Review on Simpson Strong CPT88Z Concealed Posts by Tommy Russo

Starting with all the measurements is almost ridiculous. I use 8" x 10" full vertical bars centered on 7" x 7" plates. The baseplate is 7x7 so the water will drain I think. They work great and the finished beam is beautiful, but they are incredibly difficult to prepare. I started with an 8x10x18 training block to see if my idea would work at all. The vertical plate projects 5 3/4 inches, is 4 1/2 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick. I needed to cut a 6" deep piece into an 8x10 and I don't want a big chunk on the vertical joist, so I first dipped my circular saw to start the cut, which is only 2 1/4" deep, then drilled along a 3 bit 1/16" straight from the bottom 6" deep and 5" above the top. Then I dipped a saw in with a 6" plunge blade to hollow out the panel mounted area. DIFFICULT JOB. Then After marking 3 holes on the joist to drive the pins in, I had to drill the hole "perfect" with a very long 1/2" drill bit and prayed I got it perfectly level and perpendicular to the joists marks on the beam I couldn't as it would try to follow the fiber so I decided not to go all the way through the beam and not make the holes on the exit side in line with the triangular pattern, which I started with, but.. AGAIN NOT AN EASY JOB E! I'm sure there were easier ways to get this job done, like using a 14" saw blade that would cut 6" deep, but I didn't want that large cut to be visible, so didn't drill all the way through The only holes shown were 3 on one side of the beam. Then I connected them.