I have a storage cupboard in which I'd like to put some shelves. No problem with brick walls as normally I'd just have wooden battens on 3 sides, srewed directly into the wall with rawlplugs, then just put some shelves between the battens. But I've never done this with stud walls. The cupboard's 90cm wide and 55cm deep. It's also the fusebox cupboard with some heavy duty metal trunking along one wall and a 4cm thick black insulated mains cable coming from the ceiling. So I'll need to buy a detector to make sure I don't go into anything.
I've seen some (allegedly) heavy duty plasterboard fixings which expand and grip into the cavity when you screw the screw in but there are different depths of fixings.
How do I know the thickness of fixing I need for the plasterboard?
Is there a UK standard that might be typical in a new build?
Should I try and get one of the battens mounted to a stud in the cupboard or would I generally be ok with it being supported on 3 sides and it being quite narrow and not too deep?
Are there any scientific ways to detect where the studs will be other than knocking on the wall?