Garage walls mystery.

[knoxwell]

I hope I don't sound like an idiot but we have just moved to a house in a suburb of St. Louis, MO. Our garage is spotless and has finished walls which almost look too perfect. I cannot see any signs of tape, nails, screws etc. At first I just thought someone did a great job. But, yesterday I was attempting to hang a couple of Dry Dog Food dispensers and cannot for the life of me find a stud anywhere!! Tried using a stud finder... even tried the knock along the wall listening for a sound difference. Nothing! Finally I was so frustrated that I tried using my smallest drill bit and drilled a straight line of holes across the wall for about 3 feet. NOTHING! I am wondering if there is some sort of wall board/insulation that is extremely thick that gets possibly glued onto the studs?? (my wife's idea) I know they have to have used studs to build the garage... but where the heck are they?
Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[kenfain]

Maybe try bending a wire clothes hanger at a 90° angle. Push it through the hole you drilled, and spin it around till you find a stud

 

[mtmgtz]

I hope I don't sound like an idiot but we have just moved to a house in a suburb of St. Louis, MO. Our garage is spotless and has finished walls which almost look too perfect. I cannot see any signs of tape, nails, screws etc. At first I just thought someone did a great job. But, yesterday I was attempting to hang a couple of Dry Dog Food dispensers and cannot for the life of me find a stud anywhere!! Tried using a stud finder... even tried the knock along the wall listening for a sound difference. Nothing! Finally I was so frustrated that I tried using my smallest drill bit and drilled a straight line of holes across the wall for about 3 feet. NOTHING! I am wondering if there is some sort of wall board/insulation that is extremely thick that gets possibly glued onto the studs?? (my wife's idea) I know they have to have used studs to build the garage... but where the heck are they?
Any help would be much appreciated.

You likely have two layers of fire rated drywall on garage walls adjacent to living spaces. Makes it harder to find studs, especially if they put some crappy texture on the wall that your stud finder won't slide well on. If you used a small drill bit it may not have been set deep enough to hit the stud. You may need to drill in 1.5" before you really hit anything if they have two layers of 5/8" Type X drywall. I just use a small diameter nail (make sure it's long enough) to find studs if the stud finder isn't working.

EDIT: Also if you have some small neodymium magnets, you may be able to slide those around until you find a nail or screw head.

 

[AnEv942]

X2
Yes-easy to miss unless drilled holes were really close.

 

[bullnerd]

Don't hit a water pipe or electrical wiring with your drill.

That's all I got!

 

[KariFS]

Could the studs be (for some weird reason) be installed horizontally? Maybe drill some holes in vertical line to find out?

Anyway, there are a lot of fasteners for drywall that will hold rather heavy things, like the metal ones that expand in the other side when you tighten the screw. With these you don't need a stud. Although I've never seen a dry dog food dispenser My puppu eats raw meat & bone only, she's a bit allergig to some ingredients in dry food.

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

If it was a home owner DIY job, the studs might be run horizontal....

 

[readhead]

Pull a cover off an electric box and see what the construction is. The box has to be nailed to something.

 

[knoxwell]

Holy ****. Now I really feel stupid. Mystery solved. I removed the outlet plate as suggested and found out that indeed there is 2 inches of insulation until I can get to a stud. Problem solved and dog food dispensers are installed.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

 

[Kevin54]

Holy ****. Now I really feel stupid. Mystery solved. I removed the outlet plate as suggested and found out that indeed there is 2 inches of insulation until I can get to a stud. Problem solved and dog food dispensers are installed.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

Welcome to Garage Journal That's what this site is all about....helping each other out

 

[NUTTSGT]

Welcome to Garage Journal That's what this site is all about....helping each other out

Keving is exactly right.

I'd be curious to see those dry dog food dispensers. There was talk of mounting something similar to those in one of our engines for oil dry.

 

[Voi]

Keving is exactly right.

I'd be curious to see those dry dog food dispensers. There was talk of mounting something similar to those in one of our engines for oil dry.

We have one from Cabela's that we're happy with.

http://reviews.cabelas.com/8815/660...views/reviews.htm?sort=submissionTime&dir=asc

Our current one has a crack but is still holding food. I may pick up a second one and designate our current one for driveway salt.

 

[Voi]

I removed the outlet plate as suggested and found out that indeed there is 2 inches of insulation until I can get to a stud.

You mean like rigid insulation board foam? Is there some sort of synthetic stucco finish over it?