How to Find a Wall Stud or Ceiling Joist Without a Stud Finder

While renovating our barn house, we quickly constitute out how hard it is to find a stud in the wall using one of those electronic stud finders you see at the hardware store. We plugged in a bombardment, and it beeped & booped in the well-nigh random ways possible as we tried to use it.

I even held it up to part of the wall that we cut away (exposing the stud in the open section) and it nonetheless couldn't notice the stud even when I was belongings it right over it! Needless to say, nosotros returned it as soon as possible.

Equally we continued with the renovation, I realized something.

We were switching out the old wall outlets with new, white ones. I noticed that every outlet was attached to a stud. DING! A light seedling went off in my head.

If I knew where at least one stud was in the wall, then I could notice other studs in the wall using a measuring record and a small smash. And it worked. It was way more accurate than that little battery operated, stud finding "toy" we had returned.

Then I made this video to show you how it works:

The Peek & Poke Method

The video gained a lot of traction, and information technology really helped a lot of people out. But I did become a lot of comments saying that non every house is congenital with studs at 16″ centers. Yes, that's true, non every house is built that style, but it's pretty probable that the studs in your wall are at sixteen″ … possibly different though. That'south why I recommend testing with the little blast to know for sure.

So if you try out the method I showed you in the kickoff video, and you're all the same having a little trouble… I came up with an even simpler, more accurate method!

The Super Simple Swing Method


The DIY Magnet Method:

The two methods to a higher place are most as unproblematic equally it gets. There's no math, no poking holes with nails, and no measuring. It'south super simple to find studs with magnets.

You will need to find a source for the little rare earth (neodymium) magnets, but they're relatively easy to observe and inexpensive. I got a iii-pack of ane/2″ bore ones at Hobby Anteroom for about $5, and I've seen them at WalMart before for a little less. And here's some directly links to Ebay or Amazon with lots of options likewise.

Sure, you'll have to spend a couple of bucks and a one-half hour or so to make a trivial "natural stud finder", but this affair works swell! The rare world magnet is WAY stronger than your boilerplate refrigerator magnet, so it volition cling to the hidden screws or nails holding your drywall up to the wall studs. It even works to find the joists upwards in your ceiling too!

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UPDATE: I tested the magnets on our refrigerator and found that a couple of the stronger ones actually worked as well! They didn't practically spring out of my hand and agree on as potent as the piffling rare earth magnets practice, only I was able to observe the screws in my drywall with just a little more patience. So if y'all want to test this out before buying some rare earth magnets, find your strongest fridge magnets, and give them a try.

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Now, I did get a annotate about this new method from someone saying that on some new structure houses, they've started using glue to hold up the sheets of drywall to the wall studs. In that case, this little DIY magnetic stud finder won't have annihilation to stick to. If you lot have a place built like that, I'd suggest using the start method and do a few test pokes with a boom in an camouflaged place to effigy out the spacing of your studs. The tiny holes can be covered with a quick swipe of spackling & paint… and then no biggie.

The walls and board & batten ceilings freshly painted.

When we put upward the board & batten ceilings in our house during the renovation (every single room, btw …. 1800 sqft or so), we used the first method. We were covering popcorn ceilings, so we didn't intendance most the tiny examination holes. It took a twenty-four hour period or so to test and mark all the ceilings in the business firm. But my 2d method is so much easier and faster with just the magnet and a little painter'south record. I wish I would have idea of it sooner!

We only used this 2d method to re-hang some shelves in our living room a couple of day agone. We found the studs nosotros were looking for in less than a minute and had the shelves screwed up in place within 5 minutes or so. Information technology was super quick & easy.

And so, there you go. I promise these two methods aid you notice the studs you're looking for.

If not, peradventure that Tinder app all the kids are talking about will help. jk 😉

After!

Kevin