Recently, I have seen builders using a product called "LedgerLok" fasteners to secure decks at the ledger board.

Where before the common practice was to use 1/2 inch lag bolts, now it is not all that unusual to see these screws in place.

Since I was ingorant about their installation, I called the manufacturer and talked to one of their techs to find out exactly how they should be installed to fulfill the manufacturer's claim that they are "Stronger than 1/2 inch lag bolts."

We did a rough approximation of a live load calculation and erred on the side of caution and safety (he must have known I'm a safety nut).  Turns out that just a few of these fasteners do quite a job!

It takes 2 fasteners per joist bay (the area between each set of joists) no further than 6 inches apart, and preferably with one high and one lower (called a "one-up, one-down" pattern).  They are very specfic to say that the fasteners must be at least 2 inches (or more) from the edges of the board, and that NO hot tubs, heavy planters, etc are accounted for in this calculation.

One issue you may encounter:  seems their advertising is a bit misleading.  Their claim to be stronger than the lag bolts leads some builders to believe that they can install just one faster per joist bay.  this is WAY too few to provide adequate support.

Thought I'd share since these seem to be catching on and the info may be able to save some headaches!