Hot answers tagged studs
23
I did a lot of research when finishing our basement. I eventually went with a wall model recommended by building sciences corporation that, from outside in, is:
existing exterior wall (concrete, concrete block, etc)
foam board insulation (XPS or EPS, I went with EPS)
stud wall
sheet rock (I went with a paperless product called Densarmor
This is a system ...
18
Do you have any high powered magnets? like the rare earth neodynium magnets? If so you can probably rub one around the wall until it attaches to one of the nails in the studs. Or you can try thumping on the wall, a stud will sound alot less hollow versus empty drywall. That's how I've searched around in the past.
15
A variation to the "educated guess exploratory hole method" is to use a small finish nail (longer than the drywall thinkness) and "explore" by nailing that in near the floor boads. If it moves free after hitting it in, you are not in the stud, move 1.5" to the left or right and try again. After you find the stuf, use a level or plumb bob to trace up the ...
14
There are at least three different types of stud finders; unless you understand what they're doing to try to locate studs, their results may baffle you.
Magnetic - these are a pitiful joke, but they were the only thing available when I was a kid. They don't sense the stud itself (unless you're in an office building that uses steel studs!), but rather the ...
12
It is not safe to simply cut a hole in the studs, and while the safe probably would transfer the load, you do not know that the safe was designed to transfer vertical loads, or how it will react. The consequences of a mistake here could be severe long term.
Therefore the proper course of action is to reframe the wall. Generally you would do this by adding ...
12
Power lines can be run either through a hole drilled through the stud (i.e. horizontally) or stapled along the edge of the stud (i.e. vertically).
Horizontal runs are generally used to connect multiple sockets in the same room. For normal outlets at about 1' above floor level, the wiring will usually be a few inches above the outlets, but you could have ...
10
Right stud: What's the best way to screw the stud into the frame at the top and bottom so that it's sturdy enough to support the new wall I am going to hang on it?
What you're doing here is called "sistering". I personally would use 2 screws each at the top and bottom. More is unnecessary - after all look at the other studs - nothing holds them in the ...
9
Metal studs are great for framing walls. They are super light, easy to work with, straight. But you've discovered one drawback...they don't have nearly the strength of a wooden 2x4 for mounting things to it.
Metal studs DO come in different guages, though. The heavier, the better, but it sounds like yours are fairly light-weight.
Some options:
take down ...
8
Just found this useful document (direct link to PDF) on the web. It explains in a much clear manner than I can, plus it contains some good, easy to read diagrams.
Notching & Boring Guide for Floor Joists & Stud Walls in Conventional Light-Frame Construction by Western Wood Products Association
8
Look for wall outlets. They are usually mounted on a stud. Then start measuring in 16 inch increments to find other studs. As a backup, I would use a small finish nail to hunt for the stud in the area that you want to put the TV in. Some studfinders have a "hi" and "low" setting that will adjust how sensitive it is to things behind it. Sometimes for ...
8
I'm basically paraphrasing Mike Holmes on this one:
Steel studs are generally intended for commercial use, not residential. My understanding is that they don't have the load carrying capacity of wood, and they're also subject to corrosion.
Technically you CAN use them, but he wouldn't. If you're concerned about moisture, I'd think about using PT 2x4's ...
8
If you have a wall, you have structure.
If your wall is masonry then the TV mount can likely be mounted directly to the masonry (or mounts are available which can).
If your wall is drywall then you must have structure behind it... perhaps your studfinder is malfunctioning or you're using it improperly?
Studs can usually be found beside original electrical ...
8
Case 1: Bridge Air Gap By Fastening to Building Structure With Overhung-load Bearing Fasteners
The air gap problem is quite common: The sheetrock on many walls I have encountered doesn't contact the studs everywhere. So, when you tighten down a TV mount to the wall, the drywall deflects toward the studs. You can easily cause cracking of the drywall, ...
8
Maybe there was a drywall patch and this is a back brace?
From your description, it appears that trimming this piece will do no harm (and a lot of good).
The easiest method is to use a multitool.
There are numerous good brands, and they come with a variety of blades and other attachments.
These versatile tools make cutting, sanding grinding in tight ...
8
The common solution is to attach a piece of plywood larger than the panel to the studs, and then attach the panel to the plywood. This also provides a good place for attaching cables, so you can get a nice organized installation.
Additionally, this technique provides the benefit of being able to insulate behind the panel.
