How to Locate Wall Studs

A stud is a wooden 2-by-4 or 2-by-6. Studs make up the inside frame of a wall. Heavy shelves or pictures are most secure when mounted to wall studs.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Stud Finders

1. Rap on the wall with your knuckle.

2. Move sideways along the wall, still rapping, and listen for a solid sound. Remember that studs are usually placed 16 or 24 inches apart - but you can't count on this. Studs may be located somewhat randomly, especially in older houses that have been remodeled.

3. If you don't trust your ear, use an electronic stud finder, available at most hardware stores. It beeps or flashes when it passes over wall studs or ceiling joists.

4. Try to locate the center of the stud. (This will be halfway between the edges detected by an electronic stud finder.)

Tips & Warnings

• You don't have to knock hard for this to work.
• Stud finders are not always reliable. Drill a hole or pound in a nail to be sure you've found the stud.

[krilee]

on 2/1/2009 Our house was built in 1906. I'm trying to put a shelf in a closet. I found the first stud, but where the second one should be I drill through the drywall and then hit something that the drill will not penetrate. (We have found this problems elsewhere in the house while hanging pictures, etc.) This closet is adjacent to the fireplace, and the unpenetrable layer seems to extend the rest of the wall and around the corner to the adjacent wall (the one that is back to the fireplace).

The shelf is four feet long. If I fasten the right bracket to the stud, and use anchors for the left bracket, how much weight should it hold?

Or do you have any other suggestions?

Any help would be appreciated.

on 1/25/2006 Wrap a strong magnet in light cloth or paper (so as not to scratch or mar the wall) and lightly rub the wall with it. It should drag when crossing over a nail head, then just pull the magnet straight downward to find the next nail head.

on 11/22/2005 Wrap a strong magnet in light cloth or paper (so as not to scratch or mar the wall) and lightly paint the wall with it. It should drag when crossing over a nail head. Then just pull the magnet straight downward to find the next nail head.

on 11/22/2005 You can't use the nails in baseboards as a reliable guide for finding studs. The base trim is often nailed directly to the bottom plate and not to a stud.

on 11/22/2005 My wall now resembles swiss cheese. Every time the Black and Decker stud finder I bought at Wal-Mart went off, I drilled a hole. So far, I have located one stud in 82" of wall.