Also FWIW, "joist hanger nails" are a special kind of nail that is much shorter than most people might expect. Joist hanger nails (lots of them, typically 10 r

Also FWIW, "joist hanger nails" are a special kind of nail that is much shorter than most people might expect. Joist hanger nails (lots of them, typically 10 required per 2x6 hanger) are the correct way to attach a porch to a house. There is usually a ledger board that is lag screwed or bolted to the house frame, and then joists (nailed in hangers) are extended out to a beam supported by posts. A collapsed porch is a big deal, clearly. I don't think there's any skepticism of your story, just the ordinary "OK, but" that we often do because it wasn't clear whether you had correctly identified the construction error that caused the failure. Not your job of course -- hopefully the contractor has remedied their bad work. Also glad everyone is OK!