Q: I need joist hangers for my first floor joists in the basement. The joists in my house, built in 1850, are between 2 and 21/2 inches wide. The only joist hangers I’m seeing are built to accommodate ...

The best things to use to attach the joist hangers to the beam are structural screws or bolts. Never use roofing nails. (Tim Carter/TNS) Perspective by Tim Carter Q: Tim, I’ve never worked with metal ...

One of my newsletter subscribers, Robert, does handyman work on the weekends for friends and other homeowners. Eleven years ago, he wanted to learn how to frame a large shed, including common roof ...

Q.The carpenter that built my deck used joist hangers to hold up the joists along the house and at the end of the deck. Are these steel joist hangers approved, and will they stand the test of time?

Q: I’ve never worked with metal joist hangers. When I hold one in my hand, I question whether it’s actually strong enough to support all the weight that will be resting on it. Are they safe? Are there ...

Chris Neurath sent this long note that is important enough to run in the Handyman's column: "You may have given bad advice that leads to safety issues when you said not to worry about deck joist ...

Many years ago I wrote a blog post detailing one of the most common deck defects that I find: improper joist hanger nails. The issue detailed in that blog post was the use of 1-½" nails in places ...