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We also recommend a few that we haven’t had a chance to test out yet, but that we think are promising based on product specs and user reviews. We found several stud finders that worked great, and used our DIY and carpentry expertise here at Popular Mechanics to determine which stud finders were best for various uses. We also took the stud finders to two homes-one, a mid-1800s house with lath and plaster, and the other, a 1970s tract house-for real-world testing. Then, we scanned the wall with each of the stud finders.Īll functioned as expected when it came to detecting the studs, but we quickly found that some of them didn’t work as advertised.

How We Evaluatedįor our evaluations, we built a four-by-eight-foot wall from common materials: wood and metal studs drywall copper, black, pex, and PVC pipes and nonmetallic sheathed cable.

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Scroll to the bottom for more advice on how to get the most out of your stud finder. Take everything with a grain of salt, and use the stud finder in conjunction with the placement of electrical and plumbing fixtures to figure things out. While you may get definitive results in one case, you could be left scratching your head in another. Stud finders have their jobs cut out for them, given the many variables in wall materials and construction. If you plan on hanging heavier items or anything that’ll bear weight, like a shelf or a bike rack, you might want to get an electronic stud finder to make sure you’re on target.Ĭlockwise, from left: detecting a ferrous object-black pipe-in our test wall finding a stud’s center setting deep scan mode. The most advanced stud finders use technology like ground-penetrating radar, which uses radar pulses to create a subsurface image.įor most occasional home uses, like hanging pictures or bathroom mirrors, a magnetic stud finder will do the trick. Some also identify metal pipes or electrical wires. When the signal changes, the stud finder beeps or flashes to let you know it’s found a stud. Most electronic stud finders work by sending out a signal from a sensor inside, then reading the signal that bounces back. In commercial construction, where metal studs are standard, you may find magnetic stud finders more useful. If the builder missed the stud, so will the magnetic stud finder. Magnetic stud finders aren’t always the most accurate, though-they rely on the fastener actually being driven into the stud. We tested several options to find the best stud finders for home and commercial use, whether you just need a hand hanging up your new shelves or you’re hoping to avoid damage while you work within the drywall. To test all the features, we put a selection of stud finders through their paces on a wall of our own making and walls in real homes. That doesn’t mean that stud finders work like X-ray vision, though-there’s a lot going on in walls, and it can be hard, despite advances in tech, for any device to determine what’s a pipe and what’s a wire, for instance. This can help make sure you don’t hit a pipe or wire when hanging something up-a mistake that can quickly become an expensive one.

Some stud finders have other features, too, like deep scanning and AC wire detection. Studs-the wooden or metal beams that your drywall is attached to-are the most sturdy place to sink weight-bearing anchors into drywall to ensure your wall hangings don’t fall. Knowing where your studs are is crucial for hanging up heavy items, like mirrors or mounts for flat-screen TVs. A stud finder is good for, well, finding studs you can’t see.