A portable electronic or magnetic device that detects the presence of wooden or metal studs beneath drywall, plaster, or paneling. Magnetic models locate the metal fasteners holding the wallboard to the framing, while electronic models sense changes in the wall's dielectric constant to find the solid mass of the wood itself.
Heard on the job
Grab the stud finder and mark out where we can anchor these upper cabinets.
Insider tip
Always sweep the detector vertically as well as horizontally to confirm you found a continuous stud and not just a horizontal fire block or a stray pipe.
Also heard as
- stud sensor
- stud detector