March 2017 alltopic thread
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From: Fresno, CA.
Anyone know if 24 inches is the standard for stud spacing in apartment complexes, or 16 inches? Bought a floating shelf for my DVD player Xbox console and a wall mount for the TV and don't want to tear up the wall to find a stud.
Jim
Jim
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From: Mts. S. of San Francisco
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From: Manteca,Ca
Some Interior walls non load bearing could be 24" oc, exterior and load bearing walls with out a dout 16" oc , be carful with adjoining complex water pipe layout , two hour wall separation is 16 oc with single layer 5/8 drywall both sides if double one side your stud finder may have issues finding a stud it might pick up a screw or nail head .
Last edited by 04badford; Mar 11, 2017 at 06:38 PM. Reason: Adding
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I just completed a remodel of my house which was built in 1976. The exterior load bearing walls on the original structure are 24" OC. The addition I did is, of course, all 16" OC. Apparently the old standard of 1976 was 24", even with the rated snow load in this area of the sierras. Personally, I was surprised to find 24" studs in the walls. She's still standing, (knock on wood). Get yourself a good stud finder. There are cheap ones that don't work. Good stud finders work better, but if there is a lot of texture even good ones may have difficulty. A narrow gauge nail and hammer works too if your stud finder isn't telling you what you need to know, but then you have to fill the nail holes and paint (at least spot paint) it after wards. A good stud finder can save you some headache and followup patch work.
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From: Manteca,Ca
Yea Tim I do run into these homes often , many built around Oakland ,true sized studs 2"x4" , codes have changed along with earthquake seismic retrofitting , more steel and plywood sheer walls .all on 16" , use to love working with all the nice old Redwood that came out of those homes.
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From: Other side of the sunrise
Yea Tim I do run into these homes often , many built around Oakland ,true sized studs 2"x4" , codes have changed along with earthquake seismic retrofitting , more steel and plywood sheer walls .all on 16" , use to love working with all the nice old Redwood that came out of those homes.
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FTE Chapter Leader
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From: Fresno, CA.
Not sure exactly when these apartments were built, I believe in the 80's, can't remember if the manager said 83 or 88, so that would make it 16". I bought a stud finder, but I bought a cheap one as I figured this would be the only time I use it. It will arrive tomorrow. Will see if that was a good decision or not. I have no clue if this is a load bearing wall or not. It is only about 6 foot wide, and separates the living room from the kitchen. On the back side is the stove and refrigerator (both electric) On this side is one outlet which the TV and DVD/Surround/cable box is plugged into.
That Franklin stud finder would be perfect if I were to do this a lot. However, I can't see spending $51 for something I will use once. If the cheap one I bought does not work, I will call around to see if a friend has one. I know two different people who used to do construction work, maybe they kept their stud finders.
Jim
That Franklin stud finder would be perfect if I were to do this a lot. However, I can't see spending $51 for something I will use once. If the cheap one I bought does not work, I will call around to see if a friend has one. I know two different people who used to do construction work, maybe they kept their stud finders.
Jim
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From: Here in No. Calif
Jim, go to an electric outlet (plug) tap on either side and you can hear which side is solid (stud) then measure out from there 16" and see if you hear the same solid sound. If not then go 20 or 24
pretty easy, hope it helps
pretty easy, hope it helps
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Thanks Hank, I did not even think of that. The electrical outlet is close to the center of the 6 foot wide wall, so the stud would have to be on one side or the other. 
Jim
Jim
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+1 to what Hank said. Using the tap on the wall method works once you train your ear for it, but the measuring +/- 16" from any outlets works great.
You can also get a really cheap magnetic stud finder that works great. It will find any fasteners in the wall, but you have to do a little more searching. My Dad had a really great one that was a cylinder about 1" in diameter with a magnet suspended on a gimbal. When you moved it along the wall, and got close to a fastener, it would "stand up" to show you where the studs are. That little beggar had to be really cheap.
You can also get a really cheap magnetic stud finder that works great. It will find any fasteners in the wall, but you have to do a little more searching. My Dad had a really great one that was a cylinder about 1" in diameter with a magnet suspended on a gimbal. When you moved it along the wall, and got close to a fastener, it would "stand up" to show you where the studs are. That little beggar had to be really cheap.
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Stud finder arrived today, and it is the best $10.00 I ever spent. LOL That thing jumps to the wall. I tried it on the ends of the wall knowing that there are studs there, and it practically jumped out of my hand. Then I moved it in towards the center, and it had no problem finding the next stud and sticking to it. no batteries, no gauges, just two magnets, and a level.
Jim
Jim
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I always do a double take whenever I see old wood and a true 2x4 is in the pile or behind the sheetrock/plaster.
Stewart
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I'm glad the cheapo stud finder is working for you. I've used those magnetic ones where they've worked good on some walls, then on others (with a lot of texture) they'll fall flat. You seem to have walls that work well with it. That's great, since you'll probably only use it to hang a picture here and there once in a while from today on. I bought a pretty nice one at Costco that works very well on most all walls. I think it was around $20 or so. The magnet ones didn't work on my house where lots of texture was used.