New lines of heavy-duty fasteners hit the market

As all builders know, utilizing durable and high-quality brackets, connectors, joist hangers and fasteners is a critical component to building structurally intact homes and buildings. In addition to being corrosion-resistant, builder hardware products need to perform and have the engineering behind them for helping structures resist forces and maintain structural integrity.

Indeed, structural integrity is the single most important consideration in designing and manufacturing heavy-duty builder hardware, says Tom McClain, product manager with Simpson Strong-Tie, one of the largest manufacturers of connectors, fasteners, fastening systems, anchors and lateral-force resisting systems in the world. “In addition to being able to handle everyday gravity loads, products need to be properly engineered for sporadic and lateral loads such as the kind that can occur from seismic forces or from very high winds brought about by tornadoes or hurricanes,” McClain says. “Connectors and fasteners should have very strong hold-down properties and be resistant to liftoff. This keeps homes safe and secure.”

Over the past few years, McClain says, manufacturers have spent a considerable amount of research and development time toward enhancing the strength characteristics of builder hardware products as well as improving their ease of installation. Brackets, fasteners, joist hangers and other hold-down devices are becoming stronger and much easier to work with, he says.

One emerging application within this trend is the use of more proprietary fasteners, including threaded screws. “Engineers are taking a close look at traditional connections and seeing how they can be improved by using threaded screws instead of nails and bolts,” McClain says. “Threaded fasteners have the advantage of being able to distribute loads over a greater area, making connections more secure.”

Simpson Strong-Tie recently launched its new SD Strong-Drive load-rated screw for use with its structural connectors. These products feature higher single-fastener load values as compared to those of typical 10d common or 16d common nails, and in some situations can be easier and more convenient to install than nails. The SD screw comes with a hex head that virtually eliminates cam-out and helps avoid stripping of the head. The sharp point of the screw also enables fast starts, and the serrated threads reduce torque for improved drivability.

Deck Safety

One area of greater focus, according to Simpson Strong-Tie, is in the area of deck safety. This has largely come about from increasing reports of deck failures across the country. As such, Simpson Strong-Tie introduced its DTT2Z deck tension tie, a product specifically engineered for making deck connections safer and stronger. “The DTT2Z is a deck tension tie that can be used as an alternative to traditional bolt connections,” McClain says. “It is installed as a reinforcement of the deck’s guardrail post, or it can be used as a lateral connection between the deck and the home.”

The DTT2Z meets International Residential Code requirements for laterally attaching decks to homes—a connection that Simpson Strong-Tie says is critical to the performance and safety of the deck.

Corrosion Resistant

Besides ensuring structural integrity, connector and bracket products should be corrosion-resistant to today’s pressure-treated wood compounds and be able to stand up to the elements, especially in the coastal zone or other regions where homes are susceptible to water exposure.

According to Bruce Berry, general manager of Cazadero, CA-based Berry’s Saw Mill, a retailer of lumber and building industry supplies, sales of hot dipped galvanized (HDG) and double zinc brackets and fasteners have increased considerably in recent years as these flood zone approved products are resistant to moisture intrusion as well as chemical corrosion from today’s pressure-treated woods.

Stainless steel is another corrosion-resistant option. Newport, OR-based PowrFab manufactures solid stainless steel brackets for the construction industry that are engineered with marine-grade 316L stainless—a chromium-nickel stainless steel modified by the addition of molybdenum, which greatly increases its corrosion resistance. “Stainless is the most corrosive-resistant alloy available on the market,” says Bill Mulder, owner of PowrFab. “We originally developed our hardware products with this application in order to be able to withstand the corrosive atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest coast. As such, these heavy-gauge brackets are very suitable for coastal environments and are highly resistant against rain and saltwater intrusion.”

PowrFab’s stainless alloy is highly resistant to the more corrosive copper-based pressure-treated wood compounds that the industry starting using about five years ago, Mulder says, after the EPA banned the use of Chromated Copper Arsenate as a treatment preservative for wood intended for residential uses.

PowrFab offers an assortment of stainless structural connectors including joist hangers, beam brackets, concrete connectors, column bases and post bases, as well as custom brackets that can be designed to match any specification.