I'm trying to do this today. I've read many different ideas. I'll share the results here once I'm done.
Update: I'm trying to mount some staghorn ferns on our walls. The ferns are already mounted on plywood. I've come up with a way around the wall mounting idea - hanging them by chain from the eaves at the base of the walls. It would work, but now I need bolt cutters to cut through the chain. Argh!
How To Find Wall Studs in 10 Easy Steps
ReplyDeleteMaterials: hammer, finishing nail, tape measure, drywall mud, drywall sanding sheet, paint, beer, wife.
Instructions:
(1) Drink cold beer while gathering all materials except wife (save wife for later).
(2) Mark out a 30" horizontal line across wall, with 1" tick marks
(3) At each tick mark beginning from left, drive nail into wall. If nail does not meet resistance, remove nail and move to next tick mark on right. Repeat as necessary until nail meets resistance.
(4) Open cold beer, drink.
(5) Plug all empty holes with drywall mud.
(6) Open cold beer, drink.
(7) Allow mud to dry slightly, and sand smooth.
(8) Open cold beer, drink.
(9) Call wife, hand her paint and brush.
(10) Declare victory, open celebratory beer.
I have some little half-inch-cube rare-earth magnets (the fiercely powerful little buggers), and I just sweep it over the wall until it passes over a nail or drywall screw. At which point it abruptly fastens itself to the wall. These magnets are lots of fun for other purposes, too. I think everybody should have some.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this assumes that (a) whoever put the wall up in the first place actually did put the drywall screws into the studs, and (b) that it isn't an older (pre-drywall) house that used expanded-metal lath to hold the plaster in place (in which case, the magnet will stick to everything).
Tim, that's a great idea using the rare earth magnets. One note of caution though, be very careful to keep them out of the hands (mouths) of small children and pets. A few swallowed magnets can result in a painful death.
ReplyDelete