5 Ways to Find a Wall Stud Without Using a Stud Finder

You can’t just use any ordinary magnet off the fridge, though. Since the screw heads will likely be covered by spackle, you’ll need a strong neodymium magnet, which is the strongest commercially available magnet you can buy.

Simple and Easy Hacks to Find a Stud Without a Stud Finder

When you move into a new place, it makes sense that you want to personalize it ASAP by hanging art, mounting a TV on the wall, and if you have kids anchoring furniture to the wall for safety. All of these tasks require drilling into a stud in the wall. The stud is simply a vertical two-by-four beam in the wall for structural support. And if you lost your stud finder in the moving boxes or simply don’t have one to begin with, these hacks will help. Below, we rounded up the DIY stud-finding techniques that everyone is obsessed with on TikTok. They’re so simple that you can hang anything in no time worry-free.

Why Do I Need to Find a Stud in My Wall?

Most homes have drywall, which can only support lightweight items. Even with drywall anchors, drywall can’t always handle the weight of what you’re handing, especially in a room with heavy foot traffic. More importantly, from a safety perspective, any large piece of art or electronics needs extra support, and a stud will provide it. Studs, the vertical beams that support your home, also give your screws a tighter grip to secure heavy objects. Basically, we want you to avoid being the latest TikTok video of a broken TV on the floor because you mounted it incorrectly.

Option One: Use a String and Magnet

An easy method that’s getting a lot of views on TikTok is finding a stud with two household items: a magnet and a piece of string. Start by measuring about four feet from the floor—you will generally find studs around this height. Tape or tie the magnet to the string and gently run it along the four-foot-heigh mark, keeping the magnet about a half-inch away from the wall. The magnet will cling to a stud’s screw or nailhead inside the wall. Mark these magnetic spots as a guide to hanging your item. Remember, the studs run vertically, so you can hang artwork lower or higher, but you need to drill into the stud. They’re usually about 16 inches apart on the wall.

Option Two: Knock on the Wall

“The easiest way to find a stud is to basically just knock on the wall,” explains Mike Patterson, construction director at Marmol Radziner. He adds: “Where it sounds hollow, there is no stud. Where it sounds solid, there is a stud.”

If you’re not too confident in your ability to judge hollow versus solid wall sounds, or you simply want extra confirmation, there are a few other ways you can locate a stud.

Option Three: Use Windows and Doors as Guides

Studs are typically 16 inches apart from each other. There are always studs on either side of a window or door, so you can measure 16 inches from the edge to get general guidance on where the next stud is located in the room. Pair this method with the knock test, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of where the studs are located.

Option Four: Focus on Light Switches and Outlets

Electrical boxes for switches or outlets are often attached to a stud on one side. Knock to determine which side of the switch or outlet the stud is on, and use that 16-inch stud spacing method to guide you.

Option Five: Drill a Hole

Once you’ve used a few non-invasive methods to determine where a stud is, the easiest way to confirm it is by drilling a hole in your wall. If you start to feel some tension, you know you’ve hit a wood stud.

Option Six: Try a Stud Finder App

Yes, stud finder apps exist! They’re ideal if you don’t have a physical stud finder at home or don’t want to invest in one. The apps use a magnetometer to measure the magnetic field when your phone is placed near metal objects. The only caveat is that they will sometimes detect other objects that aren’t wood studs, like nails and electrical wiring. Many reviewers confirm they do work pretty effectively for stud-finding purposes.

Once you’ve determined a stud in the best spot for hanging your art or technology, there are plenty of hanging tools you can use to actually get your item on the wall. French cleats are a no-fail solution that you can drill into and hang art from. And if you’re not so sure what you want to hang just yet, we have you covered with some genius ideas. In any case, you’ll have your walls adorned in no time!

Want to know absolutely everything before starting your reno project? We get it. Let’s obsess over the details together.

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Kelly Allen is the current Associate Editor at House Beautiful, where she covers design, pop culture, and travel for digital and the print magazine. She’s been with the team for nearly three years, attending industry events and covering a range of topics. When she’s not watching every new TV show and movie, she’s browsing vintage home stores, admiring hotel interiors, and wandering around New York City. She previously worked for Delish and Cosmopolitan. Follow her on Instagram.

Angela Belt is the contributing Assistant Shopping Editor at House Beautiful. She’s also an interior designer and is the host of her own podcast, The Mood Board. When it comes to design, she’s an esteemed expert with some of her work also appearing in HGTV, Better Homes and Gardens, The Washington Post, and more.

5 Ways to Find a Wall Stud Without Using a Stud Finder

Need to locate a wall stud, but don’t want to buy yet another gadget? Learn how to use magnets, baseboards, and even smartphones to guide your way.

By Kit Stansley and Tony Carrick | Updated Mar 28, 2022 10:57 AM

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We’ve all been there, right? “Oh, I just need to find a stud to hang this picture.” And 15 holes later, you’re convinced the wall is held up by pixie dust and a wish, because apparently there’s no wood behind it.

A stud finder is one way to locate the framing hidden behind the drywall, but that does you little good if you don’t happen to have one in your arsenal of tools. Stud finders can also be frustrating to use, often failing to detect anything or delivering false positives.

Whether you don’t have a stud finder on hand or simply don’t trust the things, there are several effective alternatives to locating a stud without one of these tools.

What are studs, anyway?

