This is not really a woodworking question, but I figure someone here can answer it.
My Dad is 92 and needs to grab onto things to climb the stairs. But for a short section of the stairway in their house, there's no sensible thing to grab.
Their house is plaster on lath if memory serves. Wood strips, I think, not wire. [This is an ancient memory. My parents had a larger closet made when I was a very young boy and I was allowed to bash away at the plaster for a little while. I remember being disappointed when I came back from school and found that the rest of the demolition had already been completed. ]
Anyway, I have no experience finding studs in that kind of construction. The walls are too rigid for me to just sound them out with my fist. I don't own a stud finder, but I might buy one if it's of any use in that kind of wall. I'm not eager to drill a series of holes that I'll need to repair, and then match the paint. If it comes down to it, I suppose I could remove the base molding and drill holes at the bottom of the wall, but the molding is finished oak, and a little complicated, and would be very hard to replace if an oaf like me were to damage it.
Suggestions? I imagine I'd use oak railing parts from the Borg, by the way.