Favorite connectors and fasteners

[John Raabe]

This thread is a place for showing off some of the new connectors that are making wood buildings stronger and/or easier to build.

Here's my suggestion of the day... A Simpson "Structural Wood Screw for Truss and Rafter Connections" - SDWC Strong-Drive

 
This zinc coated carbon steel screw is self-starting and can be installed after the wall sheathing is up and the house is dried in. It provides over 600 lbs of uplift protection at the critical connection between the top of the walls and the roof framing. It can hold down rafters or trusses and probably can be used to strengthen other types of connections as well.

Each box of screws comes with a gauge for getting the angle right and a driver that can hold the screw and then be driven one handed.

Here's a link to the Simpson information: http://goo.gl/J2KOI

Also see this article on the main CountryPlans site: Improving Hurricane and Tornado Survival for wood framed Buildings