One other method of trying to locate wall studs without a stud finder, is by knocking on the wall at various points. Vivreal Stud Finder 4 in 1 Electric Plaster Wall Detector. Don’t waste your money on that stud finder. Beware that depending on the sensitivity of your metal detector you may pick up old wiring, cast iron plumbing, or other things hiding in the wall. This would make your TV prone to breaking and would damage the plaster walls. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Many of them can see through plaster and wood lath.. Stud finders are great for many walls, but they do not work well in the case of plaster walls and ceilings. If you are having trouble finding studs, you can use a stud finder to help you with your job. Then move the finder in a horizontal direction until the stud finder clicks, pops up or lets you know you found a metal stud. Because standard stud finders detect a change in density inside the wall, they don't work on lath and plaster-- the density inside these walls is not constant enough. … Best Stud Finder for Plaster Walls Zircon MetalliScanner m40. Stud finders and scanning tools are used to locate wires, pipes, pvc, rebar as well as both wooden and metal studs. However, electronic stud finders only work if the wall surface is reasonably uniform. Because standard stud finders detect a change in density inside the wall, they don't work on lath and plaster-- the density inside these walls is not constant enough. although many old houses may have unusual stud spacing so this method may not work for everyone. So finding wall studs is a must, if you are planning to fix items such as mirrors or new shelves to the wall. These may be of interest if you have yet to purchase a stud finder. Though there may be an occasional free floating box in an old home, you have an excellent chance of finding a stud on one side of the box. This is a simple hack that some people say provides very good results. Move along the wall and look for a pattern to show itself, and you’ll slowly be able to see your stud spacing. Finding studs in metal lath plaster walls There was a thread from 2004 about this and the answer was to find an electrical outlet to see which side had the stud and the measure 3/4" to find mid stud and then to measure either 16 inches or 24 inches from there for the other studs. A method which many people have tried, but it’s not the most reliable of methods in our opinion. Once you do, mark that spot with an X or a piece of tape. Tie a piece of string around the magnet, then allow the magnet to brush across your plaster wall. Prior to the 1950s, most walls were built using a combination of vertical studs, horizontal wooden beams called laths and plaster seams. However in this article, we will take a closer look at whether using an electronic stud finder is the best tool. Another method is to use the receptacles and switches. Ron had a chance to test out stud finders on stucco. Basic Zircon StudSensor™ stud finders with only Stud Scan and/or DeepScan® mode are not recommended for lath and plaster walls. To find a stud you will need an electronic stud finder or a strong earth magnet. All you have to do is take the magnet stud finder out of its packaging and place it against the wall. Try holding an electric shaver on the wall. Some people have reported that using stud finders can be a little problematic. Don’t waste your money on that stud finder. There are various electrical stud finders in the market; each comes with different methods of locating the studs in the wall. If you own an old house with plaster and lath walls, you may have discovered how utterly useless a stud finder can be. Basically you’ve created a lower cost version of a magnetic stud finder. Basic Zircon StudSensor™ stud finders with only Stud Scan and/or DeepScan® mode are not recommended for lath and plaster walls. Move the stud finder over the plaster wall across the spot where the heavy object will hang. The weight of the item may cause damage to your wall, or worst still, come crashing down to the floor. This is NOT something that is particular to Zircon stud finders… Most smaller items can be hung pretty securely anywhere on the wall by screwing into the wood lath, but for heavy things that weight more than 10-15 lbs, like large mirrors and TVs, you’ll need to learn how to find studs in a plaster wall. Did it work? Plus we will also look at a couple of other ways to gain the same results. They use a form of density testing looking for studs, not the nails in studs. Electrical boxes for outlets and light switches are supposed to be attached to studs. You can try measuring on 16 inch centers from the nearest corner, but stud spacing was often not very even when lath and plaster walls were used. A question we often see is “Do stud finders work on plaster walls?” Well as a short answer, yes they do. In many cases, the textures on the plaster wall and the junk (cables, wires, etc.) Stud finders, however, will not always return accurate results with lath and plaster walls because of the very inconsistent method by which they are constructed. You can find the studs by drilling test holes with a masonry drill bit where the cabinet will go, OR... look at the baseboard for the finish nails---they are usually into studs. Most smaller items can be hung pretty securely anywhere on the wall by screwing into the wood lath, but for heavy things that weight more than 10-15 lbs, like large mirrors and TVs, you’ll need to learn how to find studs in a plaster wall. Unlike the magnets which aren’t strong enough to be attracted to a pipe that is a couple inches recessed into the wall the metal detector may give you false readings. It would have to be one VERY small cabinet to mount to the lathe only. Once you find the stud, you can measure off 16″ to find the next one most times. However as you knock on the wall where a wall stud is positioned, the sound will change to that which is more high pitched. Once your knuckle hits the spots where a stud is located, the sound will change to more of a dull thud. Most houses built in the last 100 years were framed 16″ O.C. Whenever the magnet detects the nails underneath the plaster, it will identify this to you – simply then mark off these points, so as to know where the walls studs are located. If you’re doing … When it comes to putting up some new shelves or hanging a heavy item, such as a mirror, you are going to want to know where the studs are located. 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