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I am trying to install shelves above my dresser in the bedroom I am renting. I thought I had correctly found studs using a magnetic studfinder and foolishly ignored that nothing further away from the adjacent wall/column passed the knock test. Each spot I drilled is vertically aligned with a point that the studfinder found, but I have only gotten drywall so far. Here is a marked picture of the situation: green is where I have drilled, red is where the magnet stuck to the wall, orange is where there was only weak magnetic attraction. (Here's the last point I couldn't fit in the image). Does anyone have any tips? Is it possible that this patch of drywall simply doesn't have studs? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Other notes: --House built 1909, not sure when last remodeled --The wall is shared two bedrooms, and this patch between the adjacent wall and the column measures ~46" W at the base and slopes from ~39" H up to ~81" high at ~45 degrees --The studfinder showed that there was metal along the entire height of the column to the right --The only spots that pass the knock test are at the edges, but I could just not know what to listen/feel for. I also tried doing the hanger test thing but couldn't get anything.

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  • magnetic stud finder will not find studs, for that you use the ultrasound stud finder
    – DIY75
    Commented Sep 27 at 0:55
  • Well, a magnetic stud finder will find the fasteners used to attach wallboard to the studs, which is often good enough if the construction is indeed wallboard and the plaster is indeed attached to studs. Note that in an elderly building studs may not be where you expect them to be, they plaster may not be attached to all the studs (especially if somebody was trying to isolate the wall from noise on the other side), or there may have been ad-hoc solutions such as horizontal blocking.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 27 at 15:32
  • Got it, I'll try running the magnet along the wallboard! Thank you
    – panjo
    Commented Sep 27 at 21:21

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From the age of the house, it's possible that you have a horsehair plaster and lath situation. In those days, studs were not evenly placed at 16", but wherever the carpenter felt like one was needed. Don't be surprised if there are no studs. But there's probably at least one.

Drill a small hole and see if you get resistance after the plaster, which would indicate lath boards. If you are putting a light shelf, this lath might be strong enough to hold the shelf when using toggle anchors.

You can also use the hole from the previous paragraph to insert a coat hanger and see if you can touch the stud. If you can't find a stud with this method, then there's no stud.

Last, if you know you have studs at the ends, use a piece of wood, nailed to the ends, and use this piece of wood to hang your shelf from.

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  • Thanks! You might be onto something with the lath because when I pointed my flashlight in it looked like there was a woody substance behind the plaster.
    – panjo
    Commented Sep 27 at 21:29

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