That day last week when a stud finder failed me completely

I was marking out new electrical boxes on a remodel in a 1970s house. My stud finder kept beeping solid across a whole 4 foot section. I figured it was just old lathe and plaster throwing it off. Nope, they had laid 1/2 inch plywood behind the whole wall as backing. Took me an extra 2 hours to rework my layout. Has anyone else run into weird hidden backing that messes up your measurements?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan1938d ago

solid across a whole 4 foot section" oh man, I felt that one in my soul. I once had a cheap stud finder that would scream bloody murder if it even smelled a pipe or a wire behind the drywall. Turns out I was trying to anchor a TV mount into a steel fire door that was completely hidden behind plaster. I spent a solid 45 minutes cussing at the wall and blaming the tool before I realized I was the fool lol. At least you had plywood, I had to go buy some really expensive toggle bolts and hope for the best.

gonzalez.vera7d ago

I read somewhere that a good stud finder should beep on contact studs too, not just metal. Lots of people swear by the high end ones but I've had decent luck with the basic magnetic kind. Takes some getting used to but at least you're not chasing ghosts in the drywall.