GB2163788A

GB2163788A - Joist hangers

Info

Publication number: GB2163788A
Application number: GB08510947A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Donald William Wordsworth; Edward Thomas Aston; Jeremy Roger Loach
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-08-30
Filing date: 1985-04-30
Publication date: 1986-03-05
Also published as: GB8510947D0; GB2163788B; GB8421911D0

Abstract

A joist hanger 1 has three individually formed pieces including a joist-support piece 2a, 2b, 2c and ties 3', 4'. Ties 3', 4' are connected to the joist-support piece 2a, 2b by non-welded connections in the form of tongue and slot connections 5, 6, 7, 8. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Joist hangers This invention relates to devices termed 'joist hangers' which are used in the building industry for supporting the ends of joists and beams which extend, for example, between opposing support structures such as support pillars, brick walls or the like.

Many proposals have been made for different designs of joist hangers in orderto overcome the particular problems in producing a simple, reliable, durable and sufficiently rigid hanger which is also cost effective, relatively easy to manufacture and relatively simple to use in practice.

Joist hangers have been manufactured from separate parts which are then welded together, but this method has various production disadvantages and the use of welds can constitute an inherent potential weakness in the structure ofthe hanger and renderthe hanger more susceptible to corrosion defects than would otherwise be the case.

In order to avoid constructions having such disadvantages and inherentweakness the Applicant has previously proposed a one-piece joist hanger in British Patent Specification No. 1431122 which has no welded connections. Nevertheless, such a one-piece construction involves the making of a blank which is bent into shape and tends also to have certain disadvantages not least the considerable amount of sheet-metal material which is necessarily wasted in the production process due to stamping outthe one-piece blank.

Additionally, where one-piece joist hangers of comparatively large dimensions are produced the thickness of material also has to increase accordingly and this maytend to cause unncessary difficulty in bending orfolding the blank into shape; it also uses more material than is necessary with multiple-part joist hangers si ethethickness of certain parts of the largerjoist hanger need not be of increased thickness.

It is an object ofthe present invention to provide a simple joist hanger and method of making a joist hanger which at least alleviates some ofthe disadvantages of other designs and/or disadvantages in production methods.

According to the present invention there is provided a joist hanger of at leasttwo-piececonstruction comprising an angled joist-support pieceforajoist or beam, and comprising an anchorageforfixing the hangerto a support structure, said joist-support piece comprising a back-plate and a footplate extending at an anglethereto, at leastone individually-formed tie connected to the backplate and to the foot plate ofthe angled joist-support piece to provide extra support for the foot-plate relative to the back-plate when the footplate is under load from a joist or beam, said at leastonetie being connected to at least one ofthe backplate and foot plate by a non-welded connection.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a building structure including the combination of a joist or beam and at least one joist hanger according to the immediately preceding paragraph.

Still further according to the present invention there is provided a method of making a joist hanger comprising: a) pressing a length of strip stock into an angled joist-support piece and forming an anchorage for fixing the hanger to a support structure; b) cutting a length of strip stockto provide atieast one tie; c) connecting the tie on one side ofthe angled joist-support piece across the angle thereof to provide extra supportfor a footplate of the angled joistsupport piece relative to a backplatofsaid angled joist-support piece when the footplate is under load from a joist or beam. said tie being connected to at least one of the backplate and footplate by a nonwelded connection.

By the present invention a joist hanger may be provided which offers a distinct saving on waste material over other designs and which avoidsthe need for welded connections yet retains sufficient rigidity and is relatively easy to manufacture.

Usually, the joist hanger will have two spaced ties connected to the backplate and footplate and it will also be usual, although not essential, for both ties to be individually formed so that the joist hanger is of at leastthree part construction.

Preferably, said non-welded connection comprises a tongue and slot connection but could alternatively comprise a rivet connection using individual rivets (although such connections are considered significantly less advantageous than tongue and slot connections for obvious reasons such as load bearing constraints and the need for separate rivets and additional rivetting tool). The or each tongue and slot connection may comprise a tongue on the tie which extends through a slot in the back-plate orfootplate.

The tongue may also be folded back on itselfthrough the slot. The tongue may be defined by a cut-edge of said tie and be received in the slot with a degree of movement along the slot.

In one embodiment said at least one tie has a tongue and slot connection at the backplate in which the tongue on the tie passes th rough a slot in the backplate which is folded back on itself and which tie also has a tongue and slot connection atthefootplate which latter tongue merely passes into and locates in the slot without being folded back on itself. This provides good su pportfor the foot plate relative to the back-plate and yet advantageously allows the joist or beam to be located in contact with thefootplate inner surface ratherthan resting on a tongue which has been folded back on itself.

