how to find studs in plaster walls

Old plaster walls can provide challenges when locating wall studs. We show 2 options to finding studs in a very old house.
1) Neodymium Magnets
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2) Zircon Stud Finder
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This old house renovation that we are taking on will leave some of the interior walls in tact. Being able to find where the studs are located is of course a big help.
You could use a super simple method of rare earth magnets or neodymium magnets to find nils below the surface of the plaster and lath. But this method, though inexpensive, requires a bit of patience and even then you may get mixed results.
The second and more reliable method is to buy a stud finder with deep scan capability.
We are using a Zircon stud finder with the ability to scan through 1.5 inches of wall material. This stud finder makes the process much easier and with more consistent results.
Thanks for watching!
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[@nickySe7en666]

ive lived in my 100 year old apartment building for 10years and watched soooooo many videos about how to find the studs in the lath and plaster walls. ive bought literally every kind of anchor that home depot sells and the regular worker for that aisle knows me by name. haha. this is the best video i have found explaining how to find the studs in these horrible walls. THANK YOU FOR THE HELP!!!

[@Housebarons]

Hey Nicky, Glad it worked! Thx for watching!

[@Mr_Boifriend]

They're great walls, they just suck when you're trying to find the studs 😂

[@petegottfried5476]

Thanks for the heads up on the neodymium magnets! Just grabbed a couple and found studs behind my plaster and lathe!

[@Housebarons]

Hey Pete, Glad it worked out. Thx for watching!

[@laurenceperkins7468]

One thing I miss about the original stud finders was that they were manually calibrated with a little dial. So they didn't care about shallow scan vs deep scan. Put it on the wall, adjust the dial until the light goes out, scan around and the light comes back on wherever the wall is thicker than the setting. You can still do the same thing with most of the new ones, but, annoyingly, you have to take them apart to get to the calibration screw.

[@Housebarons]

Hey Laurence, Interesting!Thx for watching!

[@maryellenlock4050]

Thanks. Great guidance. Thanks for advice for deep scan and demo.

[@Housebarons]

Hey Maryellen, Thx for watching!

[@bhaktaboy]

This was super informative and helpful. Thanks!

[@Housebarons]

Glad it was helpful!

[@justinlewis5253]

Thanks for the info! This is all new to me and I just bought a mostly original home from 1936 😅

[@Housebarons]

Hey Justin, Glad to help! Old houses offer lots of diy repair opportunities. We are with you - finishing up a 1905 renovation now. If you need more home diy help , we have more than 600 videos to choose from so subscribe or bookmark housebarons for future reference. If you ever have a question, feel free to ask - we try to answer as many questions as we can. And if we can’t , many other viewers have great input as well! Congrats on the new house!

[@jockojohn3294]

You can also do this..........find one stud any way you can, even drilling a 1/16th set of horizontal holes across an area where the wall sounds dense and outline the vertical stud with drill holes just in one little area. Then just measure 16" from the center of your found stud, horizontally to the left or right and you should land on another stud, and so forth across the wall. Always find the left and right margins of your stud so you know where the center is....especially if mounting heavy objects like 65" TV monitors with extension hardware that cantilevers away from the wall and swivels....you don't want 75 - 100 lbs of TV & hardware to fall on your wife's head while she's sitting there with the girls for the Saturday afternoon get together......It won't end well ..... those little drill holes are easily filled in with some 15 min. wall compound, and usual wall board finishing compound. I always put little marks where the studs are with a small marking pen, on the baseboard, that way I have a reference to where to measure from for any stud mounted stuff coming up in the future. Real lath/plaster is a pain......finding studs through drywall is childs play with a stud finder.....

[@Housebarons]

Hey Jocko, Very good! Thx for the added input and thanks for watching’

[@Mr_Boifriend]

Wow i love your comment

[@marymack4105]

Exactly what I needed. Thanks!

[@barbarahunt5735]

I found this video really helpful. Thanks!

[@Housebarons]

Hey Barb…, Awesome! Thx for letting us know!

[@MoSvivor]

Helpful. Thank you. Hanging some curtains this weekend. 🥴

[@Housebarons]

Hey Mauris, Hope it goes well! Thx for watching!

[@zombieshelterstudio925]

Very helpful and to the point, thank you.

[@Housebarons]

Glad it was helpful!

[@123GoBrits]

Studs from the 1940's and further back are often a full 2 inches wide

[@Housebarons]

Hey 123.... Yes. Definitely more challenging. Thx for watching!

[@123GoBrits]

@@Housebarons Oh, thank you. This is a tough problem. I have been asked to repair these walls which have decent insulation and sound resistance. People drill holes in the plaster and inject construction glue but I sometimes remove the shattered plaster, screw aluminum lathing to the wood lathing and then apply a coat of structo-lite , rough it with a sponge and then the plaster to finish. I have not mastered the perfectly flat and smooth job yet. For stud finding, I use the biggest rare earth magnets I can get ( often fails anyway ) wall tapping, drilling ( look for sawdust on the bit and resistance beyond 1 and 1/2 inches of depth), drill 3/8 hole and send a 10 awg copper ground wire, bent 90 degrees, in to feel the stud. and a camera probe made by General (larger screen than Milwaukee ) in to look at the wire situation

[@Dixey3]

Will the deep scanner identify if there’s any live wires behind the wall?

[@Housebarons]

Hey Brian, The zircon L-40 ( in the video ) does sense for live wires. But even if it doesn’t detect any, I would still exercise caution when cutting into the wall. Thx for watching!

