Deck design question

[thaar]

I am thinking about redoing our deck with a different design as it is not in very good shape. However, I am not sure how to pull off this design.



Currently, my joists run all in one direction spaced apart each 12". Will I have to put additional bracing perpendicular, in between each joist, to achieve this pattern, or is there another option?

i.e. is this what I would have to do (install cross bracing)?

____<- current joist
l l l l <- cross bracing, but spaced out more
____<- current joist, but imagine it higher up, connecting to the cross bracing.

[movnup]

The blocking can be put in at 16" on center with the pattern you have. If you go with a diagonal pattern then it would have to be 12" or 8" O.C. dependant on the angle used. As a lesson learned the hard way measure each blocking section and cut them to length one at a time as there can be a slight variation through the joist over the entire length and they could end up to be too short / too long.

A great web site is www.decks.com as they have framing diagrams, stairs, footings, etc. and also lots of completed deck pictures of just about any style you can think of.

[crokett]

As movnup said, the blocking should be installed at 16" on center to get that pattern. I do not know how big your deck is, but what I've also seen done once on a larger deck is to put a post in the center of the deck and run a doubled joists down the center to sit on the post. Then run doubled joists perpendicular to form a +. Then the joists are hung as normal in each of the sections but you change the direction to get the deck pattern you want.

[Duff]

How big is the deck area?