If you happen to’re hanging or mounting heavy gadgets in your partitions, reminiscent of mirrors or mounts for flat-screen TVs, you could connect them to a stud—the picket or steel beams that make up your house’s framing. Since these studs are hidden behind your drywall or plaster, a stud finder saves you a ton of time (and potential wall injury), making certain you drill proper into the sturdy assist each time.
Some stud finders characteristic different useful instruments like deep scanning and AC wire detection. These stop you from hitting a pipe or wire when hanging one thing up—costly errors once you make them. That doesn’t imply stud finders work like X-ray imaginative and prescient, although—there’s lots happening in partitions, and it’s onerous, regardless of advances in tech, for any gadget to find out what’s a pipe and what’s a wire, for example.
We put a number of stud finders by way of their paces on a wall of our personal making and partitions in actual houses. We examined a number of choices to seek out the very best stud finders for residence and industrial use, whether or not you simply want a hand hanging up your new cabinets otherwise you’re hoping to keep away from injury whilst you work throughout the drywall.
Finest Stud Finders
What to Contemplate
If you wish to grasp one thing heavy or weight-bearing, go electrical.
Magnetic stud finders catch on the fasteners that connect drywall to studs as you wave a magnet alongside the wall. Since fasteners typically sit over a foot aside on a single stud, finding one with a magnetic stud finder might take longer, however this selection is reasonably priced and fairly easy to make use of.
Accuracy shouldn’t be a magnetic stud finder’s finest attribute. As a result of these instruments depend on the fastener truly being pushed into the stud, if a builder missed the stud, so will the magnetic stud finder. In industrial building, the place steel studs are normal, magnetic stud finders are usually extra dependable.
Their counterpart, the digital stud finder, sends out a sign from a sensor after which reads the sign that bounces again. When the sign modifications, the stud finder beeps or flashes to let you recognize it’s discovered a stud.
Magnetic stud finders are good to make use of for duties like hanging photos and loo mirrors.
Some electrical stud finders additionally determine steel pipes and electrical wires. Probably the most superior stud finders use expertise like ground-penetrating radar, which creates a subsurface picture.
For many occasional residence makes use of, like hanging photos or lavatory mirrors, a magnetic stud finder will get the job finished successfully. Nonetheless, in case you’re hanging heavier gadgets or something that bears weight, like a shelf or a motorcycle rack, digital stud finders make sure you’re extra exactly on course.
Plastic secures your elements, however they received’t stand up to getting moist.
Most stud finders are manufactured from plastic with magnets or digital elements inside. Whereas plastic is light-weight and fairly sturdy, these with electronics are susceptible to moisture and affect injury in the event that they get rained on or dropped by accident. Uncommon-earth magnets (with no plastic) are virtually indestructible, and their clean floor higher prevents scuffs in your wall throughout use.
Bigger stud finders sacrifice portability for options that increase accuracy.
Whereas all stud finders are comparatively small, some are extra compact than others. As a carpenter in New York Metropolis, I discovered rare-earth magnets extra handy than different varieties, just because they transport in my pocket or software bag pouch with out taking on a lot area or including extra weight. Simply take into account that their extra-small dimension makes them a choking threat round babies.
Bigger stud finders have a tendency to supply extra performance although, so in case you plan on utilizing your stud finder round your own home—and storage and portability are much less necessary—go together with a bigger mannequin that matches all of your wants.
How We Examined and Chosen
For our evaluations, we constructed a four-by-eight-foot wall from frequent supplies: wooden and steel studs; drywall; copper, black, pex, and PVC pipes; and nonmetallic sheathed cable. Then, we scanned the wall with every of the stud finders.
All functioned as anticipated when it got here to detecting the studs, however we shortly discovered that a few of them didn’t work as marketed. We additionally took the stud finders to 2 houses—one, a mid-1800s home with lath and plaster, and the opposite, a Seventies tract home—for real-world testing.
We discovered a number of stud finders that labored nice and used our DIY and carpentry experience to find out which stud finders have been finest for varied makes use of. We additionally suggest a couple of that we haven’t had an opportunity to check but, however we expect these are promising primarily based on product specs and person critiques.
For this replace, Well-liked Mechanics contributor Alex Rennie (a former residential and industrial carpenter) added a number of choices primarily based on his personal private expertise mounting shelving items, TVs, and wall-mounted workplace screens.
Our Full Stud Finder Opinions
Finest Total
Bosch GMS120 Stud Finder
Now 26% Off
Key Specs
Weight17.7 ouncesMaterialPlastic, metalDimensions6.5 x 10.25 x 3 in.
