Thought the $30 stud finder was a gimmick until I hung my TV last weekend

I picked up one of those fancy electronic stud finders from Home Depot on a whim just before mounting my 55 inch screen in the living room. My old magnetic one kept giving false readings on the plaster walls in my 1960s house, so I figured why not try something new. Did anyone else have a similar experience where a cheap tool surprised you, or am I just easily impressed?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_burns6d ago

You mentioned "it's basically a stud hunting metal detector that actually works" and I gotta push back on that. Those electronic ones are hit or miss on old plaster walls like my place. I tried my buddy's fancy stud finder and it lit up like a Christmas tree over every wire and pipe behind the wall. Ended up just using a strong magnet and knocking on the wall to find the nails holding the lath. Saved me from drilling into a live wire. The magnet trick works fine on plaster if you know what you're doing.

faith277d ago

Wait, did you also have that moment where you're holding the TV up and praying the studs are actually there? Because yeah, that older magnetic style just isn't reliable on thick plaster like that. The electronic ones are worth every penny once you realize it's basically a stud hunting metal detector that actually works. I grabbed mine for like 25 bucks at Lowe's and it's probably the most used tool in my garage now for everything from shelves to curtain rods. Honestly I wish I'd bought one years ago instead of patching all those extra holes from the magnetic one.

jennybailey7d ago

My first time using an electronic stud finder I ended up drilling into a pipe because I was too busy high-fiving myself for finding a stud. Honestly though, thirty bucks is cheap when you compare it to the cost of patching a wall full of wrong holes like I did with my old magnetic one. At least now my TV only falls if there's an earthquake, not because I trusted a finger snap.