heres a link

http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/HSS-SS.html