I’m working on an old house that has 2×4 framing with metal lath and plaster, covered by drywall. I can’t locate the studs, and am having no luck with anchor bolts. I need to attach wood trim.
Any ideas out there?
Varch
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Replies
I am sure someoe who has a lot more experience with this than me will be along but you generally have a stud at corners, at intersecting walls, and on one side or another of an electrical box. Once a stud is found, measure 16 inches from that spot and you should have another stud another 16 inches another stud.
If you are a gadget freak, you might look into one of the better quality stud sensors on the market.
Another tip is to take a small drill bit and drill where you think you have a stud if you drill thru the plaster and have resistance deeper than the thickness of the wall material you probably have found a stud.
You didn't say what you were anchor bolting but if it is a hollow wall anchor of some type it needs to be long enough to penetrate the wall material and then expand on the other side.
Hope this helps.
Webby
Edited 12/10/2008 7:35 pm ET by webby
What kind of trim?
what trim ?
base....casing....crown ?
gotta find the studs
if it's base... just guess and drive a 10 d finish nail where the base will hide it... same with the crown
exploratory nails will tell you where the studs are
I'm working on an old house that has 2x4 framing with metal lath and plaster, covered by drywall. I can't locate the studs, and am having no luck with anchor bolts. I need to attach wood trim.
How long are the nails? You have about 1 3/8 of material before you hit the studs ( 3/8 lath and plaster, 1/2" GWB, 3/4" casing). I'm thinking you're going to have problems no matter what, with deflection, etc.
I would use glue, and shhoot two nails at each location, approximately 60 degrees to each other
Edited 12/11/2008 11:36 am ET by McMark
I thought I invented that technique. Oh well, there goes another patent idea of mine. But seriously, it works really well.
For nails to penetrat the studs you would need at least 3". That's 3/4 for the metal-lath plaster, 3/8 to 5/8 for the drywall, 3/4 for the trim, which gives you at least 7/8" of penetration.
Going along with a large nail and driving it in where the trim will cover the hole is the traditional way to find studs. A little time consuming, but it works.
Also, don't assume the studs are 16" on center. They may or may not be. On old houses I've seen them vary from 16" to 20", and I'm talking within the same wall. See my work at TedsCarpentry.comBuy Cheap Tools! BuildersTools.net
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Take a piece of stiff wire, like a coat hanger, and bend it into a 'U' shape with the legs about 8" long and the bottom of the U about 3" wide.
Drill a small (1/8") hole into the wall and work the wire into it, ending up with one leg inside the stud cavity and one outside. Then you rotate - when the inside leg hits a stud, you'll feel it and the outside leg will 'point' (stop at) the face of the stud.
Jeff
Edited 12/11/2008 12:20 am ET by Jeff_Clarke
One trick I've used is to take off the trim plate on an electrical outlet, and then probe behind/along side it to determine which side of the box the stud is.
Then measure along the wall at 16" for the stud layout.
This usually works. But sometimes on older homes, the stud layout is some odd measurement, so you need to test it.
Another way is to drive some finish nails right along the the top of the baseboards to determine layout. The nail holes left from that can be pretty easily filled with caulk or spackle.
before the layouts were standardized ( mostly with 8' plywood )
layout was typically done with the length of a common carpenter's claw hammer
pretty close to 16"..... but only pretty closeMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
A few of the old houses around here it seems like the old carps put in studs wherever they felt like.
No logic to the layout- just variable spacing. Could be anywhere from 6-8" centers, to up to 24" or so. I don't know if they were trying to save money, were drunk, or some combination of both.
Fortunately, I only run into that a few times. Certainly makes finding the studs interesting.
BTW, I think I'm gonna get a new driver for next year. I want to go and get my swing tested, and get a driver to fit. So I'll be ready when we play together next time. <G>
Find a spot that will be covered by the trim and drill a big enough hole to insert a fiber optic camera, like the Rigid See-Snake. Milwaukee has one too now I see. Then you can inspect back there.