Help! I just had a drop ceiling installed in my basement. The problem I have is with the recessed lighting. Because of the joists above, I am limited in where I can place the metal light canisters. I am working around them, but there is one area of the basement where I really want to put the light but can't because the joist is directly overhead in the middle of the 2x2 tile and I want the light centered for aesthetic reasons.

All I need is a lousy 1/2 inch! I am considering cutting a 1/2 inch by 5 inch notch in the joist to accommodate the can. The joist is 2x10. Can I really cause regrettable structural damage with such a seemingly small notch? I can't imagine that such a small cut would weaken the joist. Any advice???

Thanks!

 

I'm a union carpenter and if it was my house I would notch it, as long as you only take a 1\2 inch.

 

What is the span of the 2x10? Are there any interior partitions above it? The stock answer is that you don't notch the bottom of joists, but in reality it won't fall down. I suspect the worst that would happen is that you MAY notice a little bounciness in that area of the floor. Hope this helped.

Bruce

 

Above the joist in question is the kitchen, and I would say that the joist is situated at a point very close to and parallel to one of the interior walls of the kitchen, such that you wouldn't ever be walking right over the joist. On the other hand, it is probably supporting some of the weight of that interior wall, no?
The joist itself runs from the foundation on one side of the house for about 12 ft to where several joists strung together and supported by lally columns run from the front to the back. Also, this joist is close to the middle of the house in terms of comparing the front and back foundations.

Not to harp on this, but conceptually, cutting a half inch notch out of a 10-inch high joist seems inconsequential (well, a 2x10 is not really 10 inches high is it?; more like 9-9 1/2, right?). Either way, it seems so trivial--we are talking about 5% of the height. How could this possibly weaken the joist? I can't even imagine anything less than, say, a 2-3-inch notch doing much to weaken the wood, but of course, I'm no carpenter, or physicist.

I appreciate the feedback so far and would welcome any additional insight.

Also, I actually need to put 2 lights in that would affect this same joist (not just one light). The notches would be exactly six feet apart, but I wouldn't think this makes any difference to the central argument (???).

 

you wouldn't be able to tell anything in a half inch notch!!!

 

If your 2x10's are only spanning about 12', then you will have no problem at all. You were right to ask about notching out the bottom of joists, no matter how minor it may appear. Can't tell you how many problems I've seen over the years from people notching out bottoms of beams or joists.

Bruce

 

If you really want to feel safe about the notch (which should be fine in a 12' span as stated) you can always sister a couple of 2x8's on either side 2' past the notch in each direction. It's over design, but come house sale time, no inspector will have an issue with the notch.

 

Thanks everyone!