Find Studs Behind Siding

An electronic device called a stud finder can help you locate the studs but if you don t have one there are several low tech ways to find the beams using only household items.

Find studs behind siding. For vinyl siding use a vinyl siding removal tool to unsnap the seal between two pieces of siding allowing you to see the nail heads. The standard space between studs is 16 or 24 inches although in some homes the distance between studs is less regular. If that s true and i wanted to hit a stud close to dead center i d probably make myself about a 6 long 3 32 diameter drill bit locate a stud from inside and bore a hole from inside out next to the stud. I found these answers on a different site.

Oh i just need to find a stud to hang this picture and fifteen holes later you re convinced the wall is held up by pixie dust and a wish because apparently there s no wood behind it. This is not always the case depending on the installer. To the best of my knowledge we won t see a stud by lifting siding unless the house was built about 1925. For solid cladding such as stucco or brick your best bet is to locate the studs inside the house and then transfer the measurements to the exterior wall.

Use a metal detector to find the nails in the studs if you get dew on the house in the morning a lot of the time you can see exactly where the studs are when there is dew on the siding and it is just starting to evaporate it usually evaporates off the studs first since they are a bit warmer. Place the stud finder at the edge of the exterior siding. The better way is to locate the edges of the osb sheathing. A little light will go off or the finder will make a beeping noise when it finds a.

Walk very slowly along the exterior siding while holding the stud finder. The edges must be nailed into a stud. Remove the section of siding at the elevation you plan on mounting the awning at. In theory the siding should be nailed at the studs.

Shine a flashlight.