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When you have two posts installed, brace the posts according to your bracing scheme. Run the brace long so you can secure it to the ledger with a toe screw. Generally, although posts are secured to the bases with galvanized nails, all the bracing is secured with star-headed screws. Screws are easier to remove than nails, and the star-headed screws won’t strip as easily as Phillips®-head screws. Be aware there are very strict building code guidelines with respect to diagonal bracing. The code almost always dictates the type of nail, length, shape of the head, special coatings, etc. The reason is simple: Diagonal bracing is mission critical to the structural stability of a building. Let's talk about what happens when you don't have diagonal bracing in place so you get a better understanding. Imagine if you were to build a wall using 2x4s 16-inches-on-center and you make it 8-feet-tall. Old carpenters sometimes put in let-in bracing where they mortise in a 1x4 into the wall studs. This brace travel diagonally across the wall studs from the top to the bottom plate. It's time consuming to install. If you stand the wall up and nail the bottom plate to the floor to hold just that in place, the wall might seem strong if you put weight on the top. The wall can support weight pushing straight down very well if the wall is stabilized.
With the wall square on the ground, you can temporarily toenail the bottom and top plate so the wall doesn't move while you nail on the plywood or OSB at the corners. Next, you’ll mark the center of the new hole you want to dig by measuring 8″ out from the edge of the damaged post. Once the bracing is anchored, by either a section of cross braces or a leg that is tied into a stable structure, additional posts can be adequately secured with lateral bracing at the top. As long as the cross brace on the first post remains secure, the rest of the posts will remain in place. After a run of posts is in place, plumb and brace each post perpendicular to the beam direction. These braces can be shorter, bracing the post in the center as opposed to the top. The last step when setting posts is to protect the top of the beam from water and rot. This will also help minimize hardware corrosion. Note: There is a caveat to this method, though. For instance, if your fence has been built up against a concrete walkway or patio, you may not have the space to dig a footing hole.
Or imagine the violent side-to-side shaking that happens when the shear waves of an earthquake hit a house. I've always found it best to install diagonal bracing for walls while the wall is built flat on a floor surface. With the wall down on the ground, it's easy to square it up.
Whether your wood post has suffered from wind, rain or insect damage, the Fix-a-Fence can offer a viable, inexpensive solution. In fact, it may even have a stronger structural integrity than when the fence was initially installed. Fold a square of self-adhesive flashing over the top end of the post to protect it from rot and the post hardware from corrosion.DEAR RANDY: You'll be getting the executive summary all right. Books have been written about diagonal bracing. Talk to any structural engineer and I'm sure he'll tell you that entire college courses are offered on the topic. Diagonal bracing is a very complex topic, but I'll do my best to give you the basics so you don't have a failure on any of your projects. These days, there are almost too many hardware options for connecting posts and beams together. Some metal connectors are designed for new construction and must be positioned on the post before a beam is placed (or vice versa). There are also connectors that can be applied after the beam is placed atop the posts, making them well-suited for retrofits as well as for new construction. Some connectors fasten posts along the middle of a beam, while others are designed for the end post (slideshow). The single piece of plywood or OSB works because the sheet in and of itself is rigid. When you lay a full sheet of plywood or OSB on the vertical studs and then nail through it to the studs and the top and bottom plate, the top and bottom plate can't move independently of one another as they can when there's nothing nailed to them. So I guess it's most important that it stays tight, regardless of its angle of attachment. Of course, putting fasteners too close to the edges wouldn't be the best way to do that (and I think it helps to guide the nails myself, to keep their angle consistent).
I don't understand it and need to know why it's important. Is there a short cut? Can you give me the executive summary so I don't have any problems on these jobs? Randy P., Kokomo, INThe framing process would move a lot faster if nothing had to be braced. Unfortunately, even a post base that will hold a beam upright on its own won’t hold the post securely without a brace. Decide on a bracing scheme before setting the post. This will save you time and materials because you can avoid redundant bracing—or worse, incomplete bracing that may allow the framing to fall down during construction. Bracing is required to keep everything aligned until the posts are permanently secured. Bracing framing temporarily To temporarily brace a run of posts laterally, use stakes to secure the posts at the ground and then screw them to the posts halfway up. About the angle of attachment though, I looked up what the center of gravity for fasteners might have to do with it, and another blurb (from Structural Design for Engineering Technology) says " The resisting forces developed in the fasteners by the torque are proportional to their respective distances to the center of gravity of the fastener group. The force developed by the applied torque will be the largest, therefore, for the fastener located at the greatest distance from the center of gravity of the group." But here's the scary test. Get on a stepladder at one end of the wall. Push on the end of the top plate as if you're trying to move the 2x4 plate forward, not side to side so as to make the wall tip over. The bottom of the walls, or house, would stay attached to the foundation, but the top would go towards the direction the wind was blowing until it collapsed.
That's a beautiful pergola, and to preserve its style I would use the same timbers as you used for your posts. I'd make the vertical and horizontal legs of the triangle 1/3 of the post height, unless that causes serious headroom interference, then reduce a bit to no less than 1/4 of post height. Much less than that and you won't see much benefit. The load capacity of this hardware depends on the brand, size, and diameter of the nails, screws, or bolts used to make the connection. Once you've determined the maximum load per connection based on your chosen fastening method, you then space footings and posts according to the maximum tributary load at each beam-post connection. And even though the connectors can be installed with nails alone, I recommend using bolts in addition for a more robust connection (see Bolt Alternative, sidebar). Nails or Screws? Imagine what would happen if you built a home with no, or inferior, diagonal bracing and a severe windstorm blows against the house. Without diagonal bracing, the wind would push against the walls just like you pushed against that simple wall to make it collapse. Install perpendicular bracing in both directions to temporarily hold the bracing until the beams and joists are installed.That said, you will need to dig a hole for a new concrete footing and then mix and pour the concrete. It does require more work than something like an EZ Mender or a Post Buddy fence repair kit. Tools & Materials Needed: I tried looking that up for reference, but I guess it's more of a theoretical question (in that no guide which mentions cross bracing seems to describe what angle to fasten it at). The Elements of Civil Engineering says " Whatever the style of bracing employed, it must be borne in mind that the effectiveness of bracing depends largely upon the throroughness with which it is fastened to the parts to be strengthened. When spiked or bolted in place, they should fit snugly and be at least slightly strained." I'd make all the knee braces the same length, so that they interface with the posts at different heights due to the rafter height. As far as what I was talking about, it looks like they have the lag screws going in at a 45 degree angle, whereas I put the nails up through the middle of the triangle formed where the top lag screw is in the picture (by going at a 45 in the other direction). It's attached as strongly as anything else for my purposes. Do you think this makes a difference in general though?
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