2x6 Notch To Accomodate Romex/Running Board...Allowable?
1/8/2022 at 8:33:22 PM
My walkout basement has a romex wire that appears to be floating between an external stud wall with a concrete footing and a 2x3 internal wall with fiberglass insulation. I've already torn down the 2x3 wall and will begin to build a 2x6 wall with proper rock wool insulation. The only problem is that I want to avoid having to rewire and drill through my 2x6s. Also,I have a ABS drain pipe very close to the top of the new wall, I don't have any extra space to place my running board outside of this new wall as I'll need to build a soffit.
I was wondering if it possible to create a 3/4" notch at the top of my 2x6 wall studs, which are not load-bearing, to accomodate the romex cable stapled onto a 1x3 running board that is screwed onto the vertical external wall studs on the top. There will also be a 1 inch gap between the external studs and my 2x6 wall.
From what I understand, with non-load bearing walls, the notch cannot be more than 40% of width of the stud, which my notch doesn't seem to exceed. Please let me know if this makes sense and allowable. I've attached a quick illustration of what I was thinking....Thanks again and looking forward to your responses!
1/9/2022 at 4:31:25 PM
Since your wall only supports the drywall (non-loadbearing) it is permitted to be 2 x 4" or even 2 x 3" (as before) so there is no problem with a notch like you propose.
Article 9.23.5.3. Wall Studs: Wall studs shall not be notched, drilled or otherwise damaged so that the undamaged portion of the stud is less than two-thirds of the depth of the stud if the stud is loadbearing or 40 mm if the stud is non-loadbearing, unless the weakened studs are suitably reinforced.
1/9/2022 at 5:24:08 PM
Hello Alex you should be ok I am familiar with the rules on this which are
Notching. Any A stud in an exterior wall or bearing partition shall not be permitted to be cut or notched to a depth not exceeding 25 percent of its depth width. Studs in nonbearing partitions shall not be permitted to be notched to a depth not to exceed exceeding 40 percent of a single stud depth width.
Now you do have cables running on the outside wall so you may want to check the local codes for the electrical part of it as I am a plumber and I'm in Canada so you might what to check that out but as far as I know your ok. I hope we were helpful in any way and wish you luck with your project
Best regards,
1/9/2022 at 11:00:11 PM
@Richard/Nicholas: Thanks so much for your answers! I really appreciate it.
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