Wayne Parham Messages: 18783 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
It really doesn't matter what orientation you put the braces since they are in compression and not in shear. If in shear, you would want the widest dimension parallel to the sheer force. But that is not even close to an issue here.
I like to make a "+" with two sticks and span one front to back and the other side to side. This preloads the panels and braces them. It is also a convenient place to hang a sheet of insulation that spans the cross section. The bracing is good for reducing panel resonance and the cross-section insulation works wonders for reducing midrange standing waves.