Walls and Ceilings - Metal Connectors vs. Endnailing vs. Toenailing

Hello all!

My friend and I were having a discussion about the best way to fasten framing members together when putting up a new wall. With a partition or non-loadbearing member, I'm thinking the method doesn't really matter, whether you use metal connectors, endnailing or toenailing. If I'm wrong, please tell me.

However, when it comes to loadbearing walls, I would assume toenailing to be the least favored method. When it comes to metal connectors and endnailing, what is the best and what is the preferred methods, if these methods are not the same? By "best" I mean what is the strongest.

Thanks a bunch!

Mecanical fastners are always stronger by design, that's why theyr'e used in soo many aspects of building since nails cant cut the mustard alone in certain applications.

End nailing would be second since any force to move the member in question would have to shear the fastner that's buried deep in the wood.

Toenailing is only catching a little peice of wood since it's driven at an angle, even with 2 toenail per side you can easy dislodge peice in question with swift kick.

My friend said that the metal connectors would be weaker because you couldn't use as big of nails as you could if you were endnailing. I thought that didn't matter as much since most of the nails in metal connectors are nailed perpendicular AND there are more nails placed into the wood than with endnailing.

Comments?

I'm not an engineer, but other are that have designed brackets used in housing projects...namely joist hangers. these are mechanical fastners and are the only thing holding a deck base in position and not falling to the ground. That's just a quick off the hip example, but hangers are used all over the place with short nails.

Where strength is concerned, and not exactly price, you would recommend using metal connectors to join studs to the top and sole plates of a wall?

Even with money being no concern, it is just not practical time wise. There are hundreds of different ways to attack a problem, it boils down to taking everything into account for a plausible solution. Using mechanical fastners per stud will take a huge amount of time/fasteners and if this is going to be a wall will not make it any stronger since a walls load is meant to carry from top down, not laterally like running a car into it.

When building a wall all of the peices used go into making the actual wall. End nailing is there to hold the studs in place between the top/btm plate period. Then the wall sheeting is installed on either side or both and ties the entire wall together as one. Again, walls are meant for force to go against the top plate, through the length of the stud, into the bottom plate, and into the foundation. You will not make that any stronger by installing angle brackets or whatever you have in mind since the studs are not going to shift sideways just because they feel like it.

Getting away from all the reasons why it's not practical, then yes the mechanical means will be stronger. Just like bolting something together is stronger than welding. I wish I had a degree so I could explain why it's the way it is.... but it is what it is! LOL