Is it a big deal that my electrician cut a floor truss for an outlet?

Cutting the top chord of an engineered floor truss is a massive code violation and it is even worse when it is located directly under a point load like a masonry fireplace. Those trusses are designed as a complete system where every member is under specific tension or compression. When you notch that top chord, you have essentially killed the structural integrity of that specific joist. The fact that the electrician coud not move the box over a few inches is just pure laziness.

Slapping a couple of 2x4s underneath it is what we call a "landlord special" and it does not do anything to restore the engineered rating of the truss. A standard 2x4 does not have the same structural properties as the chord material, and without a specific **fastening schedule**, those nails will likely just shear over time under the weight of that stone. You definitly shold not accept that as a permanent solution. You need to demand a **sealed repair detail** from the original truss manufacturer. Most of these companies have a standard procedure for this becasue it happens more often than it should. Usually, they will have you sandwich the damaged section between two layers of structural plywood or LVL and use a very specific pattern of construction screws or nails. Sometimes they require glue as well.

If the builder pushes back, remind him that no building inspector is going to pass a notched truss with a non-engineered scrap-wood fix. Hiring your own structural engineer might cost a few hundred bucks, but it is cheap insurance compared to your floor sagging an inch and cracking all the grout in your fireplace in two years. Get it fixed right now while the crawl space is still accessible and before the builder disappears.

That sounds terrifying. I’m just starting to learn about DIY wiring, and I always thought the inspector would catch somthing that big during the rough-in. Does the electrical inspector even check the structural stuff, or do they only care if the outlet actually works? I’m looking at some old work in my own basement now and wondering if my previous owner did the same thing. If the builder is okay with a hack job under a fireplace, I'd be worried about what else is hidden behind the drywall.

Electrical inspectors usually have tunnel vision. They're looking for wire staples and box fill, not wheather the guy butchered a joist to save five minutes. I've seen 'pros' hack out sections simply because they only brought a reciprocating saw and were too lazy to grab a hole saw. The real danger is that masonry is brittle. If that truss deflects even a tiny bit under that fireplace, you’ll end up with cracked grout and shifting stones. A few scabs of 2x4 wood won't stop that deflection. Check those metal gusset plates too; if they nicked those with the saw, the whole truss is basically trash.

I’ve seen this 'sawzall fever' way too many times. Some guys just stop thinking about anything but the wire path once they get a tool in thier hand. Check the other trusses in the crawl space for a manufacturer’s stamp or a job sticker. If you can find the name of the company that built them, you can ussually call them up with the project info. Most truss plants have an in-house engineer who can send over a specific repair plate or plywood gusset spec for a small fee. It’s alot cheaper than a full-blown independent engineer and way more legit than the builder's scrap wood fix.