How To Find A Wall Stud In Wood Panelling

Turn off the power to the outlet or switch if you plan to remove the cover and look for the stud.

How to find a wall stud in wood panelling.

I haven t owned a functioning stud finder in years because it s easy and more accurate to find them with a little basic construction knowledge. On a properly framed house o c stud spacing is pulled from one end of the house walls doors should not affect these. When looking for wall studs behind a wood panel wall look closely for colored nail heads in the grooves of the panels. Studs exist to hold up drywall on interior walls and wood sheathing on exterior walls.

Divide the wall length by the width of your panel sheets to get the number of sheets you ll need. To find the studs on horizontal t g paneling see if you can see the nails or nail gouge under near the tongue or if that fails then at the top of the wall possibly under a trim strip. Yet another way is to find the closest electrical outlet or switch in the middle of the wall take off the plate and look on either side of it. If you find such an irregularity in the mounting area you can be almost 100 certain it indicates a stud.

Don t forget to subtract the size of any doors or windows. If you don t want to mess with the outlets you can drill a small hole 3 4 away from the switch box on either side to find the stud this can be done close to the floor to make the hole less noticeable use a level to accurately translate the location of the switch. Measure the height and width of each wall you re covering to find its square footage. If your paneling is tongue and groove place the groove.

You can measure 16 over from the seam and that might be a stud especially if the furring strips are vertical. To install sheet paneling properly you ll need to know how many sheets you will need. Holding a light near the wall as you look along it can help you find the imperfections. Place a wood panel against the wall in a corner with the base resting on top of the baseboard.

Allow a 1 8 inch expansion gap in the corner. One side of the electrical box for an outlet or a switch is typically attached to a stud. Any nails you find probably penetrate a wall stud behind the paneling.