Bought a $40 stud finder that just beeped at everything

I was trying to hang a shelf in my old house in Tacoma and thought a cheap one would do the trick. It went off over drywall, over a pipe, even over an outlet, so I ended up putting a screw right into a wire. Had to call an electrician for a $300 fix. Anyone have a stud finder brand they actually trust?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_patel43d ago

Honestly that magnet trick from dylanh81 sounds like more trouble than it's worth. Not every old house has nails in the studs you can find, and you'll just end up with a bunch of random marks on your wall. A decent stud finder from a hardware store works fine if you take a second to learn how it works. People act like hitting a wire is some huge disaster but it's a pretty simple fix most of the time.

dylanh813d ago

Skip the electronics and just use a strong magnet. Slide it along the wall until it sticks to a drywall nail or screw head. Mark the spot and you've found the stud. Old houses have enough metal in the walls to make this work every time. It costs about five bucks and never needs batteries.