Propet Floor Joist Bracing Or Blocking
Tying the joists together with blocking makes the floor even stronger and stiffer.
Propet floor joist bracing or blocking. I was always under the impression that bridging was intended to reduce the unsupported length of the beam based on lateral torsional buckling not load distribution. So where joists span 2 5 m or more and the joists are four or more times their thickness 190 45 mm or larger blocking is required at the mid span. Usually i stick it in somewhere around mid span. R505 3 3 1 joist top flange bracing the top flanges of cold formed steel joists shall be laterally braced by the application of floor sheathing fastened to the joists in accordance with section r505 2 5 and table r505 3 1 2.
Nail the block in place with 16d nails on each side of the blocking. Blocking at the joist ends must be between the edge pair of joists and then at 1 8 m centres maximum see figure 1. Repeat this process every 24 to 36 inches down the joists. I prefer cross bracing for two reasons.
Tom silva explained that the cross bridging transferred the load on the joist to the other joists thus strengthening the floor. In addition clause 7 1 2 3 requires blocking at the mid span for the stability of deeper joists. Floor joist bridging vs blocking i like laying 1 1 8 super flat easy to pound t g together dropping a 2x6 from a floor above doesn t put a hole in it. Engineered i joists can span long distances to make a flat and solid subfloor.
R505 3 3 joist bracing and blocking joist bracing and blocking shall be in accordance with this section. For me the solid blocking takes longer to install but i. The fewer holes any. Attached pic is ceiling joist not floor but show what i typically do.
Usually solid wood blocking or cross x wood blocking. Building code requires the use of blocking for floor joists that exceed 2 inches in width by 12 inches in depth. For the next cavity. For other floor joists blocking is required along the line of each braced wall in the storey below.
This is contrary to my understanding of the purpose of bridging. It installs faster and it leaves an unobstucted bay for mechanicals to be run. For ground floor joists blocking is generally required along the lines of subfloor horizontal support i e. Blocking also needs to be provided at the supporting end of a joist.
Place the lumber block between the two joists. Ive done it both ways. So one of the last things that need to be done before sheathing the deck is to fill in with blocking. In addition to providing lateral support blocking helps transfer weight to adjacent joists so that the floor acts as a unified system.