Bosch’s GMS120 is greater than only a stud finder (although it positioned the facilities of these we examined it on inside an eighth of an inch). It additionally detects dwell AC wiring, steel objects, plastic pipes crammed with water, and even rebar in concrete. This Bosch unit options audible tones, an illuminated ring across the sensor space, and an LCD display—and all three work in live performance, guiding you towards your goal in as near a foolproof means as doable with out chopping into your wall and seeing for your self.
The ring turns crimson when it’s over a stud, whereas the display offers live-wire alerts and shows a bull’s-eye to point the stud’s middle. Although the GMS120 didn’t discover wiring in our wall, it picked it up pretty precisely within the take a look at homes.
If you happen to solely have to discover a stud, Craftsman’s Hello-Vis Stud Sensor does precisely that. Easy and efficient, this sensor locates the sides of wooden and steel studs. Urgent the button on the aspect, we slid it slowly alongside the wall, keeping track of the indicator. When it lit up, we have been on the fringe of a stud. That indicator stayed on till we handed the opposite edge. Then, we slid the unit again over the stud to verify and marked the sides earlier than pinpointing the middle. The software persistently discovered studs beneath drywall as much as 3/4-inch thick in our testing.
This Hart Skilled immediately locates wooden and steel studs, and a number of LEDs detect and monitor the place objects are so customers can keep away from wires and pipes. It tracks every object with lights that transfer with the gadget as you glide it in opposition to a wall. Purple signifies studs, and yellow exhibits the situation of dwell wires.
The show exhibits the total width of objects with a max depth of 1.5 inches, and a built-in pencil holder helps you make marks effectively and precisely. Whereas we haven’t examined this one ourselves, varied shoppers say this Hart gadget is likely one of the finest stud finders they’ve used, rivaling premium choices with its 9 sensors. It doesn’t detect studs in plaster partitions, however at this worth, it’s a stable worth with lots to supply.
Most Moveable
The StudBuddy Magnetic Stud Finder
Key Specs
Weight?1.6 ouncesMaterialPlasticDimensions5.75 x 1 x 1.25 in.
For locating studs, issues don’t get a lot less complicated than the StudBuddy. Utilizing it, we effortlessly positioned nails, screws, or steel studs by sliding it in an “S” sample, forwards and backwards on a wall. Two sturdy neodymium magnets precipitated the StudBuddy to snap to ferrous fasteners or studs once we acquired inside about three-quarters of an inch of them.
Sliding it up or down shortly confirmed further hits and the situation and route of studs. We discovered it labored even higher on steel studs as a result of fewer affirmation “hits” have been required. The StudBuddy additionally responds to different ferrous metals within the wall, like ductwork or electrical packing containers—so scanning to verify stud orientation is necessary.
Able to detecting steel fasteners behind 5/8-inch drywall, this magnetic stud finder completely navigates delicate wall coverings. My favourite characteristic of this selection is its spherical form, which, in contrast to bigger, flatter stud finders, creates minimal contact along with your drywall. This minimizes the possibilities of any scratches or scuffs—frequent with stud finders that you simply glide throughout the wall. The looped plastic deal with grips simply so that you can swing the magnet freely. That is additionally an particularly sturdy software—one you don’t have to fret about damaging once you toss it right into a toolbox or backpack alongside any heavier-duty instruments or sharp steel fasteners.
Finest Heart-Finder
Zircon MultiScanner A200 Wall Scanner
Key Specs
Weight?12.3 ouncesMaterialPlasticDimensions?9.13 x 6.34 x 3.7 in. (bundle dimensions)
The {powerful} Zircon A200 analyzes partitions with three scan modes. In our testing, it discovered studs, iron and copper pipes, and dwell AC electrical wires in our wall. It was additionally very dependable and correct, detecting studs and indicating their facilities by projecting a crimson arrow on the wall. After we handed over dwell wires, the display displayed an icon which indicated electrical energy was working by way of them.
Whereas utilizing this finder in devoted metal-scan mode, we discovered it differentiated between steel plumbing pipes and wooden studs. It was somewhat trickier, nevertheless, if steel studs have been current, however figuring out the stud spacing helped us kind issues out.
In deep-scan mode, the A200 didn’t choose up PVC pipes within the wall except that they had water in them. We differentiated between pipes and studs by toggling between stud scan and deep scan. And the A200 offered all this info clearly on its illuminated display.
Most Versatile
Craftsman CMHT77623 Stud Finder
Key Specs
Weight5.6 ouncesMaterialPlasticDimensions5.88 x 0.3 x 9.25 in.
