I use stud finder tool in my apartment to do drill hole to fix things more securely. I have now bigger project to put a lumber wooden bar between two walls and hang a bicycle (40-50lbs) so need to make sit more secure is more paramount. Becaue previous work included lighter weight shelves but now , i am looking into loading/unloading bicycle all the time. I found the studs but what I notice when i worked around wall stud is that sometimes when I drill, i hit the concrete. If i move about couple of inches, i no longer hit concrete and i can drill. But when my drill hit concretes there is absolutely no way to punch throuhg concrete because my drill is not rated for that. What i left when it happens is partially drilled hole. Is there a way around that??
i find a stud in the wall but hit concrete, what are remedies?
- Thread starter gghrt000
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Help Support House Repair Talk:
YEAH I looked it but it still takes space, story is that my currently leased apartment is also two story high huge ceiling so wanted to take adv. of that.
I got the cheapest one but that worked very nicely no battery just a magnet. It seeems like it sticks to wall whenever it find stud (or nail). My project is disrupted whenever i drill around stud and halfway or 1/3 rd of the way around drilling it hits a concrete.
..I just had to abandone concrete drill leaving huge hole and find some nearby spots.
Wood magnets are generally pretty expensive .I got the cheapest one but that worked very nicely no battery just a magnet. It seeems like it sticks to wall whenever it find stud (or nail). My project is disrupted whenever i drill around stud and halfway or 1/3 rd of the way around drilling it hits a concrete.
I just had to abandone concrete drill leaving huge hole and find some nearby spots.
i think it is pulled into nail not woodWood magnets are generally pretty expensive .
Can you use a tapcon tgpe screw and just screw into the concrete? They usually come with a proper size masonry bit. A regular drill will drill into concrete or block with the right type of bit. It takes a little more effort but works.i think it is pulled into nail not wood
I bought my first ever stud finder about 3 months ago when I ordered a wall mount for a 42” TV for the bed room that swings and pulls out from the wall. I took a look at the TV and how far off the wall it could go and really didn’t want it coming down in the middle of the night. Amazon sold both things and they came together in the same box. The one I bought was about 16 bucks came with batteries and worked pretty good. It has a few selections for plaster or drywall thickness and one for finding wires. I put painters tape across the wall and marked where it said studs were and they were on nice 16” OC so I went for it. Four .25” lag bolts and its up forever.
Safety Eye Wear On!
Breathing Protection On!
Drill slowly & with steady, firm pressure. Your rotary-only drill's bit will get through.
Carbide tipped bit, although supposedly only for hammer-drilling, will be more pleasant to use, even in a rotary-only drill. Non-carbide masonry drills dull quickly.
I've used rotary only on even water cured concrete ten million times at work when I was too lazy to climb down 100+ feet of scaffold, or walk 1/2 mile+ to the truck in order to get the SDS hammer drill that I was too lazy to lug up there in the first place. (Theme = Lazy)
All that hammer drills do is speed things up versus rotary-only drills. They really do speed things up in concrete and fired ceramic, but not so much in brick, mortar or block made of cinder.
Plan B: Fastest!
If you have several holes to drill, you can rent a hammer drill to speed up the project. I think one of the home centers rents tools. Rental shops certainly have hammer drills in all sizes.
Plan C: Most Fun!
Pick up a Star Drill and a heavy hammer. They work fast and were the only thing available to us early in my work career.
Hit the drill, turn 1/4 turn, hit, turn, hit, turn....
It is hard to get a hole perfect enough for a Tapcon type masonry screw because the small 5/32" & 3/16" bits wiggle.
You might prefer to use vinyl, lead or jute-lead (Rawl type) anchors instead in star drilled holes. Or even epoxy.
Paul
tomtheelder2020
Well-Known Member
Let us know how it works!
For drywall, if you take a thin, flat, rectangular neodymium magnet and wipe around the wall with it, the magnet will jump to a nail or screw when it gets about an inch or two away. Usually it will stick very strongly to the fastener. A thin, strong magnet is the key to success.
If the wall has nice paint, you can put a piece of tissue between the magnet & the wall. I glued felt to mine.
The magnet may jump to conduit or steel pipe if they are very close to the back of the wall, so go straight. If it sticks all the way in a straight line, it's a pipe. If it lets go when moved, then sticks a few inches up, it's a fastener.
For plaster walls, if wood lath or blueboard is the base layer, it will find those screws or nails holding those to the studs. But if it is expanded metal lath, usually the magnet sticks to the entire wall. With luck, it might jump to a fastener.
Paul
If you can find one on eBay or Bonanza, Sears used to sell what was a little horseshoe shaped bracket with a tubular magnet on a wire across the open ends of the shoe. When you get to a nail or screw, the magnet would spin. Mine works great.
(Quick Sketch is below)
If the wall has nice paint, you can put a piece of tissue between the magnet & the wall. I glued felt to mine.
The magnet may jump to conduit or steel pipe if they are very close to the back of the wall, so go straight. If it sticks all the way in a straight line, it's a pipe. If it lets go when moved, then sticks a few inches up, it's a fastener.
For plaster walls, if wood lath or blueboard is the base layer, it will find those screws or nails holding those to the studs. But if it is expanded metal lath, usually the magnet sticks to the entire wall. With luck, it might jump to a fastener.
Paul
If you can find one on eBay or Bonanza, Sears used to sell what was a little horseshoe shaped bracket with a tubular magnet on a wire across the open ends of the shoe. When you get to a nail or screw, the magnet would spin. Mine works great.
(Quick Sketch is below)
Spicoli43
Well-Known Member
Beginners Luck!!! Hahaha
It's nice when the building is put up... When they follow such a thing as "OC", it's an added bonus when it's all the same number like 12 or 16 or whatever, not 12 here then 16 then 24 etc...
I have one of those swing mounts for my 37 inch, I like them a lot.
Old Joke:
Every time I use a stud finder, all it does is point at me!
Every time I use a stud finder, all it does is point at me!
Spicoli43
Well-Known Member
If I ever get to use it!
It's supposed to detect Pex under concrete also, so where the radiant heat lines went in the shop, one could come in later and safely drill for a car lift.
That said, I would have to see many, many successful uses of the Walabot on drywall or OSB before trying it on concrete, and then it would only be after use on a concrete scrap test setup.
Oh, so you've been to my house? 12, 14, 20, 18...
If I could go back in time and find the builder, I'd buy him a ruler and a level.
Spicoli43
Well-Known Member
Well, not 12 I don't think, but it's messed up... On my Brother's shop, we spent more time cutting the OSB than putting it up because it was so whacked. Around here, you have to micro manage every little thing or they will do whatever they want. That isn't every builder of course, but I know my house is messed up.
Hammer Handles sure are multi-taskers!
I used to see the residential construction electricians use the hammer handle for the height of the device box above the floor. Worked great as long as the Before Lunch hammer was the same as the After Lunch hammer!
