By Murray Wennerlund published 4-16-2022 updated 4-19-2022
There is an old saying, "Keep your Gables On!" Or maybe it was something else but in our build we are looking to keep our gables up and strong in the wind.
What better way of finding out if anyone reads high wind building advisories from the national insurance associate or FEMA. If the homeowner doesn't read the information provided for high wind zones and you don't double check the work my guess is you're going to find out in the first few wind storms. Who cares about shingles at this point, we need to keep the roof decking in place at all costs and not at the expense of the homeowner years later.
First thing is you're going to need to inspect everything and when I say inspect everything it means you're going to need someone on the ground at your site making sure the materials are used as designed and the fasteners are used as per code.
I found more labor in the industry has no clue what nails to use in different areas and some of the labor was trained to put 4 and 5 nails into the side of 2x's. You can do that if the results you are looking for is a split 2x.
Ever manufacturer has a specifications sheet, in the IRC book you'll find hundreds of references to manufacturers installation guidelines. Let's make sure you print each and every detail and place it with the material to be installed.
Example, Rafter Hangers that require 2 1/2" 0.148" metal connector nails can not be substituted with 1 1/2" 0.148". You'll find very few framers that have a connector nail gun that would shot 2 1/2" so be ready to order the tools and make sure you give them the proper nails.
Then when it comes to BCI-90's and the hangers using 3 1/2" 0.161 nails make sure your framers actually have hammers. You're not going to find a nail gun to shoot these fasteners in their trucks. And you don't need to purchase one for what they cost, just have them drive the nails old school style.