How to Find Wood Studs
Once you will plan to hang pieces on the wall, add shelves or even attach a flat screen television, you need to make sure that you will be hanging it securely in place.
And in order to do it that then you need to locate the wood studs underneath it. You don’t want to end up with so many holes on your wall.
That is why it is crucial for you to be able to find the wood studs beneath those walls. If you want to know how to do it then you must read on this article and find out.
What you need to have:
- Flashlight
- Measuring tape
- Hammer
- Nail
- Wired hanger
The process
Step #1
The first thing that you need to do is to shine a flashlight at a steep angle against the wall. You need to look at bumps or dimples in the surface. The irregularities are caused by nails securing the surface of the wall to the wood studs. If you can find these bumps then most probably, there will be studs underneath it.
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Step #2
The next thing that you need to do is to examine the baseboard for nails or outlets. The baseboard is the one that will be nailed to the studs as well. Up on the wall, the electrical switches are also generally mounted on the sides of the studs.
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Step #3
You now need to measure 16 inches from the first stud that you find to estimate the next one. Look for the same signs of any stud in that area. You can also rap on the wall and listen for a solid sound instead of a hollow one. If you can’t find any signs of studs within the 16 inches marks, measure 24 inches from the first stud and look again in there.
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Step #4
Once you think that you found a stud, drive a nail into the wall. If the nail will not hit any wood under the plaster then most probably, you didn’t hit any stud. You can use a wire hanger and insert it into the hole.
Twist the anger and maneuver it inside the hole. If you are looking in the right place then you will just slightly be off. The hanger should probably hit the stud as it will help you feel its location.
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Conclusion
Finding a wood stud underneath a wall is not really that hard. You need to do it correctly though in order to prevent any possible damages that might happen to your wall. All you need to do is to master all the steps that have been mentioned and most probably, you will find the wood studs that you are looking for.
