Tips on how to locate studs in walls

[Wayne Jolly]

Have you used it? I saw the ads and wanted one bad; but the reviews pretty much all say it is junk.

I have not used it for a "real" job yet, but I have played with it a little. I have a wall where the studs are already marked, and the Walabot agreed with all of them. It also found something that I didn't know was there. It found an electrical cable that runs up the wall to the room above it. I thought that was kinda kool.

Wayne

[Martin Wasner]

...and hope you don't find romex first.

Most of the time. No outlet, no wire.

No tickee, no laundry.

But thanks for that. Next time I do it, you've damned me to crapping in Sparky's lunch bucket.

[Wayne Jolly]

...and hope you don't find romex first.

I learned my lesson about this one. Many years ago I was drilling a hole through the ceiling in a bedroom into the attic and hit the 220V power line to the kitchen a room away. I didn't know that many sparks would be generated before the circuit breaker flipped. Holy Excrement Batman! I think most of the sparks came from the melted spade bit I was using. That was an expensive mistake, but I was lucky in that the house was still standing. It would have been very easy for those sparks to have set something on fire, but I think the only things that got burned that day was my hair and my ego.

Wayne

[lowell holmes]

I have a Zircon stud finder. IIRC, I bought it a Lowes or Home depot.

[Bill Adamsen]

Two tricks and an old standby.

Stick Trim Nail
For sheetrock, an inch and three-quarter 18 gauge trim nail (1/64" dia.) can be driven through rock leaving virtually no trace. I just cut them off a stick of trim nails. I used to use regular 3d or 4d trim nails ... but the stick nails are much thinner and less destructive. The 4d finish nails are 5/64" diameter which is just 5X the diameter of an 18ga stick trim nail ... but about 25X the frontal surface area. So significantly harder to drive through sheetrock and with the additional force, much more destructive.

Flashlight
Wherever I work (besides my shop) always seems darker than I'd prefer. Advantage is that a flashlight shown upwards against the wall quickly shows screw heads almost no matter how good the taping job. Of course, as others have pointed out ... nothing says that screw was centered on the stud or that the stud is indeed plumb, or that the drywaller put screws or nails into every stud.

Studfinder
I recently read a review of stud finders and decided to buy one for a job. The one I purchased was a Welquic 3-in-1 unit (same unit sold under many brands) on a "lightning deal" at Amazon. It cost $8 (no battery) and it works pretty well. The instructions were too small to read. While I wouldn't use it to install trim, it helps avoid surprises. But it can also be frustratingly inconsistent reducing one's confidence.

[lowell holmes]

https://www.homedepot.com/s/stud%2520finder?NCNI-5

Just pick out one of these and quit worrying about it. I have the Zircon and it works great on sheet rock walls.

[Tim Einwalter]

I use a Precision Sensors stud finder. Unit works great, finds the stud the first time and you don't need to keep swinging it while you are trying to find the studs center. I especially like it for drywall and trim work. I'll hold the sensor in my left hand and the nail or screw gun in my right. Find the stud, set the fastener. Just that fast. I don't even bother to mark the wall.