• Wall studs exist to hold up drywall on interior walls and wood sheathing on exterior walls. This means you will always find a stud, header, or footer on the top, bottom, or corners of walls.
• You may be asking, “How far apart are studs?” The distance between studs varies slightly depending on the age of the home. Standard stud spacing is 16 inches on center and is rarely greater than 24 inches, even on center in older houses.
• Most electrical boxes for switches or outlets are attached to a stud on one side.
• There are studs on either side of a window.
• Most trim (crown molding, baseboard, and shoe molding) is nailed on the stud.
• The actual lumber dimensions of 2×4 studs are 1½ inches by 3½ inches.
• Studs are made of either metal or wood. Wood studs are found in the framing of most residential homes. Most commercial and industrial buildings are made with metal studs. However, metal studs are becoming more prevalent in homes.

With these points in mind, read on to learn multiple strategies for how to find a wall stud.

1. Look at the trim for where it has been nailed to a stud.

Since the baseboard is attached to the studs, inspect the baseboard and try to determine where it has been nailed. These holes, called dimples, are usually filled with caulk and then painted, but you may be able to spot one to identify the whereabouts of a stud. If you find a dimple, measure in 16-inch increments to locate studs to each side of it.

2. Locate the switches and outlets, which indicate a stud.

If baseboards don’t offer any clues to the stud’s whereabouts, look for a light switch or electrical outlet. At least one side of an electrical box must be mounted to a stud. To determine which side of the box the stud is on, use the “knock test” by rapping on either side of the switch or outlet. The side that returns a solid, versus hollow, sound is the stud side. Next, measure about ¾ inch away from the outlet on the stud side and use that as a starting point to determine the 16-inch intervals of stud spacing.

3. Measure 16 inches from the corner.

With studs generally 16 inches on center, you can also do calculations by measuring from a corner of the room. Now, all rooms aren’t built in numbers divisible by 16, so you are likely to have a stud that is less than 16 inches from one corner.

Try the “knock test” near the corner to see if you can determine where the shorter stud spacing might have been added. A hollow sound when you knock indicates that there’s nothing behind the drywall, while a more solid sound would suggest that there’s framework there to screw into.

This only really works if you’re measuring a corner of the exterior of the house. But it’s worth a shot before you go crazy with the test holes, wondering how far apart the studs are in your walls.

4. Use a magnet to locate metal fasteners.

One of the easiest ways to detect a stud is to use a magnet. While the magnet won’t help detecting the wood stud itself, it will help you locate the metal screws used to attach the drywall to the studs.

You can’t just use any ordinary magnet off the fridge, though. Since the screw heads will likely be covered by spackle, you’ll need a strong neodymium magnet, which is the strongest commercially available magnet you can buy.

Move the magnet slowly around the wall’s surface until you feel it pull to one of the screws. If you use the right magnet, it should be strong enough to stick to the surface of the wall at the location of the screw head, making it easy to mark the stud’s location with a pencil.

5. Refer to photos taken during previous renovations.

If you had your home built (or you’ve ever gut renovated it), you may have taken photos of the house at different stages of its construction, including when it was down to the studs, with no drywall. If that’s the case, you can use these photos to give you at least a general idea of where studs are located.

Using the pictures, note where the studs are in relation to features that are currently visible in the room–corners, doorways, electrical outlets, and light switches. Going forward, it’s always a good idea to take plenty of pictures any time your home is undergoing a renovation that involves exposing the framing.

If all else fails, use a stud finder.

There’s no shame in keeping a small stud detector in your toolbox, really, and you’re bound to find more uses for it than just to hang one heavy frame. Floating shelves, bathroom mirrors, flat-screen TVs can all benefit from the secure hold of a stud. Our researched guide to the best stud finders on the market and this primer on how to use a stud finder are terrific resources about selecting and using this tool.

Final Thoughts

Understanding the anatomy of a wall can help you use one of the above techniques to locate a stud, and potentially eliminate the need to buy yet another tool. These techniques are also helpful backups for DIYers who do own a stud finder, but want to check the accuracy of the stud finder’s readings before making a hole in the wall.

Whichever strategy you use, proceed with caution when drilling holes in your walls. Interior walls contain wiring, plumbing lines, and gas pipes that can cause personal injury or damage to your home if you happen to hit them with a drill bit. You should be reasonably confident of a stud’s location before gearing up your drill.

FAQs About Finding Wall Studs

Though the five techniques described above will help you identify the location of a wall stud, they aren’t the only ways to do so. Ahead, learn how your smartphone and stud spacing can make it easier to locate wall studs.

Q: Can I use my phone as a stud finder?

Yes. There are many free and paid smartphone apps that function as stud finders. These apps use the phone’s internal magnetometer to detect the strength of the magnetic field. While these apps won’t detect the stud itself, they can detect the screws holding the drywall to the stud.

Q: How far apart are studs in a wall?

Most wall studs are spaced 16 inches apart on center; however, they can also be spaced at 24 inches. That said, spacing isn’t always exact. Studs can bow and twist up to 1 inch in either direction as a home settles.

Q: How deep are studs behind drywall?

Drywall is attached flush to the studs, so the stud’s depth depends on the thickness of the drywall. The most common drywall for interior walls is 1/2-inch thick. You may also encounter thicker 5/8-inch drywall, which is sometimes used for ceilings or with rooms that require soundproofing.