Usually, although not essentially, the anchorage will comprise an anchorage piece, preferably, integrally formed with the angled joist support piece and madefrom strip stock (preferablyflat metal strip).

Additionally, the ties may be made from strip stock (preferablyflat metal strip).

In one embodiment said at least one tie has one end connected to the backplate and said end extends around the rear face ofthe backplate, said rear face being provided with a depressed portion receiving said end so that the backplate and said end are flush with one another. Conveniently the depressed portion is formed simply by bending or pressing the backplate without altering the thickness ofthe backplate material.

Most importantly, in a preferred embodiment said atleastonetie has one end connectedtothe backplate and said end extends across the front face of the backplate and is attached thereto. Conveniently, said at least one tie may have a tongue on said end which is passed through a slot in the backplate, folded back on itself and received in a depressed portion ofthe backplate so thatthetongue does not project rearwardly beyond the rear plane ofthe backplate. It has been found that this preferred embodiment has distinct advantages.Firstly, adopting this general configuration provides a very stable design which remains stable even under heavy loading and second ly,thejoist hanger may be assembled much more easily than, for example, if said end extends around the rearface of the backplate. The joist hanger may be assembled in such mannerthatthe or each tie can be located in position very readily and generally without risk of the tie being distorted out of its intended final shape during assembly.

Further embodiments of the joist hanger may have an anchorage in the form of a hook-piece or alternativelythe anchorage may be a suitably placed anchorage hole or holes. Additionallythejoisthanger may include morethan onejoistsupportpieceto thereby support a plurality of joist ar beams; in particularthe joist hanger may includetwo joist support pieces arranged backto back and intercon nected by a bridge piece which forms the anchorage.

Two embodiments of a joist hanger and methods of making a joist hanger in accordance with the present invention will now be described, byway of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 shows an isometricviewofthefirst embodiment of a joist hanger; FIGURE 2 shows a side view of the joist hanger shown in FIGURE 1; FIG URE 3 shows a front view of the joist hanger; FIGURE 4 is a rearview ofthe hanger; FIGURES 5 to 7 show modifications to first embodi mentofthejoisthanger; and FIGURES 8 to 74 shows viewssimilarto FILURES 1 to 7 but of the second embodiment of the joist hanger.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 7 of the drawings a first embodiment of a joist hanger 1 has three individually formed pieces comprising an ahgled joist-support piece 2a, 2b with integrally formed anchorage piece 2c and two individually formed ties 3, 4.

The joist-support piece 2a, 2b comprises a generally upstanding back-plate 2a and a footplate 2b extending from the bottom ofthe back-plate at a right angle thereto. The anchorage piece 2c extends parallel to the footplate 2b rearwardly from the top of the backplate 2a. Anchorage piece 2c has spaced longitudinal raised reinforcing ribs pressed therein in a manner known per se. The anchorage piece is forfixing the joist hangerto a support structure also in a manner known perse.

The ties 3,4 are connected to the joist-support piece 2a, 2b by non-welded connections in the form of tongue and slot connections 5, 6, 7, 8.

Each tie 3,4 comprises a length of flat metal strip stock. The upper end of each tie is pressed around the rearface2a' of the back plate 2a by a press tool (not shown butwhich may be, for example, hand, mechanically or hydraulically operated) and part ofthis end is cut at C (see FIGURE 4) to form a tongue 5', 6' which is passed through a vertical rectangular slot 5", 6" and folded back on itself. The length of each tongue 5', 6' is somewhat less than the length of the slot 5", 6" and therefore the tongues 5' 6' are received in the said slot with some degree of play. Additionally, the back-plate 2a is provided with a depressed portion P to accommodate the upper ends of the ties 3, 4 so that the rearface of the back-plate 2a can fit flush against a vertical support surface. The back-plate 2a is of uniform thickness.

Each tie 3,4 has a lower end pressed around the bottom of foot plate 2b and part ofthis end is cut (similarly as at C) to form a tongue 7', 8' which is passed into a horizontal rectangular slot 7", 8". The tongue 7', 8' extends as far as the upper surface ofthe footplate 2b sothatthe bottom of a joist or beam (shown in chain dotted lines in FIGURE 1) can rest in contactwith the surface of the footplate 2b.

Holes Hare provided in the ties 3,4 so that holding pins may be hammered therethrough into a joist or beam in a manner known perse.

