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deck bracing

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#2 ·
The house handles front to back movement but the free standing supports away from the home need to brace against sway from side to side. I believe the minimum is 24 inches according to the AWC.

4x4 will do the trick but 4x6 or 6x6 will look better
 
#3 ·
Depending on how high the posts are, I usually start at 30" and go up from there. And like tom m stated, a 4x6 or 6x6 will look much more substantial and "beefy".

On all high decks, I also add one or two diagonal braces under the joists. They run from the ledger to the beam and help prevent lateral movement even better than post braces. Diagonal decking also works well to prevent lateral movement. However, with many of the new hidden fastening systems, it doesn't quite cut the mustard with me. So I still add other bracing.
 
#4 ·
Better angle bracing would be 2x8s or x10s glued and nailed to the back of beam and side of post w/ 16d galvies or ledgerlocks.

A 4x4 knee brace w/ one lag bolt per end into the side of the post and the bottom of the beam doesn't prevent lateral sway. It helps, but it's not enough.

The lateral bracing or angled decking tom m is talking about works well too - you just want to check how much debris falls on the deck. It creates a shelf for tree debris/water to sit and a rot point on the joist bottoms.

Mac
 
#5 ·
Crikey, you guys use some hefty gear for bracing. As long as you have bracing in both directions they should both be under tension only so a 2x4 should do it no?

I thoroughly agree with the bracing under the joists which I think is the technical term:no:. I call it plan bracing. We usually just use metal strap bracing in a big cross or series of crosses, as necessary. Again, both braces are under tension only.

For the most part I seem to get loads of bracing out of the decking even if it's not diagonal so I usually only do it if it's high off the ground.
 
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Hofmann
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