Traditional electronic stud finders are highly unreliable on lath and plaster walls. Because plaster is thick, uneven, and reinforced by heavy nails or metal mesh, standard sensors get confused by the inconsistent density. Instead, use heavy-duty rare-earth magnets to find the hidden nails securing the lath to the studs.
Finding studs in lath and plaster walls is tricky because the walls are thick (often 3/4" to over 111") and backed by a dense grid of wooden lath. Traditional electronic stud finders get confused by this density, so the most reliable methods focus on locating the metal nails holding the lath to the studs.
MORE POWERFUL THAN THE COMPETITION: The StudPoP's unique design makes it much more SENSITIVE than ALL other magnetic stud finders, making it ideal for ANY construction type, including challenging surfaces like LATH & PLASTER and TILE.
Hanging items on lath and plaster walls is entirely safe if you take it slow and secure into the wood. The golden rule is to always drill pilot holes and avoid hammering, as the vibration can crack or crumble the brittle plaster.
Yes, your phone can function as a stud finder, but with a catch: it uses your phone's built-in magnetometer (which powers the compass) to detect the metal screws or nails hidden in your drywall, rather than the wood itself.
Magnets are a great way to find studs and are more reliable than the best stud finder tools as long as there is ferrous metal hardware in the wall.
Studs in most homes are spaced 16 or 24 inches apart on center, meaning the distance from the center of one stud to the next. Interior walls are usually 16" OC, while garages, basements, and exterior walls may use 24" OC for energy efficiency.
Yes, plaster walls have studs, just like modern drywall construction. However, because the plaster and the wooden "lath" strips behind it create a much thicker, heavier wall, standard electronic stud finders often struggle to locate them accurately.
One of the best anchors for plaster walls is the molly bolt, a metal sleeve put into a hole drilled in the plaster. Molly bolts can hold a lot of weight since they are sturdy and reliable. They function by expanding under the plaster.
Lath and plaster was a skilled craft and a time-consuming technique and the advent of cheaper, mass produced, pre-manufactured plasterboard meant lath and plaster largely fell out of favour by the 1930s and 1940s. Plasterboard was simply faster and less expensive to install.
Stud finders usually fail on plaster because standard sensors are calibrated for drywall and get confused by the thick plaster and wooden lath. Instead of scanning for density, use a strong rare-earth (neodymium) magnet to find the nails holding the lath to the studs.
Hollow wall anchors (or Molly bolts)
Hollow wall anchors can be used to hold light to medium weight items in plasterboard. They may require the use of a setting tool to secure and should be chosen to match the weight of the object you want to hang.
For pure scanning accuracy and ease of use, the Franklin Sensors ProSensor M210 is widely considered the best overall stud finder. Its patented 13-sensor array instantly shows the exact center and width of studs without needing calibration, saving time and removing guesswork.
The best solution is to use a Zircon MultiScanner® wall scanner that has Metal Scan Mode or one of Zircon's dedicated metal detectors, such as the MetalliScanner® m40 or MetalliScanner® MT 6, so you can find the little nails or tacks that are fastening every piece of wood lath to the studs.
Finding studs in traditional plaster walls can be tricky because the thick plaster and wood lath block standard electronic stud finders. The most reliable methods rely on locating the nails that hold the lath to the studs using powerful magnets or leveraging built-in features like electrical outlets.
In lath and plaster walls, stud spacing is typically 16 or 24 inches on center, but in older homes, it can be wildly inconsistent, ranging anywhere from 12 to 20 inches apart. Builders did not always use standard measurements, and spacing may even vary within the same wall.
Hanging items on lath and plaster walls is entirely safe if you take it slow and secure into the wood. The golden rule is to always drill pilot holes and avoid hammering, as the vibration can crack or crumble the brittle plaster.
The plaster uses the lath for a base until it can dry and harden, forming the visible part of the wall. As long as you can find the studs under the plaster, you can hang drywall by screwing the sheets to these studs. Be sure to use screws that are long enough to go through the drywall and plaster to reach the studs.
A gravity toggle is a strong fixing for plasterboard or lath-and-plaster walls. Basically, it's a screw with a swinging metal bar (toggle) attached. When you insert it, the toggle swings down and grips the back of the wall. The toggle is lost in the cavity if you remove the screw.
Finding studs in lath and plaster walls is tricky because the walls are thick (often 3/4" to over 111") and backed by a dense grid of wooden lath. Traditional electronic stud finders get confused by this density, so the most reliable methods focus on locating the metal nails holding the lath to the studs.
Yes, your phone can function as a stud finder, but with a catch: it uses your phone's built-in magnetometer (which powers the compass) to detect the metal screws or nails hidden in your drywall, rather than the wood itself.
No Stud TV Wall Mount for 22”-55” TVs
The studless design of this Universal TV Wall Mount makes it easy for you to mount your TV to a drywall or plaster wall without the hassle of drilling or finding studs. Compatible with 22" to 55" TVs up to 100lbs and has only 1.2" profile from the wall.
Common Wood Framing Mistakes
"For soundproofing use 2x6 plates and stagger 2x4 studs for decoupling. Or, 2x4 walls with soundproofing insulation. Just going from 2x4 to 2x6 won't offer enough to notice the difference."
If it calibrates over the stud, it will be ignoring anything of that density, so it will ignore the stud. Letting other objects get near the stud finder once it's been calibrated. Even a pencil, or finger will throw it off so keep your digits well away until you stop moving it and need to mark the wall.