# Can I find a wall stud without a stud finder?



## Davidius (Aug 17, 2008)

My wife and I bought a framed picture from a yard sale yesterday that measures 40 x 26 inches. The frame is not a very expensive or heavy one. Would this need to be hung on studs or could we just put two nails with hooks in the wall? Also, is it possible to find studs without a stud finding tool? And if I'm using two nails instead of just one, have a normal length balance, and the nails are going to be further apart than the balance reaches, how do I make sure that they are level?


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## Herald (Aug 17, 2008)

Try tapping on the wall every inch with a small hammer. Listen for a change in pitch when you tap the wall. Tap moderately. When the pitch becomes more of a heavy thud you may have found your stud. It's worked for me.


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## Presbyterian Deacon (Aug 17, 2008)

North Jersey Baptist said:


> Try tapping on the wall every inch with a small hammer. Listen for a change in pitch when you tap the wall. Tap moderately. When the pitch becomes more of a heavy thud you may have found your stud. It's worked for me.




WARNING: Tapping too hard will result in many holes, one inch apart across the length of your wall.


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## Marrow Man (Aug 17, 2008)

You shouldn't need to find a stud. If you use picture hooks (I'm assuming here that there is already a wire mounted to the back of the frame -- if not you can do this easily yourself), they should hold (often they will be rated by size, displayed on the package: 20 lb, 30 lb., etc.). One hook can do it, but I've used two hooks before for especially heavy frames. I've never had a damaged wall (other than the small nail hole) or had a picture fall.


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## Pergamum (Aug 17, 2008)

AH, so you finally got they portrait of dogs playing pool, heh?


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## Matthew1034 (Aug 17, 2008)

You can level the picture by using a tape measure: place the first nail for either the right or left side of the picture and then measure from the ceiling to the nail (against the wall) and do the nail for the other side an equal distance as the first


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## Davidius (Aug 17, 2008)

Marrow Man said:


> You shouldn't need to find a stud. If you use picture hooks (I'm assuming here that there is already a wire mounted to the back of the frame -- if not you can do this easily yourself), they should hold (often they will be rated by size, displayed on the package: 20 lb, 30 lb., etc.). One hook can do it, but I've used two hooks before for especially heavy frames. I've never had a damaged wall (other than the small nail hole) or had a picture fall.



I have a package of 20 lb hooks. Does it sound like one of those would work for what I have? It already has a wire on the back.


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## Semper Fidelis (Aug 17, 2008)

One method is to get an extremely thin nail that's a couple of inches long and tap it into the wall at various points until you hit something hard. Studs are about 18" apart and about 1.5" wide. Once you hit something "hard", you may want to tap to find the beginning and end of a stud.


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## Marrow Man (Aug 17, 2008)

Davidius said:


> I have a package of 20 lb hooks. Does it sound like one of those would work for what I have? It already has a wire on the back.



I'm terrible at judging weights and such. One _might_ work, but if you've got a whole package, just use two. Make sure they're level and place them a few inches apart. You should be fine, with minimal wall damage.


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## DMcFadden (Aug 18, 2008)

Whew! When I saw your thread, I thought that you were going to claim that Emilia is a "stud finder" since she married you. Man does that take a load off my mind discovering you were just looking for a 2x4!


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## Southern Presbyterian (Aug 18, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> Whew! When I saw your thread, I thought that you were going to claim that Emilia is a "stud finder" since she married you. Man does that take a load off my mind discovering you were just looking for a 2x4!





I thought perhaps he was going to complain that a stud finder does not work when he is in the room.  **This is a standard joke among the cabinet installers I work with.**


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## govols (Aug 18, 2008)

Southern Presbyterian said:


> DMcFadden said:
> 
> 
> > Whew! When I saw your thread, I thought that you were going to claim that Emilia is a "stud finder" since she married you. Man does that take a load off my mind discovering you were just looking for a 2x4!
> ...



I don't care who ya are, that right there is funny.


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## Mushroom (Aug 18, 2008)

Semper Fidelis said:


> One method is to get an extremely thin nail that's a couple of inches long and tap it into the wall at various points until you hit something hard. Studs are about 18" apart and about 1.5" wide. Once you hit something "hard", you may want to tap to find the beginning and end of a stud.


That should be 16" from center to center, or sometimes 24" for an interior wall. Rich won't be going into the construction biz after he retires from the USMC. Or maybe those were Okinawa measures.


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## SueS (Aug 18, 2008)

Davidius said:


> And if I'm using two nails instead of just one, have a normal length balance, and the nails are going to be further apart than the balance reaches, how do I make sure that they are level?






I always use simple finishing nails for picture hanging and make sure that the nail is inserted at a rather steep angle in the drywall so as to be stronger and have never had a problem with them tearing out. For a 40" picture you really should use two nails, otherwise you'll be constantly straightening it. The nails don't have to be very far apart either - 6-8" is plenty and assuming you have a standard level you shouldn't have any problem. If you have one of those little bitty (4" or so) levels you can still use it. Just hold a ruler onto the wall and use the little level to make sure it is straight. Then put your nails at whatever distance you need.


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## wsw201 (Aug 18, 2008)

Davidius said:


> My wife and I bought a framed picture from a yard sale yesterday that measures 40 x 26 inches. The frame is not a very expensive or heavy one. Would this need to be hung on studs or could we just put two nails with hooks in the wall? Also, is it possible to find studs without a stud finding tool? And if I'm using two nails instead of just one, have a normal length balance, and the nails are going to be further apart than the balance reaches, how do I make sure that they are level?



You don't necessarily need to find a stud in the wall. Put the picture where ever you want. You can go to HD and get drywall anchors that will hold a lot of weight. While you're there, invest in a level. It can come in handy for other projects and they're pretty cheap.


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## Semper Fidelis (Aug 18, 2008)

Brad said:


> Semper Fidelis said:
> 
> 
> > One method is to get an extremely thin nail that's a couple of inches long and tap it into the wall at various points until you hit something hard. Studs are about 18" apart and about 1.5" wide. Once you hit something "hard", you may want to tap to find the beginning and end of a stud.
> ...



Oops. Thanks for the correction.


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## py3ak (Aug 18, 2008)

I understand that if you tear off all the drywall the studs find themselves.


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