On 01 May 2014, "Dave Plowman (News)" grunted:

Generally, any electronic stud finder will work ok for studs behind
plasterboard - even if the plasterboard is tiled.

Dunno, I think they're quite variable in effectiveness actually.

I bought a Zircon model a few years back on advice from this ng, after my
previous one was useless, and I find it works pretty well.


--
David

Lobster wrote:

On 01 May 2014, "Dave Plowman (News)" grunted:

Generally, any electronic stud finder will work ok for studs behind
plasterboard - even if the plasterboard is tiled.

Dunno, I think they're quite variable in effectiveness actually.

I was waiting at Kitsons trade counter earlier today and they had some
Bosch self-levelling lasers and stud-finders out to play with, the
display had a simulated wall with bits of pipe/cable/stud behind perspex
windows, it seemed to find wooden studs OK, cables and pipes not so well

Though looking at this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_XnkQ_Q0lg

seems I was holding it wrong, using it end-on like my cheap&nasty one,
and is seems I should have used it face-on, maybe I'll give it another
try next time I go there!

On 02/05/2014 16:29, Andy Burns wrote:
Lobster wrote:

On 01 May 2014, "Dave Plowman (News)" grunted:

Generally, any electronic stud finder will work ok for studs behind
plasterboard - even if the plasterboard is tiled.

Dunno, I think they're quite variable in effectiveness actually.

I was waiting at Kitsons trade counter earlier today and they had some
Bosch self-levelling lasers and stud-finders out to play with, the
display had a simulated wall with bits of pipe/cable/stud behind perspex
windows, it seemed to find wooden studs OK, cables and pipes not so well

Though looking at this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_XnkQ_Q0lg

seems I was holding it wrong, using it end-on like my cheap&nasty one,
and is seems I should have used it face-on, maybe I'll give it another
try next time I go there!

Looks the same as the way you use mine:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...scannerPro.jpg

flat against the wall - the lights then ramp up and down toward the
green centre light as you scan past the item. The "cross hair" moulded
into the plastic indicates the spot.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 01/05/2014 23:38, Lobster wrote:
On 01 May 2014, "Dave Plowman (News)" grunted:

Generally, any electronic stud finder will work ok for studs behind
plasterboard - even if the plasterboard is tiled.

Dunno, I think they're quite variable in effectiveness actually.

I bought a Zircon model a few years back on advice from this ng, after my
previous one was useless, and I find it works pretty well.




i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs in my
lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of the
studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes doesn't!
I need to chuck the lidl one out.

--
mailto:news{at}admac(dot}myzen{dot}co{dot}uk

alan wrote:
i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs in my
lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of the
studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes doesn't!
I need to chuck the lidl one out.

Do you happen to know the model of the Zircon?

I've been staring at Amazon reviews, and it seems like they fall into two
camps: those that get 50% bad reviews and those that get 100%. Though it
could be the bad reviews come from people with foil-backed plasterboard or
similar unfriendly surfaces. Or just duff reviewers.

Thanks for the responses. Seems like everything is a bit of a mixed bag...

Theo

Theo Markettos writes:

alan wrote:
i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs in my
lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of the
studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes doesn't!
I need to chuck the lidl one out.

Do you happen to know the model of the Zircon?

I've been staring at Amazon reviews, and it seems like they fall into two
camps: those that get 50% bad reviews and those that get 100%. Though it
could be the bad reviews come from people with foil-backed plasterboard or
similar unfriendly surfaces. Or just duff reviewers.

Thanks for the responses. Seems like everything is a bit of a mixed bag...

I hate having to drill rows of little holes when nothing else works.

It must be difficult to design something which will cope with varying
depths of plaster and thicknesses of lath.

I wonder if it would be better to have a stud finder which instead of
just displaying a stud indication when some signal passes some preset
threshold, showed the raw signal (maybe as an optional variant on the
basic display).
That would allow you to use human judgement rather than relying on the
dubious intelligence built into the gadget.

I believe that with experience the operators of very early radar
systems could tell a lot from the untidy mess of blips on a screen.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ S c o t s h o m e . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

On 03/05/2014 23:57, Theo Markettos wrote:
alan wrote:
i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs in my
lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of the
studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes doesn't!
I need to chuck the lidl one out.

Do you happen to know the model of the Zircon?

E50
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p16682


--
mailto:news{at}admac(dot}myzen{dot}co{dot}uk

Windmill wrote:

Theo Markettos writes:

alan wrote:
i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs in my
lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of the
studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes doesn't!
I need to chuck the lidl one out.

Do you happen to know the model of the Zircon?

I've been staring at Amazon reviews, and it seems like they fall into two
camps: those that get 50% bad reviews and those that get 100%. Though it
could be the bad reviews come from people with foil-backed plasterboard or
similar unfriendly surfaces. Or just duff reviewers.

Thanks for the responses. Seems like everything is a bit of a mixed
bag...

I hate having to drill rows of little holes when nothing else works.

It must be difficult to design something which will cope with varying
depths of plaster and thicknesses of lath.

I wonder if it would be better to have a stud finder which instead of
just displaying a stud indication when some signal passes some preset
threshold, showed the raw signal (maybe as an optional variant on the
basic display).
That would allow you to use human judgement rather than relying on the
dubious intelligence built into the gadget.

I believe that with experience the operators of very early radar
systems could tell a lot from the untidy mess of blips on a screen.


Try using a small very powerful magnet to detect the stud fixing nails.

Edgar

On 03 May 2014, Theo Markettos
grunted:

alan wrote:
i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs
in my lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of
the studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes
doesn't! I need to chuck the lidl one out.

Do you happen to know the model of the Zircon?

My Zircon's a OneStep MultiScanner i500, bought from a Home Depot in
Florida (my version of souvenir shopping while on holiday - SWMBO loves it)

--
David

On 04/05/14 08:52, Windmill wrote:

It must be difficult to design something which will cope with varying
depths of plaster and thicknesses of lath.

I wonder if it would be better to have a stud finder which instead of
just displaying a stud indication when some signal passes some preset
threshold, showed the raw signal (maybe as an optional variant on the
basic display).
That would allow you to use human judgement rather than relying on the
dubious intelligence built into the gadget.



Something like this:

http://www.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/d-tect-150-wallscanner-23307-ocs-p/



I believe that with experience the operators of very early radar
systems could tell a lot from the untidy mess of blips on a screen.



--
djc

On 04/05/2014 08:52, Windmill wrote:
Theo Markettos writes:

alan wrote:
i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs in my
lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of the
studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes doesn't!
I need to chuck the lidl one out.

Do you happen to know the model of the Zircon?

I've been staring at Amazon reviews, and it seems like they fall into two
camps: those that get 50% bad reviews and those that get 100%. Though it
could be the bad reviews come from people with foil-backed plasterboard or
similar unfriendly surfaces. Or just duff reviewers.

Thanks for the responses. Seems like everything is a bit of a mixed bag...

I hate having to drill rows of little holes when nothing else works.

With foil backed board, I use mine in metal detection mode and look for
the nails instead.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Edgar writes:

Windmill wrote:

Theo Markettos writes:

alan wrote:
i have lidl £12 special and a £30 zircon. The zircon finds studs in my
lath and plaster walls reliably (it actually finds the edges of the
studs). The cheap lidl one sometimes finds them and sometimes doesn't!
I need to chuck the lidl one out.

Do you happen to know the model of the Zircon?

I've been staring at Amazon reviews, and it seems like they fall into two
camps: those that get 50% bad reviews and those that get 100%. Though it
could be the bad reviews come from people with foil-backed plasterboard or
similar unfriendly surfaces. Or just duff reviewers.

Thanks for the responses. Seems like everything is a bit of a mixed
bag...

I hate having to drill rows of little holes when nothing else works.

It must be difficult to design something which will cope with varying
depths of plaster and thicknesses of lath.

I wonder if it would be better to have a stud finder which instead of
just displaying a stud indication when some signal passes some preset
threshold, showed the raw signal (maybe as an optional variant on the
basic display).
That would allow you to use human judgement rather than relying on the
dubious intelligence built into the gadget.

I believe that with experience the operators of very early radar
systems could tell a lot from the untidy mess of blips on a screen.


Try using a small very powerful magnet to detect the stud fixing nails.

How would you do that? Bearing in mind that there might be perhaps an
inch of plaster (I think) on top of the lath?

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ S c o t s h o m e . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

djc writes:

On 04/05/14 08:52, Windmill wrote:

It must be difficult to design something which will cope with varying
depths of plaster and thicknesses of lath.

I wonder if it would be better to have a stud finder which instead of
just displaying a stud indication when some signal passes some preset
threshold, showed the raw signal (maybe as an optional variant on the
basic display).
That would allow you to use human judgement rather than relying on the
dubious intelligence built into the gadget.

Something like this:

http://www.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/d-tect-150-wallscanner-23307-ocs-p/

Sounds great. But the price!!!

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ S c o t s h o m e . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost