Every man knows his way around the house fixing this and that when it breaks, but when it comes to installing joist hangers, very few are up to the job. Although it may seem like an easy thing to do, if you don’t know how to do it properly then you should leave it to somebody who does, else you risk doing more damage than good.
This article will guide you through the steps you need to take in properly installing joist hangers in your house. By the time you have finished reading this article you will have a clear understanding of what installing joist hangers is all about and you will know if it is a job that you can do by yourself or you should hire a specialist to do it for you.
The first thing you should do is select the right kind of joist hangers. There are many different types and sizes of joist hangers and you what to select the ones that go with the beams in your house. Look for galvanized coating joist hangers as these will work inside as well as outside of your house. You also don’t want to get cheap when buying joist hangers as they are the ones that keep your house together. If you aren’t sure which joist hangers you should buy then ask the opinion of someone from the shop where you are going to buy them.
When actually installing the joist hanger you will want to fill all the holes with the proper size nails. It is very important that each nail hole is filled as this could potentially compromise the safety of the installation.
You shouldn’t reuse joist hangers or use joist hangers that you have modified in order to fit in a certain spot as this will severely reduce their load capacity and could eventually lead to disaster. Also, use proper nails with the joist hangers. For added strength you could use 3-1/2 inch long 16d nails. Stay away from galvanized deck screws or drywall screws to install joist hangers and you should be fine.