In construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 blocking refers to pieces of wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

 or other material that run between wall stud

Wall stud

A wall stud is a vertical member in the light frame construction techniques called balloon framing and platform framing of a building's wall.-Purpose:...

s in order to provide support and attachment sites for mounted hardware such as cabinets, shelving, or bathroom towel bars.

Construction

Traditionally 2x4 or 2x6 boards are cut to size and nailed between studs. Since studs are usually spaced 16 or 24 inches apart, scrap pieces of dimensional lumber can often be used. For maximum utility, rows of blocking should be set at a predetermined height and installed flush with the interior plane of the wall. Individual boards should be secured with at least one nail or screw through each stud.

Blocking is the act of installing solid pieces of wood or blocks to a deck, bulkhead, or overhead in such manner that these pieces bear directly against the cargo to prevent movement of the cargo in the horizontal plane.

Purpose

Properly installed blocking is easier to find and use for attaching wall hardware than studs alone. Once drywall

Drywall

Drywall, also known as plasterboard, wallboard or gypsum board is a panel made of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper...

, or any other material, covers the wall it can be difficult to find 2x4 studs for attachment, and the position of nails and screws must be adjusted to stud location. Thus, if blocking is installed at a uniform and predetermined height, attachment sites can be found without using a stud finder

Stud finder

A stud finder is a handheld device used to determine the location of wood and metal framing studs used in light-frame construction after the walling surface has been installed....

, and the blocking can be utilized anywhere along a wall at that height. This is particularly useful for installing upper cabinets in kitchens or bathrooms as they tend to be fairly heavy and finding appropriate studs for installation can be difficult.

Blocking is the act of installing solid pieces of wood or blocks to a deck, bulkhead, or overhead in such manner that these pieces bear directly against the cargo to prevent movement of the cargo in the horizontal plane.