![]() ![]() Plaster walls are generally very hard, making it difficult for the magnet in traditional stud finders to detect the nails or screws that other types of walls might have. While regular stud finders work with drywall of a certain thickness (about 3/8 inch), a deeper scanning stud finder is necessary for thicker material like lath & plaster and double brick walls which can be up to two inches thick. Before you start, however, it is important to know the thickness of your wall. Stud finders are an effective tool for locating studs in drywall, but can also be used on plaster walls. In either case it’s best practice to test any wall before drilling into it this will help prevent damage from unexpected wires or pipes behind the surface during home improvement projects. Additionally, thick insulation behind plaster walls may also interfere with the effectiveness of an electronic stud-finder. It’s important to remember that for plaster walls that are thick or more than 1 inch (2.54 cm) deep, metal detection is not always possible as the waves used for detection may not penetrate distant surfaces. Electronic stud finders usually include depth measurement so users can determine if they're drilling into another layer of drywall beyond their target surface material. These devices use electro-magnetic fields to detect the presence of ferrous materials such as metal screws used in wall studs and framing lumber. However, with the right tool and some caution, you can use an electronic stud finder on your plaster wall. Plaster walls are tricky surfaces to work with when hanging anything since they are made of mostly drywall compound and not material like wood or metal. If you have a plaster wall in your home that you need to mount a shelf, hang a picture or complete any other handyman task, using an electronic stud finder can be helpful. Once you located a spot likely to contain a wall stud or piece of metal support strip in your plaster wall, mark it with pencil or tape.īy following this process you can save time and avoid unnecessary frustration when trying to drill into a plaster wall with an unknown structure behind it.Īn electronic stud finder is a device designed to identify the location of wooden framing studs in walls, ceilings, and floors. If nothing is detected, it is best practice to move around and scan larger areas until one is identified. To use a magnetic stud finder on plaster walls, first start by scanning the area around your desired drilling location to ensure there is a stud or piece of metal behind the wall. However, newer plaster walls might not have any metal support beneath them so if a magnetic stud finder doesn't pick up anything on your wall, you may need to consider other methods of finding a wall stud. Plaster walls built before the 1950s often have metal lath strips that hold up the plaster and provide stability for the wall.Ī magnetic stud finder can detect these pieces of metal hidden beneath the plaster, helping you accurately locate and mark studs in your wall. Just like my magnet trick, but a bit more refined than tying dental floss around a magnet.Magnetic stud finders are particularly useful for plaster walls. This simple stud finder is a powerful magnet that pops into place when a stud fastener is detected. You could also try a cool product called StudPop which takes the magnet trick to the next level. Keep in mind there are some spaces between lath vertically so if you’re not having much luck try moving the magnet up or down a bit so that it is over top one of the hidden nails. The reason this works is because the wood lath is nailed to the studs, and the magnet is attracted to those nails. It has to be a strong magnet for this to work, so those floppy pizza magnets won’t cut it. Every so often, the magnet will stick to the wall a bit on the stud location. Dangle the magnet against the wall and slowly move it horizontally across the wall. It works every time! Grab the strongest magnet you have and tie a piece of dental floss or string around it. This is my favorite method and the reason is simple. ![]()
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