Understanding TimberLOK Screws vs. Hurricane Ties

A firm, last­ing hold is need­ed to prop­er­ly secure truss­es and rafters. For decades, hur­ri­cane ties were the pre­scribed method for attach­ing these mate­ri­als to top plates. Requir­ing ten nails, each ham­mered one at a time, this method con­sumed time and drained productivity.

Now, there is a new option for builders and con­trac­tors: Tim­ber­LOK screws from FastenMaster.

Timberlok Truss & Rafter to Top Plate Structural Wood Screws

TimberLOK vs. Hurricane Ties: Two Methods for Attaching Trusses and Rafters

How to Install Hurricane Ties

Hur­ri­cane ties have been an effec­tive way to cre­ate a firm, last­ing hold between a rafter or truss and a dou­ble top plate. How­ev­er, they are a time-con­sum­ing method that requires ten nails that need to be ham­mered into place one at a time.

To install a hur­ri­cane tie, you need to hold the met­al piece in place and dri­ve the first nail to fix it to the truss or rafter. Once the first nail is dri­ven, installers can secure the unit by ham­mer­ing ten hur­ri­cane tie nails; five on the top and five on the bottom.

Installing hur­ri­cane ties is a sim­ple process that cre­ates an excel­lent hold. Con­trac­tors often install hur­ri­cane ties to a deck for a secure con­nec­tion, but it can take as much as 50 sec­onds to a minute to install a sin­gle hur­ri­cane tie. (In a demon­stra­tion, the hur­ri­cane tie required 54 sec­onds to install.) Over the course of con­struct­ing a sin­gle house or a major mul­ti-home addi­tion, these min­utes can add up to hours, even days of work.

What Kind of Nails Do You Use for Hurricane Ties?

A hur­ri­cane tie typ­i­cal­ly needs gal­va­nized nails, although the exact size and depth may vary depend­ing on the appli­ca­tion and code require­ments. An H2.5 hur­ri­cane tie, for exam­ple, requires ten 8D nails.

How Many Hurricane Ties Per Rafter?

While each home will vary, espe­cial­ly based on over­all size and length of the rafters, most will need hur­ri­cane ties at either end. This means con­struc­tion pro­fes­sion­als will need to install two hur­ri­cane ties per rafter.

How Many Hurricane Ties Per Joist?

If hur­ri­cane ties are required, builders will need to install at least two for each floor joist. More could be required to meet code if there are inte­ri­or walls where a hur­ri­cane tie can be attached. Again, this will change as dif­fer­ent areas will have rules for var­i­ous home sizes.

6” TimberLOK

The process for secur­ing a truss or rafter with Tim­ber­LOK screws is a bit dif­fer­ent. Instead of need­ing a hur­ri­cane tie and ten nails (and a ham­mer, of course), installers sim­ply need a Tim­ber­LOK screw and a drill with the appro­pri­ate bit.

Timber LOK hex head crop copy

The screw is placed at the top plate direct­ly under­neath the truss and dri­ven through the top plate into the over­head board. It will pull the rafter or truss tight and installers c

an move on to the next step.

Over­all, it takes about 5 sec­onds to install a Tim­ber­LOK fas­ten­er.

Find the Best Fasteners with FastenMaster

With the Tim­ber­LOK sys­tem, you can get rid of time-con­sum­ing hur­ri­cane ties. Instead, your team can sim­ply drill Tim­ber­LOK screws into place and reduce the time, mon­ey, and effort, all while meet­ing nation­al codes.

Con­tact the experts at Fas­ten­Mas­ter today or call 800−518−3569 for more information!