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Joist Hangers
Galvanized Joist Hangers are Commonly Used in
Home and Deck Construction
By Mark J. Donovan
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Joist hangers are galvanized metal
brackets designed and shaped to connect floor joists or roof trusses to
adjoining headers, support beams and ledger boards. A galvanized joist hanger
has many small holes in it to allow it to be easily fastened to floor joists,
headers, support beams and ledger boards with nails. In addition, they typically
come with small barbs, a.k.a. speed prongs, on them to allow them to be
temporarily tacked into place prior to permanently fastening them with nails.
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Before the advent of joist hangers,
carpenters had to toenail joists into header and support beams, which was a slow
process and not as strong of a joining method. In addition to speeding up joist
installation and providing a stronger joint, joist hangers also do a better job
of preventing deck or floor joists from twisting and warping as they dry out.
Joist hangers come in a variety of shapes and sizes and it is important to
purchase the right ones for the particular joists that you intend to hang.
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Besides standard common faced
galvanized joist hangers, there are also uniquely designed and angled joist
hangers for special joining connections commonly required in certain roof
designs. For ledger board edges there are also inverted flange joist hangers. In
addition, there are also joist hangers specifically designed for highly
corrosive salt environments, so if you live by the ocean or sea make sure to use
these types of joist hangers.
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Installing Joist
Hangers
To properly install joist hangers temporarily toe nail the joist into place with
a 16d nail.
Next, place the joist hanger around the joist and squeeze it tight up against
the joist and the back of the header, beam or ledger board. Then tack it into
place with your hammer by nailing in the speed prongs on the joist hanger.
After tacking in the speed prongs, permanently fasten the joist hanger to the
header/beam/ ledger board with 16d galvanized nails.
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Make sure you put a nail into every
nailing hole in the flat side of the joist hanger when securing it to the
header/beam/ledger board.
Photos by Mark Donovan
As an alternative approach to fastening the joist hangers to the header, beam or
ledger board, you can simply nail the joist hangers in place along the length of
the header, beam or ledger board and then slide the joists into place. The only
concern with this approach is making sure that the joist hangers are squeezed to
the proper width of the joists. If left to wide, they will not snuggly fit
around the floor joist and thus not provide as much strength. On the flip side,
if they are squeezed to tight, the floor joists may not fit into them.
After securing the joist hanger to the header, beam or ledger board, and the
joist is resting in the joist hanger use 1-1/2 inch long galvanized joist hanger
nails to securely fasten the joist hanger to the joist. Again, do not leave any
nail holes empty. If you are using a double wide joist hanger use 8d or 10d
galvanized nails. If you are using double-shear joist hangers install the joist
hanger nails in the pre-formed 45o angle nailing position holes.
For a comprehensive new home construction
checklist, see my
New Home Construction Bid Sheet. The New Home Construction Bid
Sheet provides a request for quote checklist section that you can provide to
prospective building contractors. It also includes a comprehensive new home
construction cost breakdown table, in Microsoft Excel format, that allows the
contractor to include his projected new home construction costs for every phase
of the project.
How to Finance your New Home Construction Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required.
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