Craftsman’s center-finding unit has LEDs to point scan standing and information you to the middle of the stud—orange ones mild up once you’re over the stud, and crimson ones point out once you hit the middle. Scanning slowly in a single route, previous the middle, after which again acquired us correct outcomes over 1?2- and three?4-inch drywall.
The AC-detection mode was imprecise, indicating an space three to 4 inches vast when it picked up the wiring. However repeated passes allowed us to find out the wiring’s path. In normal scan mode, the Craftsman positioned some copper pipe, which was odd, however the pipe was too slim to be a stud and the gadget by no means registered a middle.
Equally, it detected black pipe in steel mode. (Be aware that though it positioned the pipes, the stud finder couldn’t, nor was it designed to, determine them as such.) Nonetheless, these readings make it easier to determine objects within the wall you might need to watch out round.
I discovered rare-earth magnets like these invaluable whereas working as a carpenter and used their ultra-powerful attraction to detect deep-down fasteners. With no transferring elements—that is only a small steel disc—you merely slide the magnet throughout the wall till you are feeling it drawn towards steel elements beneath. My favourite a part of utilizing magnets like these is that in contrast to bigger, bulkier choices, they’re much less prone to by accident scuff your wall. A trick I’ve used is to sizzling glue certainly one of these magnets to the tip of a bit of dental floss, maintain it by the floss, and slowly transfer it throughout the wall. This exhibits you any minor modifications within the magnet’s route that in any other case won’t be felt by way of your fingers. The principle disadvantage to utilizing magnets alone is that they don’t differentiate between steel elements like extra superior digital detectors.
With 13 sensors—every similar to a shiny LED—this digital stud finder expertly signifies even the skin edges of a stud. By pushing a single button, it offers you with a transparent image of a stud from proper edge to left and from high to backside, which provides you the arrogance essential to screw into its middle. This unit additionally mechanically adjusts to the depth of the drywall—as much as 1.6 inches—and requires no calibration to get began. Not like magnetic choices, this one requires AA batteries (which aren’t included), however that’s a tremendous trade-off contemplating the extra info it offers.
Stud-Discovering Ideas from Our Knowledgeable, Bradley Ford
Most studs are spaced at 16-inch intervals—discover one, and the following stud must be about that very same distance in both route. Adjustments in spacing normally occur close to the ends of partitions or doorways and home windows.
In case your stud finder appears to be choosing issues up between the studs, it may very well be detecting steel or plastic plumbing elements, electrical packing containers or wiring, or steel ductwork. To fight this, scan above and under the purpose to make sure it continues to the ground or ceiling. If it doesn’t, it may very well be one thing aside from a stud.
Electrical wires normally run vertically on the aspect of a stud and typically horizontally between shops. If there are lighting fixtures, switches, and shops on a wall, you can also make an informed guess as to the place the wires is likely to be.
Take note of the place the kitchen and loos are, too—water provide and waste pipes for the second ground are sometimes present in partitions on the primary ground, under sinks, tubs, or showers. (Professional tip: In case your basement is unfinished, you’ll be able to go down there to see the place the pipes go up on the ceiling.)
Listed here are a couple of different ideas for locating studs each single time.
Don’t contact the wall with both hand whereas utilizing a stud finder—this will alter its readings.Some stud finders have to calibrate earlier than scanning, so begin away from switches, shops, or lighting fixtures.Apply some painter’s tape over the world you need to scan. It’ll offer you a floor on which to mark your findings with out having to jot down on the wall.Once you detect studs, objects, or dwell wires, mark them with a pencil or tape.Freshly painted partitions could also be troublesome to scan for a couple of weeks as a result of moisture within the paint.
Alex Rennie is a contract author who specializes within the House Enchancment, DIY, and Instrument area. As a former residential and industrial carpenter, Alex makes use of his hands-on expertise to jot down sensible shopping for guides, how-to articles, and product critiques. His work has additionally appeared in Enterprise Insider’s Insider Picks, and earlier than his writing profession, he was a full-time carpenter dwelling in New York Metropolis. There, he labored as a part of a staff designing, constructing, and putting in massive furnishings items, in addition to performing a wide range of residence restore and upkeep initiatives. Alex presently lives in Los Angeles, CA, and spends his free time exploring the seashores and mountains along with his fiancé and their canine Louie.
Brad Ford has spent most of his life utilizing instruments to repair, construct, or make issues. Rising up he labored on a farm, the place he realized to weld, restore, and paint gear. From the farm he went to work at a basic automobile vendor, repairing and servicing Rolls Royces, Bentleys, and Jaguars. Immediately, when he isn’t testing instruments or writing for Well-liked Mechanics, he is busy maintaining with the initiatives at his previous farmhouse in japanese Pennsylvania.
