Stud finders

Trying to locate a concealed wooden fixing behind a tiled/plasterboard wall. Are 'stud finders' any good for this? My previous experiences is with metal detectors that looked for powered cables (there aren't any), nails (there are few) or pipes (there are several, but they're red herrings).

I read that some are able to use capacitance to trace out what's beneath the surface - would they be any good for this kind of problem? Would the tiles confuse things? Tried tapping the wall, but the results are inconclusive.

Cheers, Theo

Reply to
Theo Markettos
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Generally, any electronic stud finder will work ok for studs behind plasterboard - even if the plasterboard is tiled.

Cable etc finders seem to be far more variable.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

On 01 May 2014, "Dave Plowman (News)" grunted:

Dunno, I think they're quite variable in effectiveness actually.

I bought a Zircon model a few years back on advice from this ng, after my previous one was useless, and I find it works pretty well.

Reply to
Lobster

The Zircon triscanner I use is good at finding studs through normal plasterboard (no good with foil backed though).

Reply to
John Rumm

Never found one that worked consistently. Do the tiles go to the ceiling? If not, the tried and trusted method of a dozen 2mm holes may be your best solution.

Reply to
Capitol

I like the stud finder this guy uses:

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(start around 4:30)

Reply to
pcb1962

I was waiting at Kitsons trade counter earlier today and they had some Bosch self-levelling lasers and stud-finders out to play with, the display had a simulated wall with bits of pipe/cable/stud behind perspex windows, it seemed to find wooden studs OK, cables and pipes not so well

Though looking at this video

seems I was holding it wrong, using it end-on like my cheap&nasty one, and is seems I should have used it face-on, maybe I'll give it another try next time I go there!

Reply to
Andy Burns

I've got a Stanley Intellisense Pro (77-255) and find it excellent. It works very well for detecting studs through varying thicknesses of plasterboard, tiles, etc. It also works well for joists under 18mm chipboard flooring.

I originally thought the LCD screen 'targetting' display would be a bit of a hgimmick however it pregressive alert really does aid with the accuracy of pinpointing exactly where studs are.

It also has a built-in mains detector which can be very handy for avoiding live cable runs. The only drawback with this was the overly-loud buzzer so I dismantled mine and removed it and rely on the LED indicator instead.

The are mixed reviews for it online but it gets top marks from me. Perhaps our reasonably-new house is is of 'friendly' construction as far as such a detector is concerned.

Mathew

Reply to
Mathew Newton

I have a Micromark-branded stud finder of many years vintage. It can detect studs and nails through a tiled/plasterboard wall.

(It's used flat on a wall for stud finding and end-on for metal/voltage detection.)

Reply to
Graham Nye

Looks the same as the way you use mine:

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flat against the wall - the lights then ramp up and down toward the green centre light as you scan past the item. The "cross hair" moulded into the plastic indicates the spot.

Reply to
John Rumm

i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs in my lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of the studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes doesn't! I need to chuck the lidl one out.

Reply to
alan

Do you happen to know the model of the Zircon?

I've been staring at Amazon reviews, and it seems like they fall into two camps: those that get 50% bad reviews and those that get 100%. Though it could be the bad reviews come from people with foil-backed plasterboard or similar unfriendly surfaces. Or just duff reviewers.

Thanks for the responses. Seems like everything is a bit of a mixed bag...

Theo

Reply to
Theo Markettos

I hate having to drill rows of little holes when nothing else works.

It must be difficult to design something which will cope with varying depths of plaster and thicknesses of lath.

I wonder if it would be better to have a stud finder which instead of just displaying a stud indication when some signal passes some preset threshold, showed the raw signal (maybe as an optional variant on the basic display). That would allow you to use human judgement rather than relying on the dubious intelligence built into the gadget.

I believe that with experience the operators of very early radar systems could tell a lot from the untidy mess of blips on a screen.

Reply to
Windmill

E50

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Reply to
alan

Try using a small very powerful magnet to detect the stud fixing nails.

Edgar

Reply to
Edgar

On 03 May 2014, Theo Markettos grunted:

My Zircon's a OneStep MultiScanner i500, bought from a Home Depot in Florida (my version of souvenir shopping while on holiday - SWMBO loves it)

Reply to
Lobster

Something like this:

Reply to
djc

With foil backed board, I use mine in metal detection mode and look for the nails instead.

Reply to
John Rumm

Not just me, then? My Zircon stud-finder came from the USA, also.

Reply to
Huge

How would you do that? Bearing in mind that there might be perhaps an inch of plaster (I think) on top of the lath?

Reply to
Windmill

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