On 2/9/2013 8:16 AM, Greg Guarino wrote:
This is not really a woodworking question, but I figure someone here
can answer it.

My Dad is 92 and needs to grab onto things to climb the stairs. But
for a short section of the stairway in their house, there's no
sensible thing to grab.

Their house is plaster on lath if memory serves. Wood strips, I think,
not wire. [This is an ancient memory. My parents had a larger closet
made when I was a very young boy and I was allowed to bash away at the
plaster for a little while. I remember being disappointed when I came
back from school and found that the rest of the demolition had already
been completed. ]

Anyway, I have no experience finding studs in that kind of
construction. The walls are too rigid for me to just sound them out
with my fist. I don't own a stud finder, but I might buy one if it's
of any use in that kind of wall. I'm not eager to drill a series of
holes that I'll need to repair, and then match the paint. If it comes
down to it, I suppose I could remove the base molding and drill holes
at the bottom of the wall, but the molding is finished oak, and a
little complicated, and would be very hard to replace if an oaf like
me were to damage it.

Suggestions? I imagine I'd use oak railing parts from the Borg, by the
way.

Don't suppose you know how regular the wall stud spacings are, even, do
you? Sometimes in those old houses they're as regular as a Swiss watch;
sometimes not so much...if they are regular and there's a good corner at
one end from which to measure, you've got a reasonable chance.

I've not used one so can't say firsthand but reviews of some of the
better (as in higher-$$) Zircon and Bosch sounders worked reasonably
well w/ plaster walls in a Fine Homebuilding review -- not sure otomh
which issue; think it was about first of maybe 2011 based on a quick
view of comments...

There are those who say the rare-earth magnet "StudTHUD" is supposed to
be the cat's meow...

www.diamondresource.net/index.php?page=products-stud-thud

I've not further info other than that on it, though...

One thing is that if the plaster is in good shape on a wood lath paster
wall you can use a moly bolt and by getting across and behind the lath
it'll be very strong even if you do miss a stud...

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