I'm hanging 2x6 joists onto a single 2x6 header and am a bit unclear about what nail to use for the double shear on the LUS26Z joist hanger.

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clearly 1-1/2" joist nails are appropriate going straight into the joist and header. Is there an optimal nail for the 45° nail? Would most people use a 1-1/2 and not worry about penetrating the header? It appears about a 2-1/2" 10d nail would be optimal.

Thanks!

When using a joist hanger all nails are at 90 degrees to the surface and no toenailing should be involved. Does your hanger have an additional hole specifically designed for an extra nail on a 45?

yes, the joist hangers have 45° going into the joist, as in my corrected picture here, but no nail going 90° into the joist
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they are Simpson LUS26Z joist hangers (link)

they say that 10d nails are proper for installation, so I assume they mean 10d x 3", but I'm not sure.

Sorry but I have not used one with a hear nail like this but will be looking into them. Were do you live, this may be a regional product that hasn't trickled down to little old Illinois.

Don't they make special screws for the hangers?

OK, here is what I found. "For double shear joist hangers, toenail four galvanized 10d nails at a 45-degree angle through the hanger, the joist and into the ledger board." Actually got that from Readers Digest of all places. Apparently the version you have is condered a double shear. I have never really seen a situation where this is of any great benefit since I fill every hole on a hanger with a 1 1/2" nail according to the manufacturers instructions.

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

OK, here is what I found. "For double shear joist hangers, toenail four galvanized 10d nails at a 45-degree angle through the hanger, the joist and into the ledger board." Actually got that from Readers Digest of all places. Apparently the version you have is condiered a double shear. I have never really seen a situation where this is of any great benefit since I fill every hole on a hanger with a 1 1/2" nail according to the manufacturers instructions.

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It seems to be the only kind I find in these parts (NE Wyoming/NW South Dakota). 3" 10d seems like it might come close to coming out the front of the header, but I guess I will try it and see.

I'm a bit surprised; I expected someone else to have actually used these to give me a standard answer. I found the Simpson web site a bit vague on details; I assume its because EVERYONE knows you use a _______ nail for this purpose ;-)

Thanks for the research.

I haven't use that type of hanger but I've seen them used. A 10d won't exit the header, I doubt that a 12d would. A 16d might. Just try one and see.

Thanks everyone for your input! It is always much appreciated.

UPDATE

3" 10d nails were not good. Out of 6 nails, 2 poked through. I am going to try to find some 2-1/2" 10d. Good luck.

Got on the phone with Simpson customer service, they were... not so good. Took 3 times to find out to use 1-1/2" 10d on the face (duh) and 3" on the shear. If I am REALLY careful I can keep the 3" from poking through. Sub-optimal.

A 10d (penny) nail is 3', a 12d (penny) is 3 1/4", an 8d (penny) nail is 2 1/2" long.

D is pronounced "penny", the numbers represent the length.

You want 8d nails.

Sometimes pooking through is not a bad thing.

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Sometimes pooking through is not a bad thing.

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Oh, do please elaborate

For what its worth, I figured out if I am careful I can keep the nails from coming through the front of the header. I just keep the nail at as much of an angle as the hanger allows.

I figure they designed these to work with standard nails, but since they recommend 10d (3") rather than 8d (2.5"), that makes it tricky for the non-pro.

Oh, well, I'll be pretty good at this when I'm all done.:(

If your nail goes all the way through a joist it does not weaken the connection. If you had a 6" nail it would provide the same strength connection as your 3" but it may protrude and be unsightly. I go back to one of my original thoughts, I just do not see much of an increase in connection strength over using all 1 1/2" nails in every hole.

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

If your nail goes all the way through a joist it does not weaken the connection. If you had a 6" nail it would provide the same strength connection as your 3" but it may protrude and be unsightly. I go back to one of my original thoughts, I just do not see much of an increase in connection strength over using all 1 1/2" nails in every hole.

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OK, got it. My concern was the header is the front of a deck, so nail points sticking out may be unsightly.

And you are probably right about the 1.5" vs. 3". I'm going by the Simpson site where they specifically say (well, show) not to use the shoter nail. Now that I think about it, that is probably to achieve their rated load capacity, which is not really an issue for me, as there is not much load on my header.

Thanks for your comments and insight, it is very helpful