How to run ductwork through a load-bearing wall without weakening it
Routing supply plenums and vent hoods often requires cutting or notching framing members right where the duct needs to go. This leaves homeowners stuck between risking structural stability or sacrificing airflow with awkward bends and off-center runs.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1hire a structural engineer
- 2install a beam to distribute weight
- 3Using multiple elbows to route the duct around the framing obstacle
- 4Cutting the stud and installing a header to clear the path
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Im installing a furnace and complete new duct work in my new (very old) home and need to get my supply plenum to the other side of this wall.”source ↗
“I dont want to risk compromising the support since it requires me to notch/remove building material.”source ↗
“I was originally going to vent straight back, but it turns out there is a stud directly in the center of where the hood will go (technically 12.5-14" from the right side), so I was planning on instead venting up into a 45 to go left, and then another 45 to go out the side.”source ↗
“Is that foolish and going to destroy my static pressure, or would that be reasonable since it's such a short run?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7No room to fit a plumbing vent in tight spaces
- 2How to build a closet around exposed ductwork
- 2How to run cables through a wall without cutting drywall
- 2How to fix an exposed HVAC duct after removing a drop ceiling
- 4How to run a cable through a tight crawl space without entering
- 2Dryer vent blowing into crawl space