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Frequently Asked Questions
When is a high-capacity hanger needed?
When the load exceeds what a standard joist hanger will take.
They carry beams, girders, multi-ply members and headers.
Everything scales up: heavier steel, deeper seats, more fasteners.
Bolts frequently replace nails entirely.
The change is not simply a larger version of the same part.
These connections are normally engineered rather than picked from a catalogue.
Why do bolts change things?
Because tightening and hole accuracy become specified operations.
Hole positions must be drilled accurately rather than punched by eye.
Washers matter to how load spreads into the timber.
Tightening is to a specification rather than a matter of feel.
Over-tightening crushes timber and under-tightening leaves the joint loose.
Timber shrinkage can loosen bolted connections over time and may require re-checking.
What is special about multi-ply girders?
The hanger must engage all the plies, not just the outer one.
A girder built from several plies only acts as one member if fastened together.
A hanger bearing on the outer ply loads it far beyond its share.
The ply-to-ply fastening schedule is a separate specification entirely.
It is easy to miss because it is not on the hanger's own label.
Both schedules have to be satisfied for the published capacity to apply.
Can the connection exceed what the support can take?
Yes, and that is a genuine failure mode at these loads.
A hanger can deliver more load than the supporting member can receive.
Crushing at the support is the usual result.
The support has to be checked in its own right.
A connection is never stronger than what it hangs from.
Bearing area, species and any bearing reinforcement all come into it.
Are these selected from a catalogue?
Normally they are engineered and specified on drawings.
The consequences of getting it wrong are structural.
The fastener schedule is usually stated with the specification.
Substituting a visually similar part is not a like-for-like change.
Engineers publish the required capacity rather than a product name.
Where a substitution is proposed, it goes back to the engineer rather than being decided on site.
Does the timber product matter?
A great deal - engineered products have their own requirements.
LVL, glulam and I-joists each carry specific figures.
Some require web stiffeners or bearing reinforcement.
Manufacturers publish tables per product rather than one generic value.
Solid sawn timber figures do not transfer to engineered members.
The timber manufacturer's requirements sit alongside the connector manufacturer's.
Do the same market rules apply?
Yes - ratings and approvals are market-specific throughout this family.
Test regimes and safety factors differ between jurisdictions.
A figure published elsewhere does not transfer.
The local tables govern alongside the code.
Certification schemes recognised in one market may not be elsewhere.
At these loads that distinction matters more than anywhere else in the range.