How To Choose The Right Joist Hanger

Joist hangers connect joists without cutting holes in walls or in other timber elements. They also prevent the risk of damp penetration to the ends of the timbers. Joist hanger has been developed as an economical, fast and effective way to fasten joists. They are available in a range of sizes to suit most common timber dimensions. Due to the simplicity offered by joist hangers in construction, decking, floor joists, ceilings and roofs could be laid very quickly, rather than the hours it took to form the correct joint in adjoining timbers. Joist hangers provide support underneath the timber beam, joist or rafter to provide a strong connection, to resist downward force and to provide structural stability. The galvanized coating would allow the hanger to be used outdoors. They can be fixed, where fixing is necessary, with either screws or nails. Joist hangers can be differentiated generally as Timber to Timber and Timber to Masonry.
 
Types of Joist Hangers
  • Mini Joist hangers,
  • Long Leg Joist hangers,
  • Face Fix Joist hangers,
  • I-Joist hangers,
  • Concealed Flange Joist Hangers,
  • Saddle Joist Hangers,
  • Masonry Joist hangers,
  • Welded Masonry Joist Hangers,
  • Masonry Return Joist Hangers.

Timber to Timber Joist Hangers

Timber to timber joist hangers are used, where you need to strengthen a load bearing or non-load bearing timber connection. These joist hangers use face mount attachments to fasten joists to ledger boards and beams. They could be named as face-fix joist hangers.

Advantages

  • A simple, fast effective way to fasten joists to the face of beams, ledger boards,
  • Fast and reliable fixing method,
  • Simple nail fixing,
  • No drilling required.

Mini Joist Hangers

Mini joist hangers are used for light duty applications such as trimmers, ceiling joists, decking, studs and smaller timbers. Mini joist hangers are generally used for widths up to 78mm and depths up to 100mm.

               

   Mini Mini Joist Hanger           Multifunctional Mini Joist Hanger             Woody Mini Joist Hanger

             

Long Leg Joist Hangers

The long legged joist hangers are used when floors are being constructed at different levels to each other. The legs can be freely bent over to accommodate different depths. Depending on the length of the leg, the joist hanger maybe considered long - 450mm to 600mm, standard - 300mm and short - up to 210mm. The boot usually have a tag that can significantly contribute to faster and more accurate fixingand to avoid unnecessary rotation. If necessary, this tag can be easily bent. There are also joist hangers without tags.

                  

                                                    Short Leg                             Standard                       Long Leg                                No Tag

                             

Heavy Duty Joist Hangers

The heavy duty joist hangers are face-fix type and are designed for applications where additional strength is required or where access to the top of the timber or steel is not available. They can be either nailed or bolted. They should be hung minimum of 60% of supported member to avoid rotation. These heavy duty hangers can support heavily loaded timber beams or two ply trusses on supporting timber beams or girder trusses. 

       

Multifuntional                                                   Heavy Duty

I-Joist Hangers

These hangers are for fixing I-Joists to the face of timber beams and to ledger boards and are highly cost effective. They have to used full depth to avoid rotational restraint to the I-Joist and to ensure the correct structural performance. They are engineered to combine maximum load carrying capacity with easy hands free site installation. They are available either face fix or top fix variations. Some of them have locators for easy fixing.

          

Installation Instructions

To install joist hangers, make sure that you have the right size, the proper nails, and a hammer or nail gun. Ensure that any fasteners are fully driven. The hangers usually have at least two holes for each side of the joist, and they may have several holes for the nails to be driven into the ledger board or the intermediate beam. You must always right hanger size for joist you have. Even, if the lesser deep hanger fits the thickness of the joist, its always better to use the matching hanger. That way, you the chances of the joist turning is minimised. 
 
Hangers could be fixed before or after nailing the joists. Each joist should be spaced 400mm on centre. That means that from the centre of one joist to the centre of the next there should be a distance of 400mm. Take the measurements and make marks across the whole area. Fix each joist hanger with the mark centred while at the same time making sure it is the appropriate distance from the top. Its better to use a template made from scrap timber for marking. Use appropriate nails to fix the hanger. Nails do matter. Sometimes the timber joist might be bit off the size and joist top might not face the ledger board or intermediate beams. Most carpenters would like to nail the joist first and fix the hangers later. That way, they'd have all the joists flush with each other, intermediate beams and the ledger board.
 
Masonry Joist Hangers - Timber to Masonry
 
Masonry joist hangers are used, where masonry walls would meet with the timber floor. Using joist hangers would eliminate the labour extensive work of making holes in the walls. Its not easy to make exact size holes in such walls. Most times, the only masonry walls are on the perimeter of the building, but in some buildings there are masonry internal walls, and to join them with timber floor, masonry joist hangers are used extensively. 

Advantages

  • For connecting joists to masonry and supporting beams, 
  • Build into new brick or blockwork,
  • For extensions and renovation work,
  • Eliminate the need to build around joists or cut holes in facing brick work, 
  • Can be used for timber to timber applications

Types of Masonry Joist Hangers

  • Single Piece Joist Hanger,
  • Welded Masonry Joist Hanger,
  • Welded Masonry Return Joist Hanger,
  • Return Joist Hanger with Adjustable Lock Plates, 
  • Straddle Welded Joist Hanger

The Single Piece Joist hanger and the Welded Masonry Joist hanger are the traditionally used joist hangers in construction. The back plate of the hanger should lie flat against the vertical masonry support and the flange of the hanger is placed in a dry slot. At least a minimum of 3 courses bricks (675mm) laid above the flange. The masonry is then allowed to mature before any load is applied.

                       

 

It is possible to use a lock plate to transform the above masonry hangers work as return masonry hangers. such lock plates can be bought separately. This plate is easily be transformed into a hook over joist hanger. No special tools or rivets are required. Just insert Lock Plate at 90, rotate and tap into place.

Welded Masonry Return Joist Hangers are availble in two categories; hanger with fixed return and the hanger with adjustable return plate. The Masonry Return Joist Hangers are designed for similar applications and installation as the standard Masonry Joist Hangers. The return adds additional lateral support by wrapping around the back of the masonry or timber. They have a 25mm drop on the return flange as standard.

                                   

Hanger with a fixed return              Hanger with an adjustable return

How to install masonry joist hanger with an adjustable lock plate.

Straddle Joist Hanger is actually two hangers joined together by a plate on the masonry flange to enable exact alignment of two joists positioned directly opposite each other on either side of a wall or beam. This plate can be either fixed or adjustable.