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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Tapping by sound and feel works well, especially on drywall, but a stud finder (magnetic, center-finding, or one with wire/pipe detection or a level) can also help locate studs, and older plaster-and-lath homes need extra clues. The video contrasts sound-and-feel tapping on modern drywall with methods suited to plaster-and-lath walls, such as using trim nail marks or electrical boxes.
Key Points
- Tapping the wall and listening for a change from a hollow, low pitch to a higher pitch can indicate a stud on drywall, though the presenter notes this is harder on plaster and lath.
- In older plaster-and-lath walls, baseboard, trim, crown molding, or chair rail nail holes often show where the trim carpenter aimed for a stud.
- Electrical boxes are often nailed to a stud, so checking beside an outlet can locate one, after turning off the circuit and removing the wall plate.
- Magnetic stud finders work by grabbing drywall screws, so you need to run the magnet up and down close together so you don't pass between two screws.
- Some stud finders also detect electrical wires or pipes, which matters because you may want to avoid hitting them.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- To check for a stud by sound, tap the wall where you want to hang something and listen for the pitch to shift from low and hollow to higher.
- In a plaster-and-lath house, look for nail holes in the baseboard, trim, crown molding, or chair rail, then drill a small bit close to the molding through the wall. If you hit structure, you have found a stud; if you hit nothing, you missed it.
- To use an outlet, turn off the circuit, remove the wall plate, and tap a screwdriver beside the electrical box to find the nailed side.
- Once one stud is located, measure with a tape measure: studs are usually 16 inches on center in older houses and 24 inches on center in many newer ones.
- With a magnetic stud finder, drag it slowly across the wall, running up and down close together, until it grabs a screw.
- With a finder that shows the stud center, press the button, drag it slowly across the wall, and mark the center where the display shows it.
- Stud finders with a built-in level can help you line up the tool and show the stud thickness, which the presenter notes corresponds to a small two-by-four.
- Drywall is typically found in homes built from the late 1960s and 1970s onward, while plaster and lath appears in homes from the mid-to-late 1800s.
Bottom Line
Sound and feel works for modern drywall, but for older plaster walls, rely on trim nail holes, outlet boxes, or a stud finder to locate studs; some stud finders also detect wires and pipes, which is useful to avoid them.
