How to find a stud in a wall

• Stud and cable detector
• Pencil
• Tape measure
• Thin drill bit or bradawl
• Small torch

Before you start, lay everything out on a soft surface (the flattened box works) and check it against the parts list in your manual.

• Wall area for the fixing
• Masking tape for marks

1. 1

   Step 1: Knock along the wall: a hollow sound suggests a gap between studs, while a duller, solid sound suggests a stud behind the board.

2. 2

   Step 2: Calibrate the detector flat on the wall, then slide it slowly sideways and mark both edges where it signals a stud.

3. 3

   Step 3: Measure between neighbouring studs; a consistent spacing that matches your local building standard confirms you are reading studs, not noise.

4. 4

   Step 4: Use the detector's cable mode over the whole area to check for live wiring, and avoid the vertical line above and below sockets and switches.

5. 5

   Step 5: Look for clues such as screw heads in skirting boards or sockets fixed to one side of a stud.

6. 6

   Step 6: Confirm with a small test hole in the marked centre where the fixing will go; wood shavings mean you have hit the stud.

• Moving the detector too fast, so it misses the stud edges.
• Marking one edge and drilling there instead of the centre of the stud.
• Trusting a single reading next to metal pipes or foil-backed boards.