Home improvement projects can be satisfying, inexpensive, creative, and hugely frustrating. Almost all wall projects begin with the words “find a stud.” If you live in a new home or a home remodeled by a hobbyist, this is a call to arms. Technically, the vertical stud boards that support the wall are placed sixteen inches apart. This is not always the case. Finding wall studs behind drywall is quite difficult. If you’re looking for studs behind tiles, you may be in for a long day. Gather your tools, take a deep breath, and make sure the beer or lemonade is ice cold and waiting.
Instructions
1. Measure sixteen inches from one corner. Move the stud finder slowly along the tiled wall until it indicates a stud. This probably won’t work, but it’s best to try the simpler methods first.
2. Go to the room that is against the tiled wall, if there is one. Measure 16 inches from the nearest shared perpendicular wall and run the stud finder over the wall in slow sweeps. If you find a stud, measure from there to the perpendicular wall. Go back to the tiled room and measure that exact measurement of the shared perpendicular wall.
3. Measure from a perpendicular wall in 16-inch increments, until you find one that falls on a grout strip instead of a tile. Attach the 1/8-inch glass/tile drill bit to your power drill and drill into the grout. If you find one stud, you should be able to measure 16 inches on each side and find another.
4. Bend the thick wire and thread it through the hole you drilled in the grout. Dig along the back of the wall on either side of the hole to see if you can find a stud. If it does, pinch the cable between your thumb and forefinger, right at the hole. Pull out the cable and lay it along the wall, fingers tight in the hole. The bolt should be at the other end of the cable. Mark that spot with a marker.
5. Drill a hole in the stud. Measure 16 inches on each side of that stud, and you should find another one.
6. Fill the grout pilot holes by spraying silicone caulking into them. Let the putty dry for 2-3 hours and then use a craft stick to apply some matching grout over the putty.
Tips and Warnings
Two people with two stud finders will have a better chance and be less frustrated than one person hunting alone.
Never start drilling holes in the tile randomly. You will be tempted, but you will also regret it.