You might get some satisfaction from all the electronic doo-dads,
figuring that the more you pay the better they work,
but my default finder is a $2.95 piece of molded plastic with
a spirit level and magnet on a hinge that twitches when it runs over
a nail under the drywall much like a bobber when a fish hits the hook.
Home Depot sells them. It take a bit of patience over a rough
wall texture (i.e. stucco - don't sweep it over the wall too fast and
it'll work OK), and an older house that uses steel mesh lath as a base
for plasterwork will confuse it, or thick plaster over drywall (the
deeper the nail below the plaster surface, the harder it is to read),
but for newer drywall without plaster over-top it works fine and
you can't beat the price.

John, in
Maryland


"skunkybeast" wrote in message
t...
I needed to find studs above my garage door to install a much needed
automatic garage door opener. I went out to home depot and bought a stud
finder. I figured that I'll get the cheapest one they have thinking I'll
only use it a few times, I bought the Zicron StudSensor SL.
JUNK! found out it can only read on smooth surfaces not like the
finished wall above my garage door. Then I go return it, and decide to buy
a
Stanley (top of the line) for $30 instead of $10 I paid for the other one.
I bought the Stanley IntelliSensor Digiscan Stud Sensor and again
JUNK!.
I try to test it at home in my basement on a wall with a finished side and
an unfinished side with the studs showing. I measured the distance to the
stud and marked it on the finished side. I ran it across the wall and it
showed I had a 7-1/4" stud. After 15 or 20 more tries I still could not
get
anywhere near an accurate reading. I was ****ed.
My question is: are stud finders supposed to find studs in the walls
or
find that there is wood in the walls somewhere. If they are real and
somebody knows a good one please tell me what where and how much. This is
just too much just to find one or two lousy studs, especially with my
short
fuse. thanks, chris