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Stud Finders & Lath & Plaster

 
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Moose




Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 788
Location: Minnesota


PostLink    Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:00 pm    Post subject: Stud Finders & Lath & Plaster Reply with quote


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I own an old house. The walls, and I assume the ceiling, are lath and plaster. I need to find the studs and joists but stud finders - at least all I'm aware of - don't work very well on lath and plaster. Aside from pounding nails until I do find a joist, is there a practical way to find studs and joists under lath and plaster?

Actually, I have found the wall studs by simply noting where the floor and ceiling moldings have been nailed. The ceiling joists are the problem. I have no intention of digging into the ceiling right now, even if that is the best solution.

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zaphod




Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 2002
Location: Cloverdale


PostLink    Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Stud Finders & Lath & Plaster Reply with quote

Moose wrote:
I own an old house. The walls, and I assume the ceiling, are lath and plaster. I need to find the studs and joists but stud finders - at least all I'm aware of - don't work very well on lath and plaster. Aside from pounding nails until I do find a joist, is there a practical way to find studs and joists under lath and plaster?

Actually, I have found the wall studs by simply noting where the floor and ceiling moldings have been nailed. The ceiling joists are the problem. I have no intention of digging into the ceiling right now, even if that is the best solution.


my xircom stud finder has a normal and a "dense" (don't touch it) setting intended for particularly thick walls. in either setting, what it wants is a change from "less dense" to "more dense" indicating a stud.

if you happen to start on a stud it detects a change from "more dense" to "less dense" which it flags as an error.

so, if you slide along a lath in "dense" (i know the jokes are begging, but still don't touch it) mode and move off the lathe, you'll get an error. if you slide along a lath and hit a stud you'll get the usual indication of finding a stud.

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zaphod




Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 2002
Location: Cloverdale


PostLink    Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Stud Finders & Lath & Plaster Reply with quote

zaphod wrote:

my xircom stud finder has a normal and a "dense" (don't touch it) setting intended for particularly thick walls. in either setting, what it wants is a change from "less dense" to "more dense" indicating a stud.
...
so, if you slide along a lath in "dense" (i know the jokes are begging, but still don't touch it) mode and move off the lathe, you'll get an error. if you slide along a lath and hit a stud you'll get the usual indication of finding a stud.


damn, i was wrong. first off, it's spelt "zircom" and secondly, it's the inconsistency in the plaster density not the added density of the lathes that are confusing the sensor.

here is what zircom says:

    We want to give the explanation for why Zircon stud finders are not well suited for lath and plaster applications.

    Zircon (and all) stud finders measure "density" or "capacitance" behind a wall, floor or ceiling. For them to function correctly, they need to move from a point of lower density to one of higher density. You can think of it as going from a place that is more hollow to a place that is less hollow. Stud finders don't work well in lath and plaster for that exact reason -- because there are multiple pieces of wood (lath), coupled with the fact that plaster inconsistently leaks through the laths to create varying depths (or densities). So, because of the constantly varying depths, the stud finder is constantly trying to recalibrate, and therefore will not find the studs.

    They do work in concrete, by the way, because the material is of a more consistent density than lath and plaster.

    This is NOT something that is particular to Zircon stud finders, however. Any manufacturer's product will produce the same results. And we do try to alert users to this in the operating instructions.

    There is a work-around. If you turn the TriScanner on "Metal" scan, you can locate nails behind your wall. By locating a vertical row of nails, you have a pretty good, although not certain, idea that you've found a stud. Then switch back to "Stud" scan to verify. As I said, this isn't foolproof, but many owners of lath and plaster walls have found it effective.

    Dan Harrell, Director of Marketing, Zircon Corporation



i was sure that i'd used the sensor on my lathe/plaster in ontario, but then, i was also sure that it was spelt "xircom".

sigh.

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Moose




Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 788
Location: Minnesota


PostLink    Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have one of those Zircon stud finders with a deep-sensing mode and while it works fine on sheet-rocked walls, it's absolutely of no use on my lath and plaster walls. Guess I'll have to use the nail-until-I-hit-something method.
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In the real world, I am alan halvorson, King of the Wild Frontier and Swell Guy.
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jask




Joined: 17 Mar 2006
Posts: 10164
Location: kamloops BC


PostLink    Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 5:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

find a metal detector .. the lathe are nailed onto the joists. if you have acess to an unfinished basement or attic you can find joist orientation and spacing from outside walls
good luck!
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joblake326




Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 2
Location: Maine


PostLink    Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:13 pm    Post subject: best stud finder for lath and plaster Reply with quote

check out the studthud. It's magnetic. It is supposed to work on everything from sheetrock to tile to wood lath. It's just starting to sell in Australia but site says it'll be available in U.S.early 2012.

this might (finally) be a stud finder that we won't hate.
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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator



Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26690
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G


PostLink    Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 1:33 am    Post subject: Re: best stud finder for lath and plaster Reply with quote

joblake326 wrote:
check out the studthud. It's magnetic. It is supposed to work on everything from sheetrock to tile to wood lath. It's just starting to sell in Australia but site says it'll be available in U.S.early 2012.

this might (finally) be a stud finder that we won't hate.


Hi and welcome to the forum. You dug up a 5 year old thread. I do that sometimes too just for fun.

However, your advice is falling on death ears. Moose,(Alan) died a few years back.

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joblake326




Joined: 09 Dec 2011
Posts: 2
Location: Maine


PostLink    Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 1:42 am    Post subject: lath and plaster stud finder Reply with quote

yikes!

Talk about bad timing.
Sorry about that.
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johndeniel
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PostLink    Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The studs would definitely the right choice. The spaces are used 400mm to 500mm between the studs. You should use a thicker plasterboards upto 12.5mm thickness. You should sure bout the rust proof nails.
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