How many and how large holes can you safely cut in a light beam?
Yes, that's what I wrote...
Sorry, it wasn't directed at you primarily, but more as a general clarification. As you say, a light beam can't handle particularly large shear forces (compared to a solid wood beam with the same bending stiffness) and therefore it almost always needs reinforcement where it's subjected to such forces to any great extent, typically at the ends and where there are load-bearing walls above and below.peternicklas said:
In my case, it is quite obvious that they chose to run the pipes under the beams because it's the quickest way to do it, instead of fiddling with small pipe segments, bends, and drilling holes. Based on the link posted earlier in the thread, I don't see any problems with doing what I have in mind.