Studs are easy to find...if you know how!
There are times when you must find the location of studs behind stucco walls. Whether you are hanging a heavy mirror or a fragile work of art--you must have the added support of installing your mounting hardware into wood and not just wallboard. You can choose from many ways of finding the studs even though they are covered and hidden by drywall or gypsum wallboard.
Instructions
Thump the wall and find the stud
1. Hit the wall softly with the fleshy part of your fist. A hollow sound means keep hitting, moving your fist sideways a few inches each time until you hear a definite change in the resounding thump. A higher pitch, a less resonant and sharper sound indicates you've found your stud.
Measure 16 or 26 inches and thump again. After you've found your first stud, any more studs are even easier to find because they will be will be spaced either 16 or 24 inches apart. Using a stethoscope is really foolproof, so if you have one handy, use it. Mark these areas with a soft pencil so you'll know where to install your hanger hardware
2. Examine the baseboards. Quality carpenters and painters do not attach baseboards directly to wall boards--they affix them to the studs underneath with finishing nails. Look for evidence of where these nails are, and there you will find the studs.
Use a small magnet or compass to help find the nails, because these same quality finishers do not leave unsightly nail holes behind for you to find. They are filled in with finishing putty for an invisible finish. Run the magnet gently and slowly along the baseboard until you feel the resistance of the nails or see the compass needle react. Of course, this will only work with wooden or plastic baseboards, not metal.
3. Use a stud finder. Stud finders are either magnetic or electronic. Electronic stud finders give digital readings that indicate when there is contact with metal. A magnetic stud finder is no more than an ordinary magnetic compass that's held up to the wall and moved slowly and randomly over the wall surface. When the stud finder comes near any metal object, such as nails or screws, the needle reacts and points to it. The disadvantage with these methods is that the finder has to come within an inch of the metal before the needle reacts or the digital reading registers.
4. Remove the cover plate of the outlet box or light switch on the wall and you can see the actual stud. Electrical outlets and light switches are always mounted on either side of a stud.
Drill a small hole. As the last resort, if, after using one or more of the above methods, you still aren't sure--go ahead and drill a hole or hammer in a small brad.
Insert a wire and probe on either side of the hole to find the stud. What do you do about the small hole in the wall? Don't worry about it-- it won't show. Whatever you're going to hang there will cover it.
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