ebola_borialis t1_j6jnn12 wrote on January 30, 2023 at 8:23 PM

Reply to comment by Mysterious-Ad7019 in Is it okay to cut out a small section of a drywall stud? by Wolferesque

Do you have any actual construction experience?

Mysterious-Ad7019 t1_j6ltjbp wrote on January 31, 2023 at 5:59 AM

No. Engineer.

But everyone skilled in the trades or not can learn the basics of structural integrity and such.

Even lego structures teach a lot about what can be removed and what will bring the house down.

I mean... Even 2x4 studs 16 to 24 inches apart for a wall - what can take one down? In Real life?

You'd have to drive a car through the wall, fire, or major earthquake for the wall to truly "fail" in a bad way.

Thankfully, lawyers and architects understand they need to design around dummies, resulting in construction code that builders follow to build structures capable to withstanding stresses well beyond what stresses the majority of buildings actually encounter in their lifetimes.

But code isn't the only way to build a strong home.

E.g. Go to an Pacific island and bamboo homes using no nails or screws have no issues withstanding heavy storms, yet wouldn't pass any USA building code inspection.

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As for cutting or not, I'd recommended not cutting the stud. But if one does, how likely is the home going to collapse or encounter major failure - low.

Now low isn't zero, but hey, not my home.

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Could one it better cutting thru?

Sure. Frame it all around - all 4 sides of the cutout - like a window and let that upper stud's downward force travel around the "frame" to the stud below and voila! (Yes, there's more to it, but the general idea.)

ebola_borialis t1_j6mnsc0 wrote on January 31, 2023 at 12:30 PM

Anyone qualified to give good advice for this person would instantly recognize that as deadwood, not a stud. A stud will sit perpendicular to the drywall instead of parallel. As an engineer, you should know this.

Mysterious-Ad7019 t1_j6o6qzl wrote on January 31, 2023 at 6:46 PM

And as a person who's seen crazy things from actual life, you'd know that what should be a perpendicular stud might actually be installed "wrong" because people are sometimes idiots and then you get buildings with all sorts of WTH!?!...

There's no info from the op whether that wall was there originally, or someone moved/turned a wall and built a new one around whatever studs were there. No info on the actual architecture of the home, etc.

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So, rather than assume from afar, which is one way to make the unexpected into a real problem, simply proceed as if that is a true load bearing stud to minimize the Oh F#!*' moments.

This is also safer for the op because he doesn't have any good way to ensure 100% whether this is or isn't load bearing - doesn't have the access or experience.

ebola_borialis t1_j6obvia wrote on January 31, 2023 at 7:18 PM

Installed wrong, huh? I would stick to desk jockeying and leave the remodeling advice for the people who have been there and done that.