Bridging Between Floor Joists

Solid blocking should be used where floor joists overlap over beams.

Bridging between floor joists. The first guy i ever worked for had us hand nailing these x braces that kept splitting and insisted on that over blocking. Joists spanning between 8 and 15 feet need one row of bridging at the center of the span. Building code requires the use of blocking for floor joists that exceed 2 inches in width by 12 inches in depth.

None of us had any experience and he had no frkin idea what he was doing. The blocking or bridging between joists or rafters also contributes to this phenomenon. Section r502 10 of the international residential code states that header joists can be the same size as the floor joists when the header joist span isn t greater than 4 feet but if the header joist span is more than 4 feet you ll need to double the header joist and ensure that it s capable of.

Proper bridging distributes the load on the floor to other joists and over time prevents floors from sagging and squeaking do to floor joists twisting and warping. From both ends of the span. The joists shown here for example span 12 ft so we added rows of bridging 4 ft.

Approximate length of joist span from outside wall to beam 3. How to make floor joists stronger. Are joists still in good condition 4.

After several centuries of service floor joists in older homes may sag or crack. This can cause it to rub against a popped nail. For example with bridging installed between joists a piano leg sitting over one 2 10 is actually supported by several.

Additional support for the floor joists is achieved by nailing the ends of the joists into headers. Floor joist bridging vs blocking is there any advantage to using x bracing between floor joists rather than blocking. Bridging holds the joists in line and helps distribute the load carried by the floor unit.