BobVila.com

joist to ledger connection

I am sure the first response to use joist hangers is a good idea and I think they would be worth the small price for piece of mind, but I do "think" that a 2x2 ledger is allowed. I wouldn’t use one either though. I recently framed a floor. I used 2x12s for the center girder and 2x10s for my floor joists. I used a 2x4 ledger and therefore only notched 1 1/2 inches out of each of my joists. I also measured exactly how much to notch out of each 2x10 because I wanted to be sure that each floor joist was resting firmly on the ledger (You know lumber often varies in size up to 3/8s of an inch!). Joist hangers may be best but I felt like this was pretty sturdy. Good luck

Dave