In older days, you’d have to make do with inexact methods like knocking on walls or using magnetic stud finders to locate studs, but for a stud finder that precisely locates the center of a stud ...

Mark the location with a pencil. (Note: If the stud finder doesn’t seem to be finding anything, you may have plaster-over-lath walls. And if the wall is solid concrete — common in basements ...

Both types can give false readings. Magnetic options only work if nails or screws are present and in the right place, while ...