Advantageously, the described embodiment provides a simple design of joist-hangerwhich is a marked saving on material used in designs constructed from one-piece blanks pressed out of sheet material and yet is sufficiently rigid and of simple construction.

Additionally, the slots 5", 6", 7", 8" are placed only a short distance X in from the side edges of the back plate 2a and footplate 2b in the interests of saving further material.

FIGURE 5shows a first modification to the joist hanger 1'which has anchorage holes AH in back plate 2a" but no anchorage piece extending rearwardly as in FIGURE 1 (see anchorage piece 2c in FIGURE 1). The anchorage holesAH can be used to boltthejoist hanger directly onto a wall or other vertical support by bolts (not shown), and such a design may have distinct advantages in certain instances.

FIGURE 6shows an anchorage piece intheform of hook-piece. This form of anchorage gives extra resistanceto the joist hanger being pulled outofa supporting wall.

FIGURE 7 shows a "saddle" joist hanger 1"' which comprises two similarjoist-support pieces arranged back to back. Bridge piece B forms the anchorage and advantageously avoids the need for a welded connection or any other sort of connection between anchor age pieces (for example, 2e in FIGURE 2). In use this joist hanger straddles a wall or beam tosupportthe ends of two joists.

FIGURES 8 to 1 of the drawings correspond generally with FIGURES 1 to 7 but relate to a second embodiment ofthe joist hanger (in which the upper ends of each tie 3', 4', extend across the frontface 2a" ofthe backplate 2a) and similar modifications thereto.

This general design provides a joist hanger which remains stable under heavy loads and which may be assembled more easily. Since FlGURES8to 14 are generallysimilarto FIGURES 1 to7 nofurther description of FIGURES 8to 14is believed necessary, The present invention provides a surprisingly sim ple cost effective joist hanger and production method which has distinct advantages over other designs.

Afurtheradvantage of employing an individual tie orties isthatwithwiderjoisthangers (which necessarily have an increased thickness of material) a tie orties ofsimilarwidth and thickness to those employed with narrowerjoist hangers may be used.

In certain instances the joist hanger may be provided with only one tie and 'left' and 'right' handed joist hangers may also be joined togetherto provide a widerjoist hanger in a manner known per se.

Other advantages ofthe design are that any width or depth ofjoist hanger can be manufactured from this two at least piece non-welded construction and smaller machinery and presses may be used resulting in a further saving in costs.

Anotheradvantageofthedesign isthatstandard lengths ofties can be held in stock and only the joist support pieces would need to be cut and formed to form joist hangers of different sizes and the standard ties attached thereto.

Claims

1. Ajoist hanger of at least two-piece construction comprising an angled joist-support piece for a joist or beam, and comprising an anchorage forfixing the hanger to a support structure, said joist-support piece comprising a backplate and a footplate extending at an angle thereto, at least one individually-formed tie connected to the backplate and to the foot plate of the angled joist-support piece to provide extra support for the foot-plate relative to the backplate when the foot-plate is under load from a joist or beam, said at least one tie being connected to at least one of the backplate and footplate by a non-welded connection.

2. A hanger as claimed in Claim 1 comprising two spaced ties connected to the backplate and footplate.

3. A hanger as claimed in Claim 2 in which both ties are individually formed so thatthejoist hanger is of at leastthree part construction.

4. A hanger as claimed in any one ofthe preceding claims in which said non-welded connection comprises a tongue and slot connection.

5. A hanger as claimed in Claim 4 in whiih the or each tongue and slot connection comprises a tongue on the tie which extends through a slot in the backplate orfootplate.

6. A hanger as claimed in Claim 5 in which the tongue is folded back on itselfthrough the slot.

7. Ahangerasclaimed in Claim 6 in which the tongue is defined by a cut-edge of said tie and received in the slot with a degree of movement aiong the slot.

8. A hangeras claimed in any one ofthe preceding claims comprising at least two non-welded connections and in which said at least one tie has a tongue and slot connection at the backplate in which the tongue on the tie passesthrough a slot in the backplate which is folded back on itself and which tie also has a tongue and slot connection at the footplate which iattertongue passes into and locates in the slot without being folded back on itself.

9. A hanger as claimed in any one ofthe preceding claims in which said at least one tie has one end connected to the backplate and said end extends around the rearface ofthe backplate, said rear face being provided with a depressed portion receiving said end so that the backplate and said end areflush with one another.

10. A hanger as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8 in which said at least one tie has one end connected to the backplate and said end extends across the front face ofthe backplate and is attached thereto.

