I need a stud finder.

[bad_idea]

I have the Zircon i65 and it is junk. Typically it has a 70% accuracy but tonight it was 0% accuracy. I have 12 holes in my wall to prove it. All 2 holes didn't hit a stud. So needless to say, I am in the market for a new stud finder. Anyone know a good one? An accurate way to finder the center of the studs without one? Thanks.

 

[reedwesd]

I have one of these Hanson stud finders and it is by far the best and definitely the cheapest. I is very simple so nothing to go wrong with it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IKK0OI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[bad_idea]

I have never used a magnetic one before. Do you randomly run it up, down, and around until you get lucky? How close do you have to get to a screw head for it to grab a hold of it? If cheaper is better, then I am definitely on board with that!

 

[pearltsi]

http://www.zircon.com/discontinued/scanning_ms_i700.html

but its discontinued..

 

[trboxman]

maybe your battery is low??

 

[RobertMo1988]

you found me, what is the problem?

 

[Mmfh]

I've had really bad luck with stud finders. I usually just tap on the wall and carefully listen for the changes in the sound. If you are very careful you can usually do alright.

Mm

 

[d33pt]

my studfinders don't work for **** on my lathe and plaster walls either. i've been meaning to look for something better. tapping doesn't work so well either for plaster.

 

[Mike F]

I am looking for one as well. Came across this one, which seems to get good reviews though it is not cheap.http://www.franklinsensors.com/index.php I would love to know if anyone has feedback on it.

 

[71flh]

I have a Zircon e40 and it takes some practice to use. Maybe I should have read the instructions
It seems to want to find the edge of studs and I make several passes in each direction and mark with a pencil til I'm confident of the edges.

You need to be able to get close with no tool and have an idea of, or be able to picture where studs are in a wall and not blindly trust a gadget.

Things are typically on 16" or 24" centers. Find a switch or outlet and you've found a stud on one side. Now you can use a tape measure to tell you where others on that wall are.

Thump the wall as previously mentioned and the solid vs hollow sound will tell you.

Plaster and lath is another ballgame as mentioned above.

 

[Bryanthegreat]

The Black and Decker Bullseye is the tool of choice for me

 

[RKA]

I am looking for one as well. Came across this one, which seems to get good reviews though it is not cheap.http://www.franklinsensors.com/index.php I would love to know if anyone has feedback on it.

I've tried a bunch of others, and just got this one last week. It's the holy grail as far as I'm concerned. I grew tired of tapping on the wall, using magnets (which won't tell you if the screw missed a stud), and multiple passes along the wall in two directions with conventional finders looking for "patterns" and finally drilling 1/16 pilot holes where I thought the edges of the stud were, just to be extra sure. I've tried the franklin on sheetrock with wood and metal studs, works great! It worked 100% of time and only took a second to mark the stud. They blatantly say you're unlikely to get good results on plaster and lathe because it's accuracy relies on uniformity in the wall construction. They indicate it may work on plaster over anything but lathe, but it depends on what's behind the plaster. I lent it to a coworker who has a 50's construction house. According to him, the house has wood studs with some kind of 1/4" sheetrock and plaster on top. It didn't work at all on those walls. According to my coworker, that 1/4" sheetrock (or whatever it is) is uneven and of course the plaster is as well, so Franklin's explanation would seem to hold true.

What you pay for with this sensor is 16 individual sensors and some processing that compares the results across the 16 and lights up the (usually 3) LED's where it believes there is a stud. If it's more than 3 it will light any LED corresponding to a stud. This is where the wall uniformity comes into play I believe.

I passed this around the office and got the expected reactions from "whoah, this is GREAT!" to "It costs HOW much?!?". IMHO, for what it does, it's no more expensive than a conventional studfinder sold in the big box stores with all the bells and whistles, and it's a huge time saver over previous methods. If the price doesn't bother you and you don't have to deal with plaster walls, go for it! I just can't figure out why it took so long for someone to invent this...seems so simple.

 

[Mmfh]

This thread got me curious, I've always had trouble with stud finders. A little trip around Amazon and I found the Franklin Pro 710 gets really good reviews from everyone that tried it, except for using it with plaster walls.

As was stated above, not good on plaster but would appear to be great for everything else.

Its rare that everyone on Amazon gives a product 5 stars, this seems to be the exception.

 

[kb2tha]

I thinks you'll find a good selection over on the Hot Women thread.

