[TheForge] Stud finders

[paul]

plumdon at aol.com wrote:
> A customer wants to mount a small 37 pound segment of copper ore over 
> her fireplace. It is a beautifully colored and textured 24" x 11" 
> piece of natural ore that has been sliced into a 1-1/2" thick item.  
> This is a very upscale home and the owners are not tolerant of 
> mistakes. There is white oak paneling on the wall over the fireplace. 
> I have no way of determining how thick it is. I will be making the 
> mounting brackets, etc., and installing. I want to go through to the 
> studs but unsure what I might use to find them.  I have seen some 
> devices rated at 1-1/2" but never used them, not sure if that is 
> enough depth range or if they really work.
>
> Can anyone suggest a device ot technique that might help?
>
> Regards and thanks
>   
Couple of thoughts that might be of some help...
Wherever you find an electrical outlet box, you can rest assured that on 
one side or the other of that box you will find a stud, which the 
electrician nailed or screwed the roughin box to. You can remove the 
trim plate and most likely be able to see the stud, or at least you can 
CAREFULLY probe for it OUTSIDE the box but still not disturb the drywall 
that would not be covered once the trim plate is re-installed. This same 
principle applies to switch boxes.

FWIW I just tried my Zircon stud sensor on a wall section that has ~1/2" 
of paneling laminated on it below the chair rail. While it found the 
stud on the drywall section above the rail it did not find it on the 
area that had the paneling installed.

If the other side of the wall in question is accessible, locate the 
studs on that side and by careful measurement you can transfer the 
locations to the other side of the wall. In any case the opposite side 
will identify the actual stud spacing, which in conjunction with he stud 
nest to an outlet or a switch should give you a real location. While 16" 
or 24" stud spacing is the standard, many things happen behind the 
drywall which can cause the studs to be installed on a non-standard center.
Good luck...
Paul