So one of the last things that need to be done before sheathing the deck is to fill in with blocking.
Propet floor joist bracing or blocking.
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.
I ve always used a lift for upper floors though.
For ground floor joists blocking is generally required along the lines of subfloor horizontal support i e.
Engineered i joists can span long distances to make a flat and solid subfloor.
Blocking also needs to be provided at the supporting end of a joist.
For other floor joists blocking is required along the line of each braced wall in the storey below.
In addition clause 7 1 2 3 requires blocking at the mid span for the stability of deeper joists.
If the floor is not flat or level the bracing or blocking is not the culprit.
I prefer cross bracing for two reasons.
Place the lumber block between the two joists.
This is contrary to my understanding of the purpose of bridging.
In addition to providing lateral support blocking helps transfer weight to adjacent joists so that the floor acts as a unified system.
Making professional blocks to make the blocks i cut sections of i joist 1 inches smaller than the space between the joists.
Nail the block in place with 16d nails on each side of the blocking.
Usually solid wood blocking or cross x wood blocking.
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.
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.
Tom silva explained that the cross bridging transferred the load on the joist to the other joists thus strengthening the floor.
It installs faster and it leaves an unobstucted bay for mechanicals to be run.
R505 3 3 joist bracing and blocking joist bracing and blocking shall be in accordance with this section.
Ive done it both ways.
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.
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.
Repeat this process every 24 to 36 inches down the joists.
Building code requires the use of blocking for floor joists that exceed 2 inches in width by 12 inches in depth.
Usually i stick it in somewhere around mid span.