how to find studs without a stud detector

5 Means to Find a Wall Stud Without Using a Stud Finder

Need to locate a wall stud, but don't desire to buy still some other gadget? Larn how to use magnets, baseboards, and even smartphones to guide your way.

istockphoto.com

Nosotros've all been there, right? "Oh, I just demand to discover a stud to hang this picture." And 15 holes afterwards, you're convinced the wall is held up by pixie dust and a wish, because apparently there'due south no wood backside it.

A stud finder is i way to locate the framing hidden behind the drywall, simply that does you little good if you lot don't happen to have one in your arsenal of tools. Stud finders can also be frustrating to use, often failing to discover anything or delivering simulated positives.

RELATED: seven Everyday Objects You lot Never Thought to Hang

Whether yous don't have a stud finder on hand or but don't trust the things, there are several effective alternatives to locating a stud without one of these tools.

What are studs, anyway?

• Wall studs be to concord upwards drywall on interior walls and forest capsule on exterior walls. This means you lot will always find a stud, header, or footer on the top, bottom, or corners of walls.
• You may be asking, "How far apart are studs?" The altitude between studs varies slightly depending on the age of the home. Standard stud spacing is 16 inches on center and is rarely greater than 24 inches, even on center in older houses.
• Most electrical boxes for switches or outlets are attached to a stud on one side.
• There are studs on either side of a window.
• Most trim (crown molding, baseboard, and shoe molding) is nailed on the stud.
• The actual lumber dimensions of ii×four studs are one½ inches past three½ inches.
• Studs are made of either metal or wood. Wood studs are found in the framing of most residential homes. Virtually commercial and industrial buildings are made with metallic studs. However, metal studs are becoming more prevalent in homes.

Kit Stansley

With these points in mind, read on to acquire multiple strategies for how to find a wall stud.

i. Look at the trim for where it has been nailed to a stud.

Since the baseboard is attached to the studs, inspect the baseboard and try to determine where it has been nailed. These holes, chosen dimples, are usually filled with caulk and then painted, but you lot may be able to spot one to identify the whereabouts of a stud. If you lot find a dimple, mensurate in xvi-inch increments to locate studs to each side of it.

istockphoto.com

2. Locate the switches and outlets, which bespeak a stud.

If baseboards don't offer any clues to the stud'south whereabouts, look for a light switch or electrical outlet. At to the lowest degree one side of an electric box must exist mounted to a stud. To determine which side of the box the stud is on, use the "knock exam" by rapping on either side of the switch or outlet. The side that returns a solid, versus hollow, sound is the stud side. Side by side, measure about ¾ inch away from the outlet on the stud side and utilise that as a starting point to determine the 16-inch intervals of stud spacing.

3. Mensurate 16 inches from the corner.

With studs generally xvi inches on center, you can also do calculations past measuring from a corner of the room. Now, all rooms aren't built in numbers divisible by sixteen, so you are likely to have a stud that is less than xvi inches from ane corner.

Effort the "knock exam" near the corner to run into if y'all can decide where the shorter stud spacing might have been added. A hollow sound when you knock indicates that there'due south cypher backside the drywall, while a more solid audio would advise that there's framework at that place to screw into.

This only really works if you're measuring a corner of the exterior of the house. But it's worth a shot before you go crazy with the test holes, wondering how far autonomously the  studs are in your walls.

istockphoto.com

iv. Use a magnet to locate metal fasteners.

One of the easiest ways to detect a stud is to use a magnet. While the magnet won't help detecting the wood stud itself, it volition assist you locate the metallic screws used to attach the drywall to the studs.

You lot tin can't simply apply any ordinary magnet off the fridge, though. Since the screw heads will probable be covered by spackle, you'll need a strong neodymium magnet, which is the strongest commercially bachelor magnet you tin can purchase.

Move the magnet slowly around the wall's surface until you lot feel it pull to one of the screws. If you apply the right magnet, it should exist potent enough to stick to the surface of the wall at the location of the screw head, making it easy to marking the stud'south location with a pencil.

5. Refer to photos taken during previous renovations.

If you had your home built (or you've ever gut renovated it), yous may take taken photos of the house at different stages of its construction, including when it was downwards to the studs, with no drywall. If that's the case, you tin can utilise these photos to give you at least a general idea of where studs are located.

Using the pictures, notation where the studs are in relation to features that are currently visible in the room–corners, doorways, electrical outlets, and light switches. Going frontwards, it's always a good idea to take enough of pictures any time your abode is undergoing a renovation that involves exposing the framing.

If all else fails, use a stud finder.

There'southward no shame in keeping a pocket-sized stud detector in your toolbox, really, and y'all're bound to find more than uses for it than just to hang one heavy frame. Floating shelves, bathroom mirrors, flat-screen TVs tin can all benefit from the secure concord of a stud. Our researched guide to the best stud finders on the market and this primer on how to employ a stud finder are terrific resource nigh selecting and using this tool.

istockphoto.com

Terminal Thoughts

Agreement the beefcake of a wall tin help you lot use one of the in a higher place techniques to locate a stud, and potentially eliminate the demand to purchase notwithstanding another tool. These techniques are also helpful backups for DIYers who exercise own a stud finder, but want to check the accurateness of the stud finder'south readings before making a hole in the wall.

Whichever strategy y'all use, keep with circumspection when drilling holes in your walls. Interior walls contain wiring, plumbing lines, and gas pipes that can crusade personal injury or damage to your dwelling if you happen to hit them with a drill chip. You should be reasonably confident of a stud's location before gearing up your drill.

FAQs About Finding Wall Studs

Though the five techniques described in a higher place will assist you place the location of a wall stud, they aren't the only ways to exercise and then. Ahead, learn how your smartphone and stud spacing can make it easier to locate wall studs.

Q: Can I apply my phone as a stud finder?

Yes. At that place are many free and paid smartphone apps that function as stud finders. These apps use the phone'due south internal magnetometer to notice the strength of the magnetic field. While these apps won't detect the stud itself, they tin can detect the screws belongings the drywall to the stud.

Q: How far apart are studs in a wall?

Nigh wall studs are spaced xvi inches apart on eye; however, they tin can also be spaced at 24 inches. That said, spacing isn't always verbal. Studs tin can bow and twist up to one inch in either direction as a home settles.

istockphoto.com

Q: How deep are studs behind drywall?

Drywall is attached flush to the studs, so the stud's depth depends on the thickness of the drywall. The most mutual drywall for interior walls is ane/ii-inch thick. You may also encounter thicker v/8-inch drywall, which is sometimes used for ceilings or with rooms that require soundproofing.

Source: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-find-a-wall-stud/

Posted by: lambertanable.blogspot.com

Share this post