Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - How is crossbracing attached to posts??

I just finished putting the decking down on my deck. The deck runs 30' perpendicular to the house and is 14' wide. The end of the deck is 6' high off the ground. The farthest part of the deck will swing slightly when I stand at the back half of it and try to make the deck move. Can cross bracing be attached to the inside faces of the posts or do they attach on the outside faces. The posts under the outside beam are 4x4's. If the braces can attach to the inside faces, how are they attached, long screws?? Are 2x4's Ok for the cross braces or 2 x 6's?


John

Through bolt 2x6s. Two bolts per post. Inside or outside does not matter. Try to use at least 3/8 bolts in 3/8 holes. You should need to drive the bolts through with a hammer. Place a washer under both the head and nut and tighten untill the washer is starting to compress into the wood.

2X6's and through bolts will work just fine, but they are overkill. Since the deck is less than 8' above grade, 1X4's or 1X6's will work just fine for the crossbracing. Attaching them with 4 deck screws at each post is sufficient, at least per all of the bldg. depts. around here.

1x lumber rots to quickly in the weather for my tastes and produces a pinfully small bearing area. You built to minimum code once, want to try again?

Brickeyee.

I'm not disagreeing with you.

The reason that alpine951's deck was moving around is because it was built with NO cross bracing. That's not "minimum code", that is BELOW CODE!

But the cross bracing is pretty much protected from the elements. The deck totally shades it, as well as keeping it virtually dry. I've built hundreds of decks, and I have torn hundreds of them out. I've taken out decks that were so bad you smply didn't dare walk on them. The decking, the joists, the girders, the handrails are rotten. But, AS LONG AS the 4X4 posts were set directly under the girders (no end grain exposed), and there was no earth-to-wood contact (or the posts weren't embedded in concrete), it's rare that I find a rotten post, or a rotten length of cross bracing.

I have seen enough rotted 1x cross bracing to not use it anymore. I was referring to the posters problem with deck bounce with the minimum code remark. See http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/gov/DPWES/publications/decks/details.pdf for a set of guidlines that are pretty good. Even they call out 2x4 bracing. I prefer the 2x6 to gain more spacing between the bolts. Through bolting also increases the contact area and avoids crush failure from exceeding the compressive strength of the wood.

Brickeyee,

Points well taken.

A 2X6 is certainly a better choice for cross bracing than a 1X4 or 1X6, for exactly the reasons that you have stated. I use 1X6's (although code would allow me to use a 1X4), and have never had a problem with rot in any of the hundreds of decks that I've built this way. Guess it has a lot to do with the climatic extremes the deck is going to live through. Redding, like Seattle, gets about 50" of rain a year. (We get ours in about 4 months, not 9 or 10 like our neighbors to the north!). And just last month, Redding and some place in Algeria tied for being the hottest place on earth that day at 116 degrees. (Of course, the hottest we have EVER seen is 118 -- NOTHING like the 125+ that Death Valley sees!!) But then, we never get really cold. It's NEVER been below Zero here -- in fact, the coldest I have ever seen is 7 degrees ABOVE!!

And thru-bolts over 3" deck screws or nails?? ANYDAY!!! There is no question that they're stronger. If alpine951 wants to go to the extra effort and expense involved, he's getting a better deck for it. But, it's still overkill, for the reasons I stated.