Wood Stud Wall Bracing

Wall bracing helps keep walls square during wind and earthquakes.

Wood stud wall bracing.

Remodel projects often call for moving or adding interior wood framed walls. After the studs and plates are nailed together the wall is squared and bracing is nailed in place. Just one sheet of this material at each corner of a wall will provide the same bracing as the single piece of wood you saw on the other wall so long as the osb or plywood is fastened to the wall studs with the correct nails in a distinct nailing pattern. The nails must not be over driven into the osb or plywood.

Wall bracing helps keep walls square during wind events and earthquakes. Understanding the irc international residential code wall bracing requirements can be a challenge but following them is of critical importance to a home s structural integrity. Wall studs alone can t resist the racking forces. Simply comply with irc wall bracing requirements.

Bracing is usually installed as the exterior walls are built. Only allowed at garage doors in a fully sheathed house the apa narrow wall bracing method figure 2 uses wood studs and osb or plywood sheathing but with some different framing details. A house must be built to safely resist the lateral loads that result from high wind events and earthquakes. What is considered adequate bracing for wood wall studs in their weak axis.

How to brace an interior wood stud wall. Diagonal wood braces fig. An overlapping header headers must run past door openings all the way to the far edge of the braced wall section. In some cases a wall might require temporary bracing until other walls are.

There are four common types of bracing.