Best way of detecting studs?

[Nigel Watts]

I want to put up a brass picture hanging rail on a stud wall which I have recently lined with paper. Stupidly I forgot to make a note of the position of the studs when I was replastering large parts of the wall, and I dont really want to have to drill lots of exploratory pilot holes to find them. It is important that the rail is attached to the studs becasue of the weight it might have to bear in future.

I have seen ads on the telly for electric gadgets which can detect studs. Are they any good? Can anyone recommend a particular model/brand?

Thanks

 

[MdB]

Can anyone recommend a particular model/brand?

I have a cheap (£15) B&Q combined stud/metal/voltage detector. Doesn't work very well and I do not recommend it.

 

[Flyfisher]

I agree; mine doesn't work very well either.

When I needed to find a ceiling beam to screw our lazy sheila into, I found it easier to tap the ceiling and listen for the hollow sound between the beams. When I though I had found the centre of the beam, I used a spike to push through the ceiling to confirm there was something solid above - i.e. the beam itself.

I would think the same technique should work with a stud wall.

 

[middi]

I would have thougt that if you know where the rail is roughly to be situated there would be no harm in drilling exploratory tiny holes along the centre line of the rail where they cannot be seen.Once you have found one stud you should be able to easy find the position of the adjacent ones.

 

[MdB]

The best way I found of using mine to find studs was to use the metal detection setting to find the nails / screws holding the plasterboard in place. Once you find a line of points where the machine goes beep, you can be fairly sure that you have found a beam.

On the other hand, it didn't find two mains cables that were at the back of a 50mm cavity behind the plaster board. Good job I didn't trust it and made the first hole in the plasterboard carefully by hand to make sure. It also reports finding mains voltage across the entire surface of a couple of walls (both solid and stud) which I don't understand. (no there is no foil lined wall paper or similar) Must be some strange capacitive effect I guess with something conductive in the plaster.

 

[DaveBrigg]

I also have a cheap B & Q device, which narrowed down the likely spot to within 3 inches. Studs are usually evenly spaced, although that doesn't help much if you don't know the distance. In our bathroom they are about 37cm apart, which makes measuring simple if you start at the right end of the wall (not the end with the left-over bit). Making small test holes is not as simple as it sounds, since it is easy to hit a lath - the hole needs to be big enough to at least see which way the grain is running. Alternatively, if it is an upstairs room look in the loft. In ours the tops of the studs are clearly visible, and then it's just a case of careful measuring.

I would advise against entering 'Finding Studs' on a search engine by the way.

 

[Me!]

I have a cheap (£15) B&Q combined stud/metal/voltage detector. Doesn't work very well and I do not recommend it.

Mine came from B&Q, but I think it's actually made by Draper? It's still useless though.

 

[Flyfisher]

Ditto, and ditto.

 

[Gervase]

I bought a Black & Decker one, which was also ditto. I have used Ryobi's wood and metal sensor, however, and was impressed by that. It did work - detecting wood and metal in fairly heavy plaster. It costs around £25 from Screwfix and similar.

 

[Penners]

I bought a Black & Decker one, which was also ditto.

Yup.

It will find studs in a perfect situation - ie a modern dry-lined studwork wall with no complications. But give it a non-standard, ancient timber frame, with lath-and-plaster lining, and it sobs and begs for mercy.

 

[BMcD]

If it's possible/easy to remove (and replace) the skirting board then you will be able to see the bottom of each stud. Failing that try using the metal detector to find the fixings used for the skirting board as I presume they too will be into the studs