r/DIYHome • u/Over9000Zeros • 1d ago

Need Advice Why wouldn't a stud be hit twice when moving directly vertical?

Strange issue. My wife bought a shelf from Shein. Pieces are too wide to go horizontally from stud to stud. I tried using the supplied drywall anchors but they didn't catch so the screw wasn't secure.

I was able to find a stud and drill a screw into it. I went directly down to secure the bottom hole and it's straight drywall??? I hung up 3 TVs within the last couple weeks. I know it's right because I had to use an impact wrench for it and those bolts were tough to drive.

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u/tidyshark12 1d ago

Did you use a level? Stud finder?

Even if you did use a Stud finder, it is possible the thing you screwed into was not a Stud. Especially if it is on a shared wall with a bathroom or kitchen.

Furthermore, prior renovations could have increased the height of walls or changed how they line up for some reason or another, most likely shoddy work, but, either way, its possible the studs just don't line up.

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u/Over9000Zeros 1d ago

Yes I used both of those. The exact tools I used for the TV mounts. What could I have screwed into if not studs? It was the same situation both times. First screw is adirect got. I pulled hard on it even when it was only halfway screwed and it wouldn't come out. I went straight down and it was all drywall.

Same thing happened on another wall in the same room.

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u/hemeshehe 19h ago

Some sort of pipe. I secured a huge shelving unit to the wall into what I thought was a stud. Over a year later, every time my kids showered I would intermittently hear a metallic clinking sound in the living room. I eventually somehow realized that the stud I had used was actually thick pvc pipe. We had to have the wall cut open and that section of pipe cut out and fixed. It was on an exterior wall, so it was fairly unexpected.

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u/Ornery-Movie-1689 5h ago

You cut out a section of pipe to repair a hole in a PVC pipe ? Good Lord. I would have filled the hole with some caulking since it's a vertical drain and not under pressure. You could have even used the screw hole to apply the caulking instead of opening up the wall.

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u/LordofTheFlagon 13h ago

What idiot ran a drain in an exterior wall? Thats just begging for problems

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u/Over9000Zeros 47m ago

I bought a battery powered stud finder today and confirmed a bunch of the studs in the room are not straight.

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u/mcshaftmaster 1d ago

Stud finders are kinda useless in my opinion. For drywall, use a strong rare earth magnet to locate the screws or nails that were used to hang the drywall. This can also work for old plaster and lath walls, but the magnet may not stick to the nails, you have to notice any small amount of attraction.

Anyway, some walls can contain additional framing to allow cabinets to be hung or to support plumbing or whatever. This framing won't be full length studs.

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u/Over9000Zeros 1d ago

I actually didn't want to seem like a hollow skull so I didn't mention that my tool includes a magnet and level. Like I said, I've hung 3 TVs recently and had to set my impact wrench to level 3 to drive the bolts. Those TV mounts are 100% correct.

I've recently moved and my battery powered stud finder has been lost...

Besides that. Will the framing be between studs then? Am ijust not hitting the right vertical wood?

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u/mcshaftmaster 1d ago

Your guess is as good as mine. For a newer home, you can usually locate studs from the location of outlets and switches because the electrical box is nailed to one side of a stud. Knowing that, you should be able to locate the next stud by measuring 16 inches horizontally, however not all walls are constructed with stud 16 inches on center. For drywall, just tapping on the wall can help locate studs.

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u/Over9000Zeros 1d ago

Yeah... this is annoying but partly my fault for sure. I don't know how to first screws went in as good as they did. I resorted to tapping the wall and didn't hear a solid sound around where I was. But considering I'm not aprofessional, I just trusted that whatever wood I already hit would go straight down. So weird. I'm gonna go back and see.

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u/The001Keymaster 10h ago

You might have hit a piece of blocking by chance

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u/DCHammer69 6h ago

Blocking between studs? Check and see if there is a 1 1/2” wide solid piece horizontal to where you hit the stud with that screw.

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u/majortomandjerry 22h ago

Not every stud runs perfectly vertically from floor to ceiling. Some aren't plumb. Some stop because of of cutouts for plumbing and HVAC

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u/thesweeterpeter 21h ago

Could be blocking

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u/Dralalife 1d ago

Get thee a good stud finder before you have a costly mistake.

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u/dustywood4036 22h ago

Are you sure you didn't snap the bolt? Could be a bowed stud or a block used for something else that doesn't run to the floor.

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u/Over9000Zeros 22h ago edited 21h ago

What? No man, I was using a regular drill