Stud finders with larger sensors have a few advantages, such as being able to cover a more expansive area and sometimes being able to penetrate thicker or more solid walls, such as plaster or concrete. Smaller sensors, on the other hand, can be highly accurate. For most home DIYers, sensor size is not an issue since a typical stud finder with smaller or larger sensors will be able to pinpoint studs behind drywall.
From this list, identify the features you think could be the most helpful before settling on a stud finder that works. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of stud finders I tested were accurate and dependable. The following stud finders detect anything from steel fasteners to live wires and pipes. Some even detect double-stud construction. To test the degree of accuracy, I constructed a test wall that mimicked the configuration of an actual wall and allowed me to see how precise the stud finders were.
Find out what my tests revealed and why the following stud finders made it on the list of Top Picks. Never miss a stud again. I inserted a 9-volt battery, and the stud finder was ready to go. As I slid the tool across the surface of the test wall, diagonal lines appeared on either side of the digital display to indicate the sensors were moving over a stud.
The red arrow was right on the center of the stud, and had I inserted a nail or screw at that point, it would have been dead on. I moved on to testing for repeat accuracy on a regular wall. I started at one end of the wall and made an entire scan from side to side. Every time the Zircon tagged the center of a stud, I marked the wall with a pencil. This was without needing to calibrate the tool, but the Zircon does come with an auto-calibration feature if it ever needs to be recalibrated for accuracy.
I was wrong. I put a 9-volt battery in the stud finder and pressed the power button on the side. A beep and a green light on the top lit up to indicate the stud finder was ready to go to work.
With this stud finder, I discovered the user has to hold the power button down while scanning—let off the button and the tool goes back to sleep. I ran the Craftsman stud finder over the test wall and then over a standard wall. On further inspection, it was a blatant case of user error. The instructions very clearly say the tool must be calibrated before every scan.
That was a simple matter of selecting the mode I was scanning for wood stud and then holding the device against the wall while depressing the scan button on the side. In a few seconds, the tool beeped, indicating calibration was complete, and I rescanned the test wall. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App.
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Steven John. Table of Contents. Here are the best stud finders of The best stud finder overall The best affordable stud finder The best durable stud finder The best high-sensitivity stud finder The best multifunction stud finder Electric stud finders vs. Loading Something is loading. Email address. The Franklin ProSensor proved surprisingly reliable and accurate in our tests.
Instead of a screen that lights up when over a stud or stud edge, the ProSensor has a bar of lights that shine when directly over a stud. To avoid false-positive readings, the lights always err on the inside of a stud. We also liked that it shows the entire stud, which could help when there are nonstandard-sized studs behind the sheetrock.
It also has a level, a ruler, and a straightedge to make accurate marks on the wall. As much as we like the display and straightedge, we wish it was a little easier to hold. Unlike all the other products in this review, the ProSensor is oriented horizontally and was somewhat more of a hassle to deal with, especially at odd angles like finding ceiling joists.
It also lacks AC power and metal detection and distinction. Still, it's a reliable tool that seems like it will last a long time. In juxtaposition to the incredibly simple magnetic stud finders is the Walabot DIY Plus Wall Scanner, which is an attachment for Android smartphones that lets you "see" into your walls.
As far as finding studs, we were surprised at how well it worked for sensing things. It did a decent job of differentiating between metal and wood if the material was directly behind the sheetrock, less so the further away it was.
It could also detect deep pipes and studs, about 3 inches according to our test results, but at that range, it couldn't accurately say what the material was. The Walabot Plus also detects movement behind walls, if you're looking for the mice chewing up your insulation or the pet hamster that escaped. While the Walabot Plus is a unique solution, we think it's making something more complicated than it needs to be. The Walabot requires a specific type of smartphone, plus an app and a cable connecting the phone to the device.
Then, it requires registration and setup before you can even begin to use it to find studs. You could use a traditional stud finder to complete the project before you get this device set up.
