I'm installing a new fridge that's too tall for the cabinet above it, so I took down the old cabinet that was never used. It wasn't hard to remove, but I noticed that the installers banged a bunch of holes in the drywall every few inches. Does anyone know why they would do that? I thought they might be trying to locate the studs, but that seems a bit silly. Here's a link to an image of the area: https://imgur.com/a/2IvsjGd
3 Answers
It looks like they were trying to locate the studs. It's surprising they didn't just use a stud finder instead of punching holes everywhere!
Yeah, my guess too is they were searching for the studs. Often, shortcuts are taken where cabinets cover the wall. If the electrician messed up and didn't forward-plan the lines, they might have cut through the drywall here, thinking it wouldn't be visible later.
Exactly, with all those hammer marks, I bet they were looking for a stud. It’s weird since the cabinet wasn’t secured to any in the middle, just the corners.
Those holes might actually be from previous installers who were looking for studs themselves. If they were removing a cabinet, not sure why the current guys needed to find them again.

Wait, isn’t a stud finder the tool with a hammer head on the end of a hammer handle? Sounds like they could’ve used a basic tool.