[@VS-re1sr]

Any advice on sourcing picture rail? I close in a week on an 1892 farmhouse. I want picture rail so we do not damage the plaster while having the flexibility to change our minds on where we hang what.

[@Housebarons]

Hey V S, I look for a woodworking supply shop… or a big box store and use some molding they have that is close to the profile you want ( sometimes the desired profile can be made by combining 2 or more pieces of molding) . Lastly buy a router and a bit or 2 and create your own. Congrats on your old home! The can be a challenge. Thx for watching.

[@Housebarons]

Hey V S, Here is a link to some of our old house videos: kzbin.info/aero/PLExVGissIl-GhHMc1epfmJEXwkUXTPa1p Hope they help!

[@rachmuffins7]

Bless you!

[@deborahkhoury534]

Great Video, thank you! Question - what do you use to hang heavy (25 lb) art on a plaster wall? I have 3 large pieces that I want to hang together. Ideally finding a stud - but what if one doesn’t match up? Help Please!

[@Housebarons]

Hey Deborah…, Thx much! Size is a big factor - the larger - the easier it is to anchor off multiple studs. If you are talking about an old house - lath and plaster walls , then I would consider : 1) using butterfly toggles ( which open up behind the lath after being inserted into a hole, 2) mounting a thinner board across multiple studs and then using that board by anchoring the artwork into it. Could also make a larger but flat decorative structure to which artwork could be attached. 3) old houses used to have “picture rail” molding across the upper level of the room which allowed things to hang down from it. 4) look up “ French cleat “! Made of wood or modern metal designs. Hope that can spark some ideas for you. Thx for watching!

[@deborahkhoury534]

@@Housebarons thank you soooooo much for replying and the great info - I can do this!👍

[@gameratortylerstein5636]

4:34 Old houses have studs and other lumber that actually are the nominal dimensions. My 123 y old house has 2x4 2x4s. They are not 1.5 by 3.5

[@Housebarons]

True - good point to clarify, Thx for watching!

[@c.518]

Do you worry about asbestos? How do you go about the job? Can you just tell or do you get a sample from every job to be safe?

[@Housebarons]

Hey Nutella, To be safe you can test. But typically we worry about flooring - 9 inch tiles are often asbestos. The black flooring glue was also full of asbestos. We avoid tearing up tile. Better to cover with click lock so as not to disturb it. Do your research. Wear a rated respirator for all dusty work. Thx for watching!

[@joec1596]

My Zircon deep scan stud finder was not accurate in finding studs under plaster. I had to resort to drilling about 5 holes next to each other to find the stud. I haven't tried the magnet method yet.

[@Housebarons]

Hey Joe, Check this video out. This zircon is MUCH better. Basically a strong metal detector. Easily finds the lath nails. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kILNdXusppxsh68 Thx for watching!

[@laurenceperkins7468]

Note that lath and plaster is tricky because it's not a constant thickness like modern plasterboard. So you'll probably need to scan the wall at multiple heights to eliminate the ghosts.

[@alisonj1384]

Ugh. This is my problem I think. I also think there is metal in the plaster or something. The detector just beeps the whole time.

[@user-vz9ub2ic3w]

How far apart are the studs in this home?

[@Housebarons]

Hey user…, Generally - 16 inches. But it is 100+ years old and has been modified as well … so some surprises. Thx for watching!

[@Kshais]

Hi, why would you be finding a stud behind a plaster wall? Looking for any and all tips for a 112 yr old home I’ll be embarking on.

[@Housebarons]

Hey Kahais, In our old house we will likely hang 1/4 inch drywall on a badly paint peeling ceiling - finding the ceiling joists would be needed for that. Hanging larger mirrors would be good to be on studs. And hanging ceiling and floor molding - all need studs to fix them tightly. Enjoy your old house - they do have an unmistakable cool vibe! Thx for watching!

[@123GoBrits]

@@Housebarons I recently had to hang an eighty pound TV on a wall in a part of the country known for earthquakes. The homeowner was about to hang it on the lathing. Weight high up and poorly fastened in tremor country equals fallen TV problem

[@Ra_773]

I am using a stud finder as I want to mount a tv to my wall. It beeps signaling it found the edge of a stud but when I drag it along it keeps on going. Is that normal?

[@Housebarons]

Hey Just…, It could mean that there is a lot of something behind the wall there. If there is just one stud, it should stop beeping after 1.5 inches or so. If there are 2 studs there, maybe beeping for 3 inches. Co up DK be multiple studs if that place in the wall is holding up a beam. Experiment with other walls. If that wall is the only one giving that signal, there must be something unusual there. Hope that helps. Thx for watching!

[@mzsexidreadz]

Thanks

[@Housebarons]

Hey ItsMe, Thx for watching!

[@sixshooter3313]

In my Old house the studs are not always 16 inches apart.

[@Housebarons]

hey sixshooter, True! Thx for watching!

[@veenstra0003]

Idk if I trust this method. I'm trying to hang a swing from my ceiling

[@Housebarons]

Hey veen.., True / hanging a swing needs to be right. Check this stud finder out. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kILNdXusppxsh68 This one is our favorite. Thx for watching!

[@brandonbippus37]

You can knock find a stud. Please make a video

[@Housebarons]

Hey Brandon, Thx for the tip. We’ll keep it in mind for the future.

[@fuzzyrat123]

Brandon, you're going to have some sore knuckles knocking on plaster walls :)