can ATOT recommend a stud finder for me?

[nageov3t]

any ATOT handymen around?

I have a couple heavy pictures that I need hung, but I'll be damned if I can find a stud in my walls.

I bought a $10 magnetic stud finder on Amazon, but according to that, I have exactly one stud throughout my entire house, which seems unlikely.

 

[Nintendesert]

The homoeroticism in this thread is strong.

 

[MotionMan]

Ask my wife. She apparently had no problem finding one.



MotionMan

 

[lxskllr]

You must have a tough life :^D

Did you try just tapping the walls, and listening?

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Ask my wife. She apparently had no problem finding one.



MotionMan

Beat me to it!

 

[Ichinisan]

any ATOT handymen around?

I have a couple heavy pictures that I need hung, but I'll be damned if I can find a stud in my walls.

I bought a $10 magnetic stud finder on Amazon, but according to that, I have exactly one stud throughout my entire house, which seems unlikely.

Use Google instead of Amazon.

Google: Studs

 

[BrokenVisage]

 

[lxskllr]

I remember you're in an old house? Maybe you don't have studs at all. Are the walls plaster, or drywall?

 

[nageov3t]

I remember you're in an old house? Maybe you don't have studs at all. Are the walls plaster, or drywall?

90% certain that they're plaster.

I'm pretty sure my house was built before the invention of the hanger because all the closets are so screwy.

 

[Miramonti]

Ask my wife. She apparently had no problem finding one.



MotionMan

While we're at it, we'll have to ask her how she found such a humble stud-finder as well.

 

[lxskllr]

90% certain that they're plaster.

I'm pretty sure my house was built before the invention of the hanger because all the closets are so screwy.

You won't have much in the way of studs then. I don't know all the internals of a plaster wall, but it mainly consists of long horizontal lathes closely spaced together. You'd want to put a long screw through the lath, or maybe an anchor between them. The problem is if the item is very heavy, you can get stress cracks in the plaster.

 

[mmntech]

Here you go.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=45331

 

[Red Squirrel]

The wood lathes have to be held by something... pretty sure there are still studs. Though they may not use the standard 16" spacing.

Also the lathes are probably throwing off the stud finder. Does it have a setting for wall thickness? Try setting it to the thicker setting.

 

[hans007]

Friend of mine who is straight lived in the Castro district in SF. He went to the hardware store there to buy one and realized the irony. He did find his studs

 

[0roo0roo]

magnetic? you mean it can only find a stud if it finds a dry wall screw?

pretty sure even cheap ones at the hardware store go by density
http://www.zircon.com/support/faq_04.html
9-20 bucks

 

[OVerLoRDI]

I thought this thread was about dating advice.

 

[Broheim]

I thought this thread was about dating advice.

honest to god that was what I thought when I saw who the OP is...

 

[T_Yamamoto]

this thread delivers

 

[dougp]

any ATOT handymen around?

I have a couple heavy pictures that I need hung, but I'll be damned if I can find a stud in my walls.

I bought a $10 magnetic stud finder on Amazon, but according to that, I have exactly one stud throughout my entire house, which seems unlikely.

Broke your gay-dar, loki? I thought stud-finding was innate.

j/k - On a more serious note, I've found the cheaper stud finder's to be a bit .... lacking. I feel like I'm trying to perform some weird solstice sacrifice in order to actually find a stud in the wall. Have you looked into just using anchors? How heavy are the pictures?

 

[shortylickens]

Go with floor standing art. Its better cuz you can move it around easily and dont have to make holes in the wall.

 

[rudder]

Ask my wife. She apparently had no problem finding one.



MotionMan

And please tell her to stop bugging me... I go to the bar to drink.. not to pick up women.

 

[Zargon]

I remember you're in an old house? Maybe you don't have studs at all. Are the walls plaster, or drywall?

You won't have much in the way of studs then. I don't know all the internals of a plaster wall, but it mainly consists of long horizontal lathes closely spaced together. You'd want to put a long screw through the lath, or maybe an anchor between them. The problem is if the item is very heavy, you can get stress cracks in the plaster.

unless its a mudshack it has studs

The wood lathes have to be held by something... pretty sure there are still studs. Though they may not use the standard 16" spacing.

Also the lathes are probably throwing off the stud finder. Does it have a setting for wall thickness? Try setting it to the thicker setting.

spacing is probably quite random at times.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?117914-Please-help-find-studs-in-plaster-walls


get a better metal detecting one I guess

 

[waffleironhead]

I'd get the zircon i520. Its around 50 bucks but it does deep scans, finds metal, electrical, and does center and edge detect.

I've never had mine fail me. Saved me from piercing a bit of electrical wire as well.

 

[lxskllr]

unless its a mudshack it has studs



spacing is probably quite random at times.

Random, and wide enough to be worthless for hanging stuff.

 

[corwin]

I'd get the zircon i520. Its around 50 bucks but it does deep scans, finds metal, electrical, and does center and edge detect.

I've never had mine fail me. Saved me from piercing a bit of electrical wire as well.

I second this one, a friend of mine had one and after borrowing it I went out and bought my own, it'll do anything you ever need one to do...