It is not unusual for home inspectors to find where plumbers and nonprofessionals have raised havoc with the house structure, by cutting wily-nilly through any wood component that is in their path. There are good plumbers and bad plumbers. While some of this derision is deserved, some of it may just be a caricature. Whether this damage is done by licensed plumbers or careless homeowners and handymen, the result is still the same. Since I see damage to the house structure in New Construction I know that some of the ridicule is warranted.
In this picture we can clearly see that the floor joists have been severely weakened by the cutting away of the joists to make room for the pipes.
Cutting two side-by-side joists more than half way through will likely create some sagging in the area over time. In areas with heavy bathtubs etc this could be a more serious problem and the extent of repairs will be affected.
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