Studs are boards or pieces of wood that are used as frames behind walls. These construction features run between the floor and the ceiling. The walls are then attached to the edges of the studs. Therefore, most walls attached to studs cannot support heavy objects.

If you live in such a home, you should understand that studs and not walls should support things such as picture frames or any home decor. One might ask, how do you locate a stud when everything else is behind the wall? This is where stud finders come to the picture.

What is a Stud Finder?

Ideally, a stud finder is a device that is used to locate studs behind walls. While most experienced carpenter can accurately tell where a stud lies by knocking the walls, most homeowners cannot conclusively do this. This write explores the working of different types of stud finders. It will help you understand what a stud finder is and how it works.

Magnetic Stud Finder

Magnetic stud finders, just as their name suggests, rely on magnetic fields to locate studs. Based on the nature of their operations, magnetic stud finders can be categorized into two main categories.

Stationary Magnets

Stationary magnets can be used to detect studs in certain types of walls. You only need to run the magnet on the face of the wall. Whenever you hear a pull force, then magnet has detected a stud. Stationary magnets are mostly used on drywalls, where the stud is closer to the surface and thus easy to detect.

Moving Magnets

While the range of use of stationary magnets is somewhat limited, moving magnets have a wider scope. These stud detectors use relatively strong magnets. The finder makes a noise whenever it detects a stud.

Electronic Stud Finders

These stud finders relying on changes in electric current to detect the presence of studs in metals. These stud detectors can be very accurate. There are three types of electronic stud finders.

Edge finders are a special type of electric stud detector that relies on the change of density. They can tell even where the edge of the stud is located.

The center finder is another electric stud locator. This special stud finder relies on two sensors to help you locate the center of the stud.

Lastly, you can also use an instant stud finder. This stud finder uses multiple sensors and locates multiple studs at the same time.

It is worth noting that most electronic stud finders need some calibration. Thus, you need to ensure that they are well-calibrated for accurate results.