Don’t Forget the Connectors Structural connectors are designed to hold framing members to the foundation and to one another. They help a building withstand heavy loads, strong winds and earthquakes.

In these situations, it is necessary to use structural framing connectors called joist hangers, which alleviate the need for toe-nailing the joist to the lead header or girder. Toe-nailing a joist ...

A joist hanger forms a strong steel pocket for each joist -- again, no toe-nailing needed. Post supports, which elevate the bottoms of posts to keep water from rotting them, are also useful ...

Working piecemeal, you have to drive nails at a steep angle down through the sides of studs, an iffy process for many DIYers, called toe-nailing ... to support the floor joists above.

Nailing a loose floorboard into the joist below should eliminate the rattle or squeak. But even if it doesn’t, we’ve got you covered. D.I.Y. Nailing a loose floorboard into the joist below ...