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Notching of Studs In Bearing Walls
By Edward Robinson | July 23, 2008
Here in Houston notching of studs to create a straight wall is a common occurrence. Most builders here will notch the studs at an angle push them in the necessary direction to make them straight and nail a short scab board along the side resulting in nails loaded in shear carrying the structural loads. This is frequently performed in load bearing walls and stud packs carrying beams. Code does not allow notching of a load bearing stud greater than 25% of their depth, but this provision is seldom enforced.
Notch in Studs
R602.6Drilling and notching-studs. Any stud in an exterior wall or bearing partition may be cut or notched to a depth not exceeding 25 percent of its width. Studs in nonbearing partitions may be notched to a depth not to exceed 40 percent of asingle stud width. Any stud may be bored or drilled, provided that the diameter of the resulting hole is no greater than 40 percent of the stud width, the edge of the hole is no closer than 5/8 inch (15.9 mm) to the edge of the stud, and the hole is not located in the same section as a cut or notch.
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