Best stud finder

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We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Emily Estep is a plant biologist and journalist who has worked for a variety of online news and media outlets, writing about and editing topics including environmental science and houseplants. If you plan on hanging anything over about 20 pounds in your home, you'll need a stud finder to help you locate the studs and joists you'll need to anchor into to keep things secured in place. Stud finders come in two main types: Magnetic stud finders detect the stud by the nails and screws holding it in place, while electronic sensors use changes in electrical flow to "see" wood, metal, and sometimes electrical wiring within the wall.

Best stud finder

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more. We decided to test a slew of them to help readers find one that suits their needs, including both magnetic and electronic models to find the best stud finder options for a variety of user preferences. While selecting our list of top picks, we also decided to get professional advice about stud finder features from an expert, John Mazzuca. He is a home builder at Gambrick in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, who has more than 25 years of experience in construction. His recommendations are included below. Read on to learn what to look for in a stud finder and find out which popular models scored highest with our expert and during my tests. Home builder Mazzuca says that stud finders are great for everyday projects around the house, like mounting a TV, hanging a picture, or installing a cabinet. Since DIY projects most likely involve fixing up an older building, each one of the tools we tested had to be reliable, accurate, and versatile enough to detect a range of materials behind drywall to make this list of the best stud finders. I wanted to create a test situation that was very close to the situation DIYers and pros face when trying to find wall studs , so I built a facsimile of a stud wall.

Some stud finders have other features, too, best stud finder, like deep scanning and AC wire detection. The light-up ring changes from green no stud sensedto yellow closeto red directly on top of a stud.

Hanson Magnetic Stud Finder. Equipped with two magnets, the C. Hanson is a basic, durable model that scans twice as fast as the rest. This finder gives a visible and audible signal when it locates a stud, but it scans a smaller area and is less durable than our main pick. The most accurate electronic stud finder we tested scans the wall in 13 places to display the entire width of a stud, and unlike the competition, does not require a fussy calibration process.

Knowing where your studs are is crucial for hanging up heavy items, like mirrors or mounts for flat-screen TVs. Some stud finders have other features, too, like deep scanning and AC wire detection. 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. Magnetic stud finders work by waving the magnet along the wall until it catches on the fasteners that attach drywall to the studs. Since fasteners may be spaced over a foot apart on a single stud, it may take longer to locate one with a magnetic stud finder, but this is an affordable and simple option. If the builder missed the stud, so will the magnetic stud finder.

Best stud finder

Affiliate Disclosure: We may be compensated if you purchase through links on our website. Our Reviews Team is committed to delivering honest, objective, and independent reviews on home products and services. Stud finders are used to determine where the studs and fasteners in your walls are located. You can also check out our tools buying guide for more critical factors to consider when shopping for tools for your home. We found that customers who liked that this product thought it was multifunctional, saying that it gave them all of the tools they needed to hang items from their walls. However, we also noted that some customers said that it was cheaply made and only worked for some projects. We noticed that customers often praised this stud finder for its efficiency at scanning for the edge and center of a stud as well as its ability to detect studs in dense materials, such as double sheetrock.

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In addition, to test for live wires, I ran the stud finders the ones with wire-finding functions over a section of wall in my home where I know electrical wires run. Pros Accurately finds stud center Two detection modes. Hanson Magnetic Stud Finder is great. Better tools can do better work. Use limited data to select content. How do stud finders work? The Zircon MultiScanner A is an excellent tool that is easy to use, accurate, and won't break the bank. It's very reasonably priced, as well. Best for Wood Studs. The StudBuddy Magnetic. The Shinwa still requires you to mark your walls manually, however. Note that like other magnetic stud finders, this one cannot detect copper pipes or live wiring, although it will respond to ferrous metal pipes and rebar. It will only find the screws in the studs and not the stud itself, so we were never sure if we were drilling into the center of the stud or not.

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Our ease of use metric included tests on whether the tool could be easily used one-handed, the level of difficulty for marking on the wall and ceiling, how easy it was to understand how to use the tool, and the quality of instructions included with the device. The feature is certainly nice to have but not totally necessary, because feeling the pull of the magnet as it goes over a screw is easy enough. At the end of the testing, I added up the scores for each stud finder and used them to categorize the tools based on their best use. How we picked and tested. Then, we ran the stud finder over the same area in five seconds to evaluate if it was still able to detect the objects. It features four scanning types stud, metal, wire, and deep-scan mode and comes with a graphical LCD display. Our Top Picks. Accuracy 9. Walabot DIY Plus. We found the metal and AC modes worked well enough, but the stud finder tended to pick up on both from several inches away. The device has a far deeper detection depth than many other stud finders and is able to locate wood and metal in concrete, live wiring, copper, and more. Pros Plenty of sensors No calibration required Tracks multiple objects at once. This device is affordable and small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, making it easy to hold and move across your wall. We did find that it was best to move this stud finder fairly slowly along the wall, as overly fast passes make it a little more difficult to pinpoint the full width of the stud.