How to Find Studs in Modular Home

At some point or another, you will have to find the studs in your modular home.

This could be something simple like hanging a painting or something major like hanging a flat-screen television.

How To Find Studs in Modular Home

Most people think that finding a stud inside a wall is easy. You just grab a stud finder, and you find it immediately.

A stud finder may not always work, and you may not have one on you when you need to hang something up.

Fortunately, there are several ways that you can find the stud inside of your modular home’s walls.

Here are five ways that you can detect studs in your modular home walls.

1. Knocking The Wall

Many professional carpenters will knock on the wall to see if they can find the stud.

All you will need to do is to ball your hands in a fist and knock on the wall.

You will want to notice the sound it makes. Go throughout the wall, slowly knocking at intervals.

The sound will change in depth and pitch as you go across your wall.

When you come across the stud, the sound will be high-pitched and sharper. You should also be able to feel denser wood through the wall as well.

Do not expect to find the stud immediately. You will have to work to train yourself to hear the various pitches in the wood.

If you do not want to have sore knuckles, you can get a soft rubber mallet and do the same thing.

You will want to make sure that you are using a soft mallet and that you do not hit your wall too hard.

If you do hit your wall too hard, this can cause some damage. If you do not have a mallet, you can use your hammer wrapped in a towel.

2. The Electric Razor

You can use an electric razor instead of the knocking trick. The vibrations that your electric razor causes, will help you to find the stud.

To do this method, all you will need to do is to turn the electric razor on and place it on the wall.

You will notice that it will be loud as the wall will act as an amplifier. You should move the razor sideways along the wall.

You will notice a drastic difference in vibration when you go over the studs. When you hear a high pitch, mark these, and that will be the location of your studs.

3. Use magnets

Using magnets to locate the studs in your modular home is the second most popular method. You will want to have a strongly charged magnet and hold it between your fingertips.

You will then want to swipe it over the wall in slow sweeps. You should be no further than 1/8 inches away from the wall.

When your magnet comes across a screw, you will feel a tug. You will want to pass it forth over the area several times to ensure that you are feeling this tug.

Mark your location, and this is where your stud is. It is a good idea to use rare earth magnets for this process as they are small and have a strong charge.

Many people just let them snap onto the wall at the screw location to find the stud.

It is a good idea to take three or four of your magnets and line them up with the vertical screw locations. This will help you to make sure that everything is in place.

This method can even be used on plaster walls.

However, if there was a metal lath installed, your magnets will not work.

4. The Coat Hanger

Another way you can learn how to find studs in a modular home is to use a coat hanger trip. This will require you to make a small hole in your wall, but it can easily be fixed.

To do this trick, you will want to take a screwdriver or nail set and punch a hole. You should punch a hole that is big enough for your finger to go through.

Once you have done this, you will want to get a wire coat hanger and unbend it.

After you have unbent it, you will want to put a 75-degree crook in it.

Feed this end into the small hole. You will have to move it around some to make it fit inside the wall cavity, and once it is in, you can use the hole as a pivot.

Rotate the wire in each direction until you hit the stud. You should hear a light tapping sound, and you should have resistance.

This will let you know exactly where the stud is on your wall.

5. Drive A Test Nail

If you think you know where the stud is located, you can drive a test nail in. You will want to make sure that the nail is long and skinny.

This will help to ensure that they only leave a small hole.

If you are correct in your location of the stud, the nail should only go in about half an inch.

It will resist going any deeper because it has found the stud.

Do not try to force it in further because you will have a lot of difficulties getting it back out. Mark where the stud is for reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most frequently asked questions about finding a stud in your modular home.

Final Thoughts

Finding the stud in your modular home can help you to be able to hang wall hangings, hang flat-screen televisions, and more.

Remember, when you do find your stud mark them, so you will know exactly where they are in the future.