11. A hanger as claimed in Claim 10 in which said at least onetie has a tongue on said end which is passed through a slot in the backplate, folded back on itselfand received in a depressed portion ofthe backplate.

12. A hanger as claimed in any one ofthe preceding claims in which the anchorag comprises an anchorage piece.

13. A hanger as claimed in Claim 12 in which the anchorage piece is integrallyformedwith the angled joist support piece and made from strip stock.

14. A hanger as claimed in Claim 12 or Claim 13 in which the anchorage piece is in the form of a hook-piece.

15. A hanger as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11 in which the anchorage is a suitably placed anchorage hole or holes.

16. A hanger as claimed in any one ofthe preceding claims in which the or each tie is made from strip stock.

17. A hanger as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including more than one joist support piecetotherebysupport a plurality joists or beams.

18. A hanger as claimed in Claim 17 including two joist support pieces arranged backtobackand interconnected buy a bridge piecewhich forms the anchorage.

19. Ajoist hanger substantially as herein describedwith reference to FIGURES 1 to4ofthe accompanying drawings or when modified substan tially as in FIGURES, or 6, or7 ofthe accompanying drawings.

20. A joist hanger substantially as herein de scribed with reference to FIGURES 8 to 11 ofthe accompanying drawings or when modified substantiallyas in FIGURE 12, or 13, or l4oftheaccompanying drawings.

21. A building structure including the combination of a joist or beam and at least one joist hanger aciording to any one ofthe preceding claims.

22. A method of making a joist hanger com prising (a) pressing a length of strip stock into an angled joist-support piece and forming an anchorage for fixing the hanger to a support structure; (b) cutting a length of strip stock to provide at least one tie; (c) connecting the tie on one side ofthe angled joist-support piece across the angle thereof to provide extra support for a footplate ofthe angled joistsupport piece relative to a backplate of said angled joist-support piece when the footplate is under load from a joist or beam, said tie being connected to at least one ofthe backplate and footplate by a nonwelded connection.

23. A method as claimed in Claim 22 in which two spaced ties are connected to the backplate and footplate.

24. A method as claimed in Claim 23 in which both ties are individually formed.

25. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 22 to 24 in which said non-welded connection is a tongue and slot connection.

26. A method as claimed in Claim 25 in which the or each tongue and slot connection has a tongue of the tie which extends through a slot in the backplate or footplate.

27. A method as claimed in Claim 26 in which the tongue is folded back on itselfthrough the slot.

28. A method as claimed in Claim 27 in which the tongue is defined by a cut-edge and received in the slot with a degree of movementtherealong.

29. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 22 to 28 in which at least two non-welded connections are made and said at least one tie has a tongue and slot connection at the backplate which is folded back on itselfandwhich tie also has a tongue and slot connection at the footplate which latter tongue passes into and locates in the slot without being folded back on itself.

30. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 22 to 29 in which said at least one tie has one end connected to the backplate and said end extends around the rear face of the backplate, said rearface being provided with a depressed portion receiving said end sothatthe backplate and said end are flush with one another.

31. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 22 to 29 in which said at leastonetie has one end connected to the backplate and said end extends across the front face of the backplate and is attached thereto.

32. Amethod as claimed in Claim 31 in which said at leastonetie has a tongue on said end which is passed through a slot in the backplate,folded back on itselfand received in a depressed portion of the backplate.

33. A method as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 32 in which the anchorage comprises an anchorage piece.

34. A method as claimed in Claim 33 in which the anchorage piece is integrally formed with the angled joist support piece and made from strip stock.

35. A method as claimed in Claim 33 or Claim 34 in which the anchorage piece is in the form of a hook-piece.

36. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 22 to 32 in which the anchorage is a suitably placed anchorage hole or holes.

37. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 22to 36 in which the or each tie is made from strip stock.

38. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including morethan one joist support piece to thereby support a plurality of joists or beams.

39. A method as claimed in Claim 38 including two joist support pieces arranged backto back and interconnected bya bridge piece which forms the anchorage.

40. A method of making a joist hanger as claimed in Claim 22 and substantially as herein described with reference to FIGURES 1 to 4 ofthe accompanying drawings orwhen modified substantially as in FIGURE 5, or 6, or7 of the accompanying drawings.

41. A method of making a joist hanger as claimed in Claim 22 and substantially as herein described with reference to FIGURES 8 to 11 ofthe accompanying drawings orwhen modified substantially as in FIGURE 12, or 13, or 14 of the accompanying drawings.