Holes in Products

Holes can be installed in RedBuilt™ products under the following guidelines.

Holes in Red-I™ Joists

• I-joists provide a great deal of flexibility for installing round, square, and rectangular holes in the I-joist web. See the product literature for general I-joist web hole guidelines. You may also specifically evaluate web holes with RedSpec™ - see the Hole Information Tab. DO NOT CUT JOIST FLANGES.

Red-I� Joist Knockouts

• I-joist webs may be stamped every 12" with a 1" knockout. These knockouts are standard on parallel profiles and optional on tapered profiles. The knockouts are commonly used to run electrical conduit or plumbing.

• The head of a hammer fits inside the stamped hole and conveniently knocks out the center plug. Do not use a hammer to make other holes in the I-joist web. To analyze holes larger than 1�", use RedSpec™ or see the Red-I™ joist design literature.

Field-Drilling Holes -- RedLam™ LVL

• The size and location of holes in any bending member are critical factors to retaining the strength of the beam. Holes and notches can inflict serious damage to beams if placed in the wrong area. The following guidelines are valid for horizontal holes in uniformly-loaded, simple-span beams. For other load cases contact RedBuilt™ Technical Support.

• Locate holes in the center 1/3 of the beam depth and 1/3 of the beam span (allowable hole zone).

• The entire hole must fit in the allowable hole zone.

• Field-drilled holes should be used for access only (small diameter wires, conduit, cable and other lightweight materials), and not for load bearing hardware attachments, unless specifically designed by the project engineer.

• Maximum hole diameter is 1" for 5" beams, and 2" for beams from 7" to 20" deep. Square and rectangular holes are not permitted.

• If more than one hole is required, the minimum clear distance between holes is two times the diameter of the largest hole.

• Holes in cantilevered beams require additional analysis.