Use electrical outlets to locate adjacent studs

Electrical boxes are almost always screwed to the side of a stud. Tap on both sides of any outlet or switch — the side with the dull, solid sound is the stud side. From that stud, measure 16 inches in either direction to find the next one.

Why It Works

Building code requires electrical boxes to be mechanically fastened to framing. The stud is immediately to the left or right of every outlet and switch box, giving you a guaranteed reference point.

Tips

• Outlets in the middle of a wall are most useful — corner outlets only confirm the corner stud you already know about
• To visually confirm which side: turn off the breaker, remove the cover plate, and look inside for the stud edge
• Always turn off the circuit breaker before removing any cover plate
• Once you have one confirmed stud from an outlet, the 16-inch pattern gives you the rest of the wall