During a recent remodeling project, we had to put a new floor over an old ceiling. The cramped quarters made it impossible to swing a hammer from below to bring the joists flush with newly added headers and beams. The drawing shows how we used a temporary upside-down joist hanger and a crowbar to bring a joist flush, allowing its hanger to be installed in the right position.
—Jim Lockwood, Brookline, MA
Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #72
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Nice. I've used a screw, driven in enough to hold, then pry up, or in on wall sections to align them when framing. Nail it together, then just back out the screw.
If the joists had to go into place from below with the hangers pre-attached, I can see that misalignment could occur. Perhaps nailing a 2x6 to the top of the header would have provided a positive and accurate stop when pushing up on the joist from below.
Since an old ceiling is mentioned, then the joists were likely set from above. The hangers could have been pre-attached to the joists, with a short 1x2 screwed to the top extending beyond the end of the joist. The 1x2 would bear on top of the header and would support the joist until the hanger could be nailed into place.