Joist Hangers for Exposed Conditions

Joist Hanger Design

• The design of joist hangers allows these hardware pieces to mount on the inside face of the wood beams around the perimeter of the room, which means you don’t need access to the other side of the wood, which may be impossible if the walls in the room are already finished. This design makes it possible to install or replace joists or hangers even after a house’s main structure has been built and interior walls have been finished.

Joist Hanger Sizes

• Like joists, joist hangers come in a range of sizes. When choosing a joist hanger to hang joists for exposed conditions, you should use joist hangers of the appropriate height and width for your joist boards. If you use extra-tall joists for their appearance, you may not be able to find joist hangers in that size. Instead, you should use the closest joist hanger size to the size of the joist to offer as much security as possible.

Hanging a Joist Hanger

• Joist hangers install to the beams around the room and to the joists themselves. Many manufacturers include a guide that recommends the number and placement of nails or screws in the hangers, based on the size of the joists. Follow the instructions provided with the joist hangers, using the proper amount of hardware to ensure that the hanger holds to the wall and joist for years. Once you install joist hangers, you should still attach the joist directly to the beams at the top by driving a nail through each joist at a 45 degree angle to push it through the joist corner and into the beam.

Decorative Hangers

• Joist hangers come in standard colors, such as silver or black, which don’t provide much by way of decoration in exposed conditions. If you would like the joist hangers with which you mount exposed joists to be part of the room's décor, you may want to paint the hangers prior to installation. Powder coating, which applies to heated metal and must be baked on for a lasting color job, is a good option for painting joists.