 

[hammlm]

The Black and Decker Bullseye is the tool of choice for me

+1 on this. It looks gimmicky, and probably wouldn't survive a fall off of an 8-foot stepladder, but mine has worked neraly perfectly for me for at least 7-8 years. Mine is older with just escalating LEDs --- the new ones have an LCD readout.

The laser level is also nice for hanging pictures, etc. Really.

 

[Joe B.]

I lent it to a coworker who has a 50's construction house. According to him, the house has wood studs with some kind of 1/4" sheetrock and plaster on top. It didn't work at all on those walls. According to my coworker, that 1/4" sheetrock (or whatever it is) is uneven and of course the plaster is as well, so Franklin's explanation would seem to hold true.

This an exact description of my house and the problems I have had with stud finders. (I'm glad to read this because I thought I was crazy and I'm happy that it is not just me.)

Anyway, does anyone know of a stud finder that can work on a wall with thick plaster over thing sheetrock? That would be awesome.

 

[KnurledNut]

Sometimes the best "stud finder" is common sense.

If there's an electrical outlet box on the wall, there's a good chance its mounted on the right side of a stud. (unless the electrician was a lefthanded) Measure from that stud.

Check to see if the trim guys did the work for you. Often times, but not always, the baseboard is attacted to studs, especially the top run of nails.

On interior walls, measure from a corner and using the tap method see if studs fall out at 16's less a half in or so.

If the drywall finish is rough, sight the wall and look for a vertical seam/nail bulge.

Sometimes the 4ft rafter will fall out at the 4ft stud.

Most of us builders use methods like this in the field.

 

[t1r2u3s4t]

My house is the same and I found that magnet-based finders are the best. Besides the Hansen, Sears carries a Stanley one for $3 or so. I usually use both a Zircon and a magnet one to find the stud center.

This an exact description of my house and the problems I have had with stud finders. (I'm glad to read this because I thought I was crazy and I'm happy that it is not just me.)

Anyway, does anyone know of a stud finder that can work on a wall with thick plaster over thing sheetrock? That would be awesome.

 

[tube_guy]

I have great luck with the CH Hanson magnetic stud finder linked to above as well as another magnetic one that's similar but much more simple. No level or anything like that. Personally, I like the simple one better, but both of them really do work well. The magnets are very strong and they'll pull out of your hand from maybe 3/4 of an inch away from a screw head. It's not going to show you the center of the stud, but it will tell you where the existing screws are. After you find a couple of studs, you usually have a pretty good idea what's going on.

 

[bimmerZ5]

I have a Zircon e40 and it takes some practice to use. Maybe I should have read the instructions
It seems to want to find the edge of studs and I make several passes in each direction and mark with a pencil til I'm confident of the edges.

You need to be able to get close with no tool and have an idea of, or be able to picture where studs are in a wall and not blindly trust a gadget.

Things are typically on 16" or 24" centers. Find a switch or outlet and you've found a stud on one side. Now you can use a tape measure to tell you where others on that wall are.

Thump the wall as previously mentioned and the solid vs hollow sound will tell you.

Plaster and lath is another ballgame as mentioned above.

+1 to this advice here... i learned the hard way too, that you just can't trust gadgets, at least not completely. Use them only as a guide. Combine information from various sources (tapping on the wall, educated guess of where the studs are based on corners, outlets, etc.) and when all the clues point to the same location, then you can be more sure what's behind the wall.

 

[countryroad82]

hickmlg09 or raccoon might be able to help with that

 

[ajchien]

+1 to this advice here... i learned the hard way too, that you just can't trust gadgets, at least not completely. Use them only as a guide. Combine information from various sources (tapping on the wall, educated guess of where the studs are based on corners, outlets, etc.) and when all the clues point to the same location, then you can be more sure what's behind the wall.

I've got a $20 stanley gadget ... And think my knuckles and ears are better than the electronic gizmo.

 

[bimmerZ5]

hickmlg09 or raccoon might be able to help with that

where i grew up, the local mythology believed racoons are a sign of good fortune and highly regarded forest animals. they also believed that racoons have huge testicles that they could use to bounce on through the forest or stretch their scrotum out and glide through the air when they jump off trees.

 

[71flh]

BTW, (as a follow up to my 1st post) I'm happy with the one I have (e40) that's probably less good than the OPs. I figured after 30 years of finding them the hard way, I'd try a finder when I was putting shelf brackets up in closets.