How to Cut Herringbone Joist Struts for 2x10 Joists Spaced 14 1/2"

Herringbone cross bracing is used to keep floor joists straight and help stiffen up the floor from moving and to prevent your floors from bouncing or creaking when walking on them. This cross bracing works extremely well, but can be time consuming to install, but well worth it if you want to have super strong floors and joists.

Here's a quick quide to cutting Herringbone Joist Struts or Cross Bracing for 16" on center joists that are 14 1/2" Spaced 2x10 Joists (joist is actually 9 1/4" tall), using 2"x3" wood. 

1. Set your Miter Saw to 22 Degrees
2. On the 2"x3" wood, measure off 15 5/8" on the 2 inch side.  (for a tighter fit measure 15 11/16" or even 15 7/8").
3. Place the 2"x3" wood on the 3" side and cut it at a 22 degree angle using a Miter Saw.

Keep in mind, this is just a rough estimate and may not give you perfect Struts because joists are often times not exactly spaced 14 1/2" or the wood joists can be slightly angled one way or the other, but it will be pretty close. 

NOTE: If you're NOT using 2"x3" wood for the struts, this measurement will NOT work.

Also, check out the picture in this article to see these struts attached to floor joists. I used PL 400 Sub Floor adhesive on the ends of the 2x3s when attaching to the Floor Joists, just to give the struts a better bond than just screws. When attaching them to joists from underneath (no access due to flooring above) I used GRK 3 1/2" Multi-purpose screws to toe nail "screw" them on the bottom of the strut and GRK 4" Multi-purpose screws to screw in on the top (bottom) portion of the strut. I pre-drilled the holes in the strut, in order to get the correct angle for the screws, as I did not want the 4" screw to go into the floor above.