Help me understand what's going on with my studs

[junglebadger]

This is the back wall of the garage on ground floor of new construction townhome bought last year. On the other side of this wall is a bathroom and closet. I have some simple metal shelves that I'd like to hang here for storage along the line I've marked, but can't make heads or tails of the stud placement here.

Stud finder seems to confirm that there is a stud on the left side of the outlet, but then they're irregular from there on. Since I can see the spots where the drywall screws are located underneath the mudding, I've also tried measuring the space between each set of screws (assuming those panels are screwed directly into the studs) and those are also irregular. Even more confusing to me is that the line of screws above the stud are oriented as if they're screwed into a stud on the right side of the outlet, which my stud finder does not pick up. You can see I've drilled some holes here and there, but I'm not trusting my ability to feel the difference between stud and space with the small bit I used, I may go back with a larger one once I get desperate.

Thoughts?

 

[The Cobbler]

it is common for boxes to be on the RH side of studs . can't explain why your studs are irregular, I would poke something in the drywall, but you have a good reference with he mud lines

 

[ace10]

If that's a wet wall (connected to bath) please stop drilling holes, immediately.

This type of sensor will probably give you a much clearer "picture" of what the framing looks like, if you're not familiar with what's behind the drywall.

PROSENSOR 710 - Franklin Sensors

https://franklinsensors.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/591A0440-Edit-1-scaled.jpg

franklinsensors.com

 

[acer66]

Best stud or more screw/nail finder I ever had is a hard drive magnet.

 

[MerlinsBeard]

Get a magnet and find the drywall screws. Usually studs are 16” apart. Use 1 3/4” painters tape pieces and plot it out. You should be able to measure roughly 16” between your painters tape pieces.

Really sloppy work if your studs are not 16” (or 24”) spaced. A lot of shelves expect bracket spacing at 16” or 24” divisible lengths, e.g. 48”, 72”, 96”.

I would stop drilling holes till you get a better feel for you stud locations.

You can mount framing to drywall and your shelf to the framing if you really have uneven framing, but that’s kind of unsightly. I wanted to put up 2 8’ shelves, but I have one spot in my garage with uneven framing that prevented me from putting up an 8’ shelf and had to settle for 4’. It worked out since I needed a space for a ladder.

You can also use your finger knuckles to get a rough sense whether your stud sensor is lying. I actually use two different stud sensors. One seems to find the edge really well, and another I use to double check plus the AC feature.

I’m more on the side of measure 10 times, cut once. Speed is not my forte. Good luck.

 

[brownbagg]

it depends if the electrician was right handed or left handed, think about it, swinging a hammer to nail the box

 

[nadogail]

Because the studs will be covered by Drywall, installed by others, perhaps your framer didn’t give a hoot. Or maybe he was not drunk that day and was trying to work through a “hangover “

 

[rayra]

Trust your studfinder and mount your shelving supports wherever the studs actually are, regardless of where you think they OUGHT to be. Framing is supposed to typically be 16" centers. In some areas they get away with 24" and if the wall run is not equally divisible by those values, a last stud might split the difference, at either end of the span. There's no logic to it, no rules, and what the inspector doesn't see isn't wrong. So just decouple you \r mind from chasing stuff that doesn't matter and get your shelves hung up.

 

[ybnormal]

like merlinsbeard said, stop using a drill. I use the skinny finish nails. and while spacing is usually at 16 or 24, I have found it at those measurements while also at other measurements in the same wall. for some reason, they put in extra framing

 

[Meursault74]

Best stud or more screw/nail finder I ever had is a hard drive magnet.

Same principle. I have one of these.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IKK0OI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Uncle murph]

This is the back wall of the garage on ground floor of new construction townhome bought last year. On the other side of this wall is a bathroom and closet. I have some simple metal shelves that I'd like to hang here for storage along the line I've marked, but can't make heads or tails of the stud placement here.

Stud finder seems to confirm that there is a stud on the left side of the outlet, but then they're irregular from there on. Since I can see the spots where the drywall screws are located underneath the mudding, I've also tried measuring the space between each set of screws (assuming those panels are screwed directly into the studs) and those are also irregular. Even more confusing to me is that the line of screws above the stud are oriented as if they're screwed into a stud on the right side of the outlet, which my stud finder does not pick up. You can see I've drilled some holes here and there, but I'm not trusting my ability to feel the difference between stud and space with the small bit I used, I may go back with a larger one once I get desperate.

Thoughts?

You’re overthinking this big time!Locate the studs,fix the holes you made,hang the shelves and go on to the next thing.If the worst thing you find is some irregular stud spacing,consider yourself lucky.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Trust your tools. If your stud finder is telling you where the studs are, hang your shelves where the studs are...not where you think they should be. You've got mud lines as a pretty solid reference point. Yet you're poking holes in your drywall looking for studs?

 

[jade97]

If the toilet vent stack is in that wall, it could be showing up as a stud to your stud finder.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Stud spacing is not a perfect rule, they are mostly convienient/efficient because of the 4'x8' sizes of sheet goods. 16" and 24" are the most popular spacings (19.2" also works out for sheet sizes). Structurally these are maximums (no problem adding more).
In reality things like doors, windors, intersecting walls, plumbing come into play and studs don't end up where expected.

 

[The Cobbler]

I think this one is... well, I'll shut up... it's clear as heck where the studs are by looking at the mud. that , plus OP has just signed up, and not logged back in since the post was made leads me to wonder...

 

[never enuf time]

Studs do get moved by the mechanical trades if needed. That would change the layout. Also the house section would be built first, garage built to that allowing for layout to be changed again.

Drywallers will also screw blocking at the end of a sheet if the layout is off.