Stringer strips are attached to a vertical surface, such as a wall, to support one end of a horizontal beam.
Stringer strips are structural support elements used in construction and woodworking. A stringer strip is typically a square length of lumber attached horizontally to a vertical surface to support one end of a shelf or beam. The beams or shelves are then supported at their opposite ends by a second-ratio strap or other type of support mechanism. A critical part of proportioning strip installation is the correct number, type, and spacing of fasteners used to secure the strip. Nails or screws generally attach ratio strips to vertical bars, and a safe average for number of fasteners and spacing is to place one fastener under each joist.
Ledger strip is a common method of fabricating wood cabinets and frames to support horizontally oriented surfaces such as shelves, floors, and decks. The strips are generally square in cross section and are located at either end of the building element they support. When used in the lumber industry, stringer strips are usually attached to a stringer board. It is a flat piece of wood anchored to a wall or frame that serves to evenly distribute the load of the beams it supports. There are several ways to attach joists to stringer board, including joist hooks or stringer bands.
Beam Supports are pressed steel structures sized and molded to accept standard size floor beams. These frames are bolted to the stringer board and the joists slide into them for support. The stringer strip is a simple square strip of wood screwed or nailed to the stringer board on which the joists rest. The beams cannot have cut profiles and simply rest on top of the strip, touching the stringer board. They can also have a square profile cut at their ends to match the size of the stringer strip, which then rests on the stringer strip, offering more secure beam positioning.
Stringer strips are often found in cabinet and shop fixture manufacturing as an alternative to pins or brackets for supporting cabinet shelves and tops. These strips are simply nailed or screwed into the shelf position and the shelf plate is placed on top of them. In both cases, the correct types of fasteners and their spacing are essential to the integrity of the stringer bands. Although fastener types and their spacing differ from job to job, it is generally accepted that joist load-ratio straps feature three fasteners at each joist position, with one located directly below the joist. Ledger strips supporting shelves should have one fastener at each end and one, evenly spaced, for each 25% of the remaining length.
