Simpson Strong-Tie Hanger Selection for Wood Beams and Joists — Step by Step (NDS 2024)

Simpson Strong-Tie hangers, built into StructSuite

0:00Your beam is designed. Now, what holds it up? StructSuite now selects Simpson Strong-Tie connectors right inside the design steps. No second app, no retyping loads.

The Simpson catalogs in the Resource Directory

0:12The catalogs you cite are in our Resource Directory: the 2026 Wood Construction Connectors Catalog, Strong-Wall, and the portal frame bulletin.

Wood beam: span, loads, section, NDS factors

0:22A typical floor beam. Step one: a 10-foot span, pinned at both ends. Step two: 15 psf dead and 40 psf live, over an 8-foot tributary width.

0:56Step three: Douglas Fir-Larch No. 2, a 4×12. Step four: the NDS adjustment factors. Dry service, normal temperature.

Step 5: the Simpson Hanger Selector

1:19Now the part this video is about. Step five, the Simpson Hanger Selector. It’s optional, so tick the box beside the step to include it. With both ends supported, one hanger can serve both ends; untick “use the same hanger at both ends” to size the left and right ends separately.

Supporting member: ten member types

1:34Then the supporting member: the header, beam, girder, or ledger that carries the hanger. Its type can be sawn lumber, an I-joist, LSL, LVL, PSL, glulam, masonry, mid-wall or top of wall, concrete, or steel. Then its species, nominal size, and number of plies.

No matching hanger: the support is too shallow

1:49A 2×6 support is too shallow: no hanger in Simpson’s catalog carries this reaction on it, and StructSuite says so, and why. So make it a 6×12 girder.

Connection and hanger type: flush top/bottom, face mount, top or concealed flange

1:59Connection type sets how the beam sits in the hanger: flush top, with the tops of the two members level, or flush bottom, with the bottoms level. Hanger type: a face mount nails into the face of the support, a top flange hooks over the top of it, and a concealed flange turns its flanges inward, out of sight. The pictures follow your choice.

Fastener type: nails, bolts or screws

2:19Fastener type filters the list: all, nails only, bolts, or screws.

The live hanger table

2:29Simpson’s Hanger Selector answers live, with every hanger that fits. For each one: the model, its width, height, and bearing length, the face and joist fastener counts, and its allowable download and uplift, in pounds.

Pick a hanger: ASD reaction ÷ CD vs allowable

2:41Pick one. StructSuite sends Simpson the governing ASD reaction, normalized by the load-duration factor, CD, and checks the hanger’s allowable download and uplift against it. Close the step, and its summary records every choice: the connection, the fastener filter, the supporting member, and the hanger you picked, with its result.

Step 6: connection D/C beside moment, shear, deflection

3:01Step six puts the connection check beside moment, shear, and deflection. Open a combination for the worked calculation: the reaction, divided by CD, against the hanger’s allowable.

Step 7: shear, moment and deflection diagrams

3:12Step seven: shear, moment, and deflection diagrams, for every load combination.

Floor joists: IBC span table + joist hanger

3:30Floor joists, just as fast. Step one: a floor joist, common lumber, spanning 14 feet. Step two: 40 psf for living areas, 10 psf dead, 2×10s at 16 inches, Douglas Fir-Larch No. 2.

4:02Step three, the same Simpson Hanger Selector, sized from the joist reaction. Tick it on, set the supporting member to a 4×12 header, and pick a hanger.

4:21Step four checks the span against the IBC table, and works out the connection: line load, end reaction, load-duration factor, and demand over capacity. And every choice prints in the report.

Coming next: Strong-Wall, A35 and LTP5, beam-to-column

4:37And we’re not stopping. Simpson Strong-Wall shearwalls are coming to our wood-frame shear wall module, with A35 and LTP5 clips for shear transfer. And Simpson beam-to-column connections are coming to StructSuite, too. Design the member. Pick the connector. Print the package. Try it free at structsuite.com.