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Before you drive that nail into the wall or ease the head of your drill into the plaster, stop and take a step back. "Are you sure that the wood stud is directly behind your point of entry?"

When houses are built and the internal fix is being administered, a whole host of wiring and pipes are concealed behind the interior walls. Do you feel lucky enough to nail through the wall blindly, hoping not to come across a water pipe or electrical wire?

Once upon a time the DIY enthusiast would employ the tapping' method of trying to locate the wooden stud that lies behind their wall. Tapping' basically requires the person to go along the surface of the wall tapping it with their knuckles. When they hit an area that sounds less hollow or feels harder against their hand, they had found a stud point.

With the technological advances of the twenty first century the tapping' method is a somewhat antiquated way of finding what lies behind the surface of a wall.
There is now a tool out there that will eliminate the guess work associated with this dated method.

The Stud Finder' is an electronic hand held device that will guarantee a positive result when locating a wooden stud behind even the deepest surface of a wall.
It works by emitting an electric field deep into the wall. The electric field then detects the changes in density as it moves through air until a solid mass is encountered. Once the solid mass or stud is met, the devices sensors respond by sounding out a beep or giving a visual display from the exterior of the unit.
Units vary in price, but as a guide one shouldn't be looking at paying much more than ten pounds for such a devise.

Don't gamble with your life or the health of your home, buy a stud finder and be sure to be sure. Almost every DIY retail outlet will stock them.

Learn more about this author, Neil Dixon.
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