Drove by a new housing development in Phoenix and spotted conduit run directly through roof trusses

I was out near Surprise, Arizona last Friday checking a friend's rough-in and saw a crew running EMT straight through the top chords of engineered trusses. That's a huge no-go for me, those trusses aren't designed for holes that size. Did the inspector just miss this or are guys actually getting away with that out here?

3 comments

3 Comments

milaprice1mo ago

Saw the exact same thing out in Goodyear last month. Crew was drilling 2 inch holes right through the center of the trusses like it was nothing. I called the foreman on it and he just shrugged and said the inspector hasn't said anything yet. That kind of stuff makes me wonder who's actually watching the work out here.

johnson.jesse1mo ago

That "inspector hasn't said anything yet" line from @milaprice is exactly the problem, the framers probably just blame the sparky and everyone keeps walking past it. Those truss manufacturers have stamped engineering that says zero holes in the top chord for a reason, and nobody wants to be holding the bag when one fails in ten years.

leo61221d ago

Did anyone check if the trusses are actually stamped for those holes? Some engineered trusses come with pre-stamped knockouts for conduit or plumbing, and if they’re missing those, the crew is just guessing and hoping.