Larry, I'm no carpenter or contractor, but I was under the impression that pretty much everyone uses nails to attach joists and joist hangars. All the force on the joist is supposed to be down and not out. If there is a load pulling the joist out of the ledger, then there is something wrong with the design.
For my deck project I am planning on using twisted shank nails to attach the hangars to the ledger and the joists. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (412) 268-9081
