Studs are the vertical beams that frame your house ; they ’re normally hidden behind your walls . When you demand to hang something heavy like a flat - screen TV , you have to make certain to practise into a scantling so that it has enough support . Of of course , if the studs are hidden within your walls , it might be a scrap tricky to witness them .

The well-off way to find a stud is to utilize an electronicstud finder . As you pass the twist along your wall , it notice density remainder . When an electronic stud finder hits a more dumb area , it notifies you by beeping or lighting up . There are also magneticstud findersthat detect any screw or nail that were used to attach the wall to the studhorse . But if you do n’t have an electronic or magnetic stud finder , you’re able to still figure out where studs are somewhat well .

One option is to scan the wall for electrical outlets , light shift or where a nail flow through the molding . These are all usually attach to a stud , so if you feel one stud that direction , you may measure off 16 or 24 column inch ( 40.6 or 61 centimeters ) in either direction to find the next scantling , since that ’s the standard spacing for stud . If you murder an mercantile establishment cover , you may even be able-bodied to see the stud it ’s attached to . Other low - technical school location methods include hold a lamp about an branch ’s distance away from the wall to scan for depressions or dimples that signify where the wall is attached to the stud poker or knocking gently on the rampart to take heed for high sound that suggest a rivet . Where there ’s no he-man , you ’ll hear a more hollow sound . If you make a error and practice in the wrong place , you’re able to stick a bent musical composition of unfaltering telegram in the hole and feel around to site a nearby stud .