7
For the sistered stud, it makes no difference. All the load is transfered to the adjacent stud and there won't be any movement if you use enough screws and the adjacent stud is properly installed.
For the other side, just make sure the stud is resting firmly against the base plate and screw it down, leaving any slack between the stud and top plate. If ...
7
Yes, in general electrical outlets are installed directly next to a stud.
However, apartments may have some different things going on:
There may be metal studs. These are much harder to find by knocking.
Outside walls especially, may be a sheet of drywall on thin strapping with concrete behind, or even the drywall right on the concrete. These walls can ...
7
From your description of putting a screw into the walls, it certainly sounds as if you have lath-and-plaster. Another sign is the color of the dust: with drywall, it will be very white and uniform, whereas with lath-and-plaster, it's greyish and has darker flecks.
A lot of stud finders work by detecting the change in the dielectric constant of the wall as ...
7
Around here they are generally only used in commercial construction or in buildings where flamable building materials like wood are not allowed. Wood is just much easier to work with generally.
Some advantages of metal over wood:
They don't burn.
They are always straight.
Easier to run electrical through (come with holes, so no drilling needed).
And ...
7
Yes it is. If all your studs are oriented the same way, you'll have a gentle bow to the wall (either in or out) that is more or less consistent across the width of a wall.
On the other hand, if you have them so that one stud curves in and the next curves out, you're going to have irregularities in your wall that are the twice the size of the curvature of ...
7
An easy way to complete a wall like you describe is to build it flat on the floor. That way you can screw or nail the studs to the plates through the plates. I recommend installing a separate plate on the floor or across the upper joists first. Floor usually works best. Then simply measure the shortest dimension from the floor plate you just installed to ...
7
My concern is the "float." If the drywall is an inch "above" the stud, what is the drywall attached to? Not the stud. Also, standard construction has a 2x4 stud with its short side facing the finish material and its long side, about 3.5 inches, perpendicular to the finish material. If you have only 1.5 inches before poking through, this is a very ...
6
I see from your other question, that you are rehabing an industrial space. Personally, I'd use steel studs in this application. You can build them to 16 ft, no problem. You will need to install horizontal stiffeners as Mike mentions, unless you go wider that the 4 inches of wall thickness. It is very difficult to build and handle a wood framed wall of that ...
6
Get a piece of 3/4 inch plywood and cut it as wide as the gap between the studs, plus 3.5 inches. It should be about as tall as your tv. Also get a couple of 3.5 inch lag bolts or a box of 4 inch deck screws. Also get 6 or more 1 inch bolts as fat as the mounting slots on the bracket and matching t-nuts.
Center the bracket on the plywood and mark the ...
6
While having all four mount points connect to structure (aka: the stud) is ideal, I think in your case, having two mount points in wood and two in a drywall anchor, you're going to be ok.
Consider this question:
What is the weight capacity of a drywall screw?
One drywall screw CAN (not should) hold a lot of weight for its size. Also a properly installed ...
6
This should be OK, but I would recommend attaching the 2x4s to studs on both sides of the TV, not just the right side as you've shown. You don't want the weight of the TV to pull the 2x4s away from the wall on the left side. A 55" TV is going to be heavy and the eccentricity caused by the spacing of the wood and the bracket will cause it to pull away.
...
5
In my area metal studs are not cheaper than wood studs, but still widely used by pros. That leads me to think that there must be a big time savings with metal once you're experienced. In a large installation the consistency of metal makes follow-on work like electrical and drywall go much faster.
I only used metal once, and found that it was slower than ...
5
The joists should be at the squeak, you just need to determine the direction of the joists. Typically, this is the shorter distance between exterior walls, unless there are interior load bearing walls used to break up the span. Some stud finders have a deep penetrating settings that might find a joist through carpet. And you can also try finding the joists ...
5
Having the drywall floating an inch off the studs sounds like you have some kind of sound attenuation channel installed to keep the studs. These are used to prevent sound from traveling between the drywall and studs, either because it's a common wall with a neighbor in a multi-unit structure, or because you live near a loud area (such as a highway).
The ...
5
A horizontal board between two studs is typically fire blocking. The idea of fire blocking is to prevent a cavity in a wall more than 8' high where fire can quickly spread. You'll see this in any room with over 8' ceilings. For it to work properly, you can't have any gaps allowing air to go from the lower cavity to the upper one. This means any gaps need to ...
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