I was wondering what sort of fasteners are best for general Wood Framing? I understand that in general construction is done 100% with nails, but as a small time, diyer, I am looking for best practices.
My understanding is that general nails are superior for shearing forces, so must always be used in connecting floor joists and other similar applications.
While wood screws hold far better against force pulling them straight out (structural screws seem to be a thing as well, but are relatively rare and expensive).
Am I right in thinking that I should use screws for subfloor, top and bottom plates, etc.
And nails for joists, gussets, headers, ect.?
As a commenter pointed out, we also have adhesive. Is their any reason not to use this liberally? I understand it is beneficial to add some when securing a subfloor. But I could use it on the ends of studs and under trusses to supplement hurricane clips, and between gussets, if too much rigidity was not a bad thing.
Best Answer
The short answer is that, for residential framing, the only situations that call for screws are:
Everything else is usually done with appropriately-sized nails or staples, some of which should be adhesive-coated, ring-shanked, or otherwise special.
I won't endeavor to list all appropriate fasteners and their use-cases here, as that would be an inappropriately broad topic for this site. The most common pneumatic fasteners in my area are ~3" cement-coated framing nails, ~2-3/8" ring-shank nails, and 1-1/2" to 2" cement-coated narrow-crown staples.
Construction adhesive is appropriate for reducing noise and making structures feel more solid, as in staircases. It is not, however, rated for weather resistance scenarios. Mechanical fasteners and building hardware fills that role.