Finding Your Stud: "The Magnet"

Now this one is pretty easy, once you have the right tool. Yep, and that's a magnet. A relatively strong magnet too. I have a set of rare earth magnets that come in a plastic case to help protect the paint on your walls. For extra protection (gulp), I also stick a piece of masking tape the the surface.


Now the success of this method relies on fact that all fasteners used for internal linings (plasterboard etc) should be with steel screws or nails, which are obviously magnetic.

1. So simply slide the magnet around the surface of you wall lightly until you feel it pull towards the wall. If you have a strong enough magnet it should sit against the wall by itself, pulled against the hidden fastener. This fastener should be located in the centre of the hidden stud. Yes, we must assume your builder has done a reasonable job of hitting the centre of the studs with his fasteners.
2. Mark this position, and the keep moving along the wall until you locate all the studs you need.

And that's a very simply and clean method to finding studs! (And therefore we like this one very much!)

Finding Your Stud: "The Knock"

This is perhaps the most difficult of all skills in the building trade. It is more of an art than a science, and can lead the inexperienced to question their senses and partners to question their choice in lifelong mates. So, to help navigate the potentially stormy waters, here are a few tips:

1. You can just start knocking away if you are confident, however many people prefer to look for existing power points that are generally fixed to one side of a stud. Which side the stud is actually on is anyone's guess, but at least you have a pretty good idea where the first stud is likely to be. 
2. So, to locate this first stud, you want to place your ear close to the wall. Then knock firmly enough to hear a clear difference in resonating tone between the hollow section of wall and the studded sections of wall. However you want to be gentle enough that you don't damage your wall (or hand). You've probably seen people at least attempt this before, and I would recommend some practice before you go any further. It is a bit like training your ear in music, it does take practice to be confident, and even more to be right.
3. As you knock repeatedly along the wall, notice the difference in tone. A hollow, reverberating sound is NOT a stud. You want the higher pitched, more solid sound to indicate the general location of a stud. Note - most homes are generally built using timber studs, and this method works best for locating timber studs. If you are trying to locate studs in a recently constructed home, apartment or commercial space, you may have steel studs in your walls, and this method will not work as well for locating steel studs. You want to try the next method, which we call "The Magnet" (dramatic, I know). It is absolutely perfect for steel studs.
4. In Australia, studs are generally located either 450mm apart, or 600mm apart. However this varies between builders, wall types (external/internal) and load bearing to non-load bearing walls. From the first stud, you can then move along the wall until you hear the same high pitched, solid tone from your knocking.
5. You are probably starting to understand why we have spent so much time developing The 305 System to provide a better solution to suit stud walls! There is no real pattern or consistency to stud positions, and yet shelving suppliers produce everything at their own fixed widths that never line up with your stud positions.
6. As you locate each stud, it is a good idea to put a light mark on the wall at about eye-level to indicate the located studs (or at a suitable height that will be concealed by your 305 System).
7. Keep going, keep at it and keep patient. Your ear will develop, your confidence will come and you will end up being right more often than you are wrong. And remember, being wrong is easy to fix with a bit of plaster (as long as you realise you made a mistake before you fasten anything to your wall).

Stay tuned for the next method. If you found "The Knock" a bit too much like voodoo magic, then you are not alone. There are tools and methods for you. Coming next - "The Magnet".

Finding Your Stud

Let's avoid the obvious jokes. They are tired, and you'll never find me anyway... Sorry. For those that are new to this subject, a "stud" is a vertical structural member that supports wall sheeting in modern light "cavity wall" constructions. It is different to the more traditional constructions of brick, concrete and blockwork, and is obvious by its resonating hollow sound when hit with your knuckle.


If your construction is brick, concrete or blockwork, then you don't need to read any of this, as you are not limited to installing The 305 System to any pre-determined position (such as where the studs are located).


So, how do we locate those mysterious "studs" that lie so anonymously in your cavity walls? Over the next couple of weeks, we will share our experiences in locating studs with varying methods. I plan to start with the most basic of tools, but most difficult of skills to master. I call it "The Knock". As we are dedicated to simplicity, we will then look at a few very simple but lesser known methods including the "The Bradawl" and "The Magnet". After these, we will then look at the more complicated and expensive options of those gadgets that beep and flash.


In the end, like me, you will probably find a happy and comfortable medium between several methods. I like to start with "The Knock", and then follow up with either "The Magnet" or "The Gadget", and then be certain with "The Bradawl". This can be done quite quickly, and does give certainty without too much trial and error (or what we call shooting blanks into the wall).


So, stay tuned for a brief run down on "The Knock" method.

When Do Floating Shelves Not Float?

A question commonly asked in the shelving industry is "How do I get my floating shelves to line up with my studs?" I guess the simplest answer is, "you can't". The reason for this issue lies in the fact that neither the studs nor the fixing points of the floating shelves can move. They are both fixed at a predetermined distance. This was never a problem when buildings were constructed in solid brick and blockwork. Nothing wrong with them. They're great. But they are just not so common anymore as we all move to the speed and cost savings of cavity stud walls. 

So when your house's structural elements and your shelving system's positions are fixed at different positions, you have a problem, as the two widths will never align perfectly.

So, a floating shelf that adjusts to suit the width of your studs? That would make life... simpler.

Welcome to Simpliform

Simpliform is a vehicle for simplicity in creativity. Our aim is to evolve and resolve. Simpliform's design process is centred on improvement through gradual iteration. To quote Hans Hoffmann, we seek to "eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary may speak".
 
As providers of tangible solutions, we have chosen to immerse ourselves in the world of form, of tangible “stuff”. We have both a respect for it and a growing caution of it.

Our path to this point has been inspired by forms, objects, sounds and flavours. And as our senses are increasingly stimulated, often involuntarily, we find ourselves drawn towards space, silence, peace, to lack and to absence. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the essential functionality in the simplest possible form; to eliminate ornamentation so we can be left to enjoy the harmony of unadorned function; and to do with less what was once done with more?

Welcome to Simpliform.

Please feel free to let us know how we can improve.