Tag: connectors

Expanding Our Outdoor Accents® Decorative Hardware

It started with a simple question: How can we bring our commitment to building safe, strong structures to the our customers’ outdoor spaces? From that idea our Outdoor Accents® decorative hardware solution was born.

Outdoor Accents brings both elegance and structural strength to any project you might dream up for your backyard. We offer two distinct decorative hardware lines to fit the aesthetic of your outdoor living structure. Our Mission Collection® features connectors that add a hint of Southwestern flair, while our Avant Collection™ features connectors with straight edges and chamfered corners for a clean and timeless contemporary design.   Continue reading “Expanding Our Outdoor Accents® Decorative Hardware”

The Simpson Strong-Tie 12 Days of Ornaments 

At the Simpson Strong-Tie branch in McKinney, Texas, Inside Sales Supervisor Rebecca Heckel shares a longstanding tradition of an Ornament Decorating contest that takes place every year. This year was no exception.  

We’re not sure how far back the McKinney Branch Ornament Decorating contest goes — definitely as far back as 2008. We have pictures from ’08 that document the ingenuity and creativity of our Simpson Strong-Tie employees. The year 2021 upheld the tradition.  Continue reading “The Simpson Strong-Tie 12 Days of Ornaments “

DIY: How to Build a Rustic Bar

If you’re looking for a showstopping wood creation that you can also use for serving guests, look no further. This rustic bar is a fantastic  entertainment hub for any backyard . With its wide counters and built-in shelves, you can stay fully stocked for any occasion.     Continue reading “DIY: How to Build a Rustic Bar”

DIY: How to Build an Outdoor Accents® Arbor

Adorned by luscious vines, a garden arbor can add shade and style to any backyard garden. This latticed arbor helps nurture your climbing plants by giving them room to grow high where there’s plenty of sunlight and oxygen for the intake. Continue reading “DIY: How to Build an Outdoor Accents® Arbor”

Connecting Through Art: The Dinosaurs of Simpson Strong-Tie

One of the first things you notice when you visit our home office in Pleasanton, CA, is the art. Our late founder, Barclay Simpson, had a great appreciation for art. It’s one of the many legacies he left us. From the eight-foot metal sculpture of Michelangelo’s David — made completely from Simpson Strong-Tie products — that greets you at the main entrance, to the one-of-a-kind paintings, prints and sculptures scattered throughout the building, it’s quickly apparent that ours is not just another suburban office building.
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Simpson Strong-Tie Connectors and Fasteners Make the Strongest Partners

Parts, however solid and sturdy they are, won’t hold themselves up. They have to be fastened in place. That’s why we offer a complete line of fasteners that are designed and tested specifically for use with our connectors. However, not every fastener can be used with every connector. Here’s how to identify the right fastener-connector combination for your next project.
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Staying Put, Riding Out the Storm and Surviving the Odds by Sheltering in Place

Disaster strikes. It’s inevitable, given enough time. Regardless of where you live, there are natural disasters waiting to happen, be they earthquakes, floods, tornadoes or hurricanes.  Meteorologists and emergency service providers can often provide advance notice of weather-related disasters like hurricanes, but seismic events, tornadoes and flash floods can often occur with little or no warning.

In the wake of recent catastrophic events such as Superstorm Sandy (233 deaths, $75 billion in damages), the 2011 Joplin tornado (158 deaths, $2.8 billion in damages), and Hurricane Katrina (1,245 deaths, $108 billion in damages), emergency management experts are increasingly evaluating the benefits of sheltering in place as opposed to evacuation. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), sheltering in place is generally advisable when it may be dangerous to leave your home or place of employment.
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How to Build a Candle Wall Sconce Using Pipe Grip Ties

Are you seeking an affordable, atmospheric lighting solution for your home? Elisha Albertsen from Pneumatic Addict teamed up with Simpson Strong-Tie to show you an easy way to build a DIY tealight candle wall sconce.

Inspiration can come from odd places. It may sound like an exaggeration, but I honestly get project ideas every single time I go to Home Depot. I’ve used hardware in some unique ways before, like turning an industrial light bulb cage into a Modern Tiki Torch.

Recently, I was walking past the Simpson Strong-Tie bay and spotted boxes of the PGT Pipe Grip Tie® connectors. These are normally used to secure metal fence pipes, but I thought of something a little more unorthodox. If PGT connectors can be used to hold cylindrical pipes, why couldn’t they hold round vases?
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Simpson Strong-Tie Renews Partnership with Habitat for Humanity to Help Build More Disaster-Resilient Homes

Simpson Strong-Tie is renewing its partnership with Habitat for Humanity to continue supporting the housing organization’s efforts to make homes resilient to disasters. This is the 12th consecutive year of the partnership to help more families in need of a decent and affordable place to call home. To date, the manufacturer of structural product solutions has contributed more than $2.75 million toward Habitat’s mission.
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How to Build a DIY Garage Storage Wall System

Is your garage workshop starting to feel a little cluttered? Elisha Albretsen from Pneumatic Addict has teamed up with Simpson Strong-Tie to bring you an easy DIY garage storage wall system.

I love my garage. I love having a space where I can get creative and build things. Organizing said garage is a different matter. Until lately, I’ve had virtually no storage space for my tools. Everything was piled up in boxes or on the floor.

Continue reading “How to Build a DIY Garage Storage Wall System”