The Forestry Forum

I try to peg where I can but these roof rafters are bothering me.  They're pocketed but the only thing holding the roof on would be weight.  I'm going to put lags in and the local store here has Big Timber CTX screws, these any good?

They appear to be approved;
Big Timber® CTX Construction Lag Screw Properties (drjcertification.org) (https://www.drjcertification.org/system/files/DrJ/TER/node/1691/ter_1907-01.pdf)

Will your local to you code let you bore and use wooden pegs?

Does your local code/ wind load require hurricane straps over the rafters?

The more joinery I do the less metal fasteners I use.  As the wood moves seasonally and the metal doesn't, the metal is going to 'win' a little bit more every year.  I am mostly doing chair repair lately and only dabbling the tips of my toes in big boy joints, but I find metal in joints is best avoided where not required by code.  Nails will at least bend back and forth until they fatigue, screws just break if the wood moves enough.

This is what I'm looking at;


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/52542/IMG_7727.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1627988041)
 

I have a seat in the 8x8 and another seat in my 4x8.  I could peg them but will it hold down pressure like a lag bolt?  These ctx lags are bigger than a number 2 pencil and bend quite a bit.  I suspect they would break at the threads but you would really need to bend them, almost at a 45 degree angle.

Still not sure how I will get the beams over the "Great room"  Might need a crane.  We'll see, the gin pole would be risky.