Also, because our smartphone was attached to it, the consequences of dropping it, especially off a ladder, seemed significantly more dire. Because the scanner-plus-phone combo lifts the screen away from the wall, it's also harder to accurately mark the edge of the studs as well. While it's a powerful wall scanner, we don't think this is the best solution for most people. The Studbuddy Magnetic Studfinder is about as simple as it gets; it's just an oval magnet with a flat side. That's about it.
It detects steel studs and drywall screws, or any other ferrous metal in the wall. It never runs out of batteries and requires a lot of effort to break. The shape helps point out vertical studs, but to be accurate, you'd have to use a separate level to draw a straight line up or down to where you want to place a nail or picture hanger.
The nice thing about magnetic stud finders is that there are no false positives; either there is metal that the magnet sticks to, or there isn't. While the StudBuddy is great if there are different things behind the wall that other tools are picking up on, like copper and PVC pipes, it's not exactly the first tool we tend to reach for when looking for studs.
Still, some of the best carpenters we know rely solely on magnets and tape measures for all their stud finding needs, so if you like the old-school feel, this might be the solution for you. The Tavool 4-in-1 Stud Finder is a powerful sensor that can accurately detect wood, metal, and wires in a wall. It has a decent center finder for studs, as well as edge finders. The Tavool tool also doesn't require a thumb constantly pressing the button; just press it once, wait for it to calibrate, then scan.
We like that it has four modes, including wood, deep scan, metal, and AC power. This is the model that took us the longest to figure out beyond the Walabot , and we don't love the display. We found it less intuitive than every other product we tested, as this was the only one we actually had to break out the instructions for. The Tavool tool also needed a slower scan than some of the others we tested, which was annoying. For similar capabilities, we think other options might be preferable for most.
It doesn't sense different materials, just whether or not there's something behind the sheetrock. The Craftsman also has a nice little V on the top, which allowed us to make nice accurate arrows point where studs began and ended.
This product is the simplest of the battery-powered models we tested; it doesn't really have any features, aside from the little V on top and the edge sensor LED.
In dedicated metal scan mode, we found it easy to differentiate between metal plumbing pipes and wood studs.
If metal studs were present, it was a little trickier, but using the signal strength indicator helped sort out things that were close—the stud—versus things farther inside the wall, like pipes.
While not perfect, it is much better than not detecting an object—it reliably steered us away from potential hazards. It was designed to locate the edges of wood or metal studs. Just press the button and glide the S50 slowly along the wall, keeping an eye on the indicator. In our testing, the tool consistently found studs under half-inch drywall. Detecting the edges through three-quarter-inch drywall was slightly less accurate, though. Scanning slowly in one direction, past the center and then back, got us accurate results over half- and three-quarter-inch drywall.
The AC detection mode was somewhat vague, indicating an area three- to four-inches wide when it picked up wiring. In standard scan mode, the Craftsman located some copper pipe, which was odd, but the pipe was too narrow to be a stud and the device never registered a center.
Similarly, it detected black pipe in metal mode. Still, these readings can help you identify other objects in the wall you may want to be careful around. We detected live AC wires in five-inch swaths and followed their paths—so we knew where they were, although not precisely.
It is capable of scanning for ferrous metals up to four inches deep, and non-ferrous metals two inches deep. In testing we found it very easy to accurately pinpoint drywall screws, due to the very small contact area on the tool face. By watching the LED signal strength indicator go up and down, we could stop at the maximum reading, directly over the fastener. We were also able to locate copper electrical wires and copper plumbing within about two inches of the wall surface. While not part of our regular testing, we also used the Metalliscanner m40 to locate studs in plaster walls—via the nails in the lathe, as well as rebar in concrete.
The THB was selected based on its high ratings on Amazon, the only place we found it available. It features four scan modes: three for specific objects wood, metal, live AC wiring and one for deep scanning. We found this to be consistent in wood and metal scan modes, through both half-inch- and three-quarter-inch-thick drywall.
In deep scan mode, this VivReal detected copper pipe , though it was off by about three inches. However, it did detect live wires reasonably well in both of our test homes. Type keyword s to search. By Bradley Ford.
Best Overall. Bosch GMS
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