Burned wood floor joist from plumbers soldering copper
pipes together isn't going to be that big of a problem, most of the
time. In the picture above, there is relatively very little damage to
the wood floor joist.
Could this have been prevented? Of course it could, with a little
planning by the plumber. The plumber could have cut the pipe about 6
inches shorter and this would have put the plumbing connection that
needed to be soldered in between the floor joist.
Another problem that could arise from plumbers soldering near wood floor
joist, would be the potential fire hazard from the actual soldering. All
plumbers should carry a fire extinguisher, especially when working under
conditions like these.
There is something else that I would like to warn homeowners,
do-it-yourselfers and even professional plumbers, about soldering near
wood framing. There have been plenty of homes lost, simply because a
plumber thought that the burned wood floor joist wasn't creating a
problem.
Sometimes the embers in the wood floor joist from the soldering can
remain for long periods of time, especially if there's a small breeze
keeping them hot. The hotter these embers get, the better the chance of
them starting a fire.
Things like this happen and you should be prepared for them. It wouldn't
be a bad idea to spray some of these areas with water after you're done
soldering.
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