I'm trying to find the studs in an exterior wall to mount my TV, but I'm running into some real problems. I used a stud finder and it indicated three horizontal 'studs' at 2', 4', and 6'. This led me to think there might be furring strips between the studs and the drywall. After trying the tapping method, I couldn't find any vertical studs near the electrical outlet either. I switched to using a rare earth magnet to locate drywall screws but only found one row of screws at 24'' height, spaced 20'' apart, and another row at 72'' height, 24'' apart. I'm not seeing any double screws 1-2 inches apart where they should connect the plywood sheets. I even used a light to check for tape joints in the drywall, but didn't see a thing. How is this wall constructed? I live in Canada and this section of the wall is about 10ft wide between two windows. It looks like it's all one big drywall sheet, which is puzzling me.
4 Answers
Your house might have steel studs, which can be tricky. They should be about every 16 inches. If you knock on the wall, pay attention to the sound; it should feel and sound different where the studs are. And keep your dogs away while you do this, or they'll wonder what's going on! Haha.
Try pounding in a small nail or drill bit horizontally until you hit a stud. That could give you a better idea of where they might be.
How old is your house? Since it was built in 2000, there's a chance they just nailed the drywall over an older lath and plaster wall. I’d recommend doing some exploratory drilling or using a cheap USB endoscope from Amazon to peek inside the walls, pipes, etc. That might help you figure out what’s going on.
> I'm pretty sure no drywaller is that good.
You might be surprised! I once saw a drywaller who filled in a closed-off doorway, and the finish was so smooth you couldn't even tell it had been done. For your wall, lightly tap with a hammer and listen for the tone change; that often helps identify where the studs are.
Yeah, built in 2000, so I doubt it. I’ll try nailing near the outlet, but the drywall is really getting to me.