Removing Floor Joist Cross Braces  

Floor Joists Cross Braces

Introduction: If you are anticipating adding a home addition by finishing the basement do not remove the floor joist cross braces unless you are going to install strapping on the ceiling. Removing floor joist cross braces is never a good idea unless they are replaced with a substitute.

Floor joist cross braces have an important function; they help prevent the floor joists from flexing from the weight of the floor above it and eliminate squeaky floors.

In older home construction and sometimes in new homes, the braces (made of 2 inch by 2 inch pine wood) are nailed in place with two nails on the top and bottom of the brace, approximately every six feet of the floor joist length. In more recent times the wood brace has been replaced with a one inch metal brace. I prefer the 2 inch wood brace because its width permits the flex load to be spread out over a greater area. The top side of the brace is nailed in place before the floor sheathing is installed and the bottom is nailed in place as one of the last steps in the construction.

Removing floor joist cross bracing is never a good idea unless they are replace by another brace such as strapping. Even thought the house may be old the braces still absorb the floor flexing as people walk on it and as the wind places loads on the house walls.

Replacing the joist cross braces with strapping will dampen if not prevent joist flexing the same way as the cross bracing and may be better. The strapping runs the full length of the basement ceiling and is nailed to each floor joist with # 8 nails. Each run of strapping is placed 16 inches apart on center.

Not only will the strapping dampen or prevent floor joist flexing, it will serve as a nailing surface for the basement ceiling sheetrock. The strapping gives a solid base for the sheetrock and permits a smoother ceiling.

Not all home builders use strapping on ceilings. Many just attach the sheetrock to the floor joist. If you take out the floor joist cross bracing and use this technique to attach the ceiling sheetrock, the joist will continue to flex and result in a constant problem of the sheetrock nails working loose.

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