Tools and Materials
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Why You Should Find Studs
What’s a Wall Stud?
Studs are boards that function as framing elements in your home, supporting the walls.
What's the Distance Between the Studs?
They’re always spaced either 16 or 24 inches on center (measured from center to center) along the wall and run between the floor and ceiling. Drywall or lath (for plaster walls) attaches to the edge of the studs.
Many fasteners and hangers used to hang heavy objects, such as large pictures, mirrors, shelves and television mounting systems, need to be anchored in studs because the wall alone isn’t strong enough to support the weight. Studs hold these fasteners better, preventing them from pulling out under the weight of the object. The center of a stud provides the best support for the fasteners.
Some homes have steel studs, which require specialty fasteners such as toggle bolts to support heavy items. If you think your home might have steel studs, you can check by running a magnet along a wall. While nails and screws in wood studs will attract a magnet, steel studs will have a stronger attraction along the entire height of the stud. An electronic wall stud finder can also detect metal in a wall.
How to Find a Stud in the Wall
How Do You Find a Stud with Drywall?
You can find studs with an electronic stud finder, or you can try to find them manually. If your walls are drywall, a stud finder locates studs quickly and accurately.
How to Find Studs in the Plaster Wall?
An electronic stud finder is less effective on lath/plaster walls, but some have a metal-scanning feature that may locate the nails securing the lath to the studs. Several of the manual methods below are helpful if you have lath/plaster walls.
Make Sure They're Studs
Whatever method you use for locating studs, make sure you find studs rather than other objects such as pipes or conduit. When you suspect you’ve found a stud, locate multiple points on it to confirm that it runs vertically. Locate several studs and measure between them to confirm they have typical wall stud spacing of 16 or 24 inches. If you get a different measurement, you’ve likely located something other than a stud.
Items such as ducts, electrical wires and water pipes may be in the walls in your work area. Be careful when installing fasteners.
Run strips of painters tape along the length of a wall to simplify marking multiple stud locations.
