Connecting Porches

Place a pencil mark on the ledger board to identify the location of each of the floor joists that will support the porch. The ledger is a board that is attached to the house to support the porch. Make a pencil mark to identify the location of each side of the floor joist. Typical floor joists are 1 1/2 inches thick, so the pencil marks for each floor joist will be 1 1/2 inches apart. Use the measuring tape to space the pencil marks.

Place the framing square on a pencil mark on the header board. The edge of the framing square should line up with the pencil mark. The framing square should be vertically straight. Run the pencil along the edge of the framing square to draw a straight vertical line from the top to the bottom of the header board. Repeat this procedure for each of the other pencil marks.

Place a joist hanger against the header. The side edges of the joist hanger should each be on a pencil line. The bottom of the joist hanger should be flush with the bottom of the header board.

Drive a 16d nail into the hole in the top right side of the joist hanger to secure the joist hanger to the header. Hammer the 16d nail until it is flush with the joist hanger. Repeat this procedure to place a nail to secure the top left side of the joist hanger. Place a nail in each of the remaining holes in the header side of the joist hanger. Repeat this procedure for each of the joist hangers.

Slide a joist into a joist hanger. The joist should fit into the 1 1/2-inch space between the sides of the joist hanger. Use the hammer to drive a 16d nail into each of the holes in the side of the joist hanger to secure the joist to the joist hanger. Repeat this process to connect each of the porch joists to the header. Build the rest of the porch. When all the floor joists are attached to the header, your porch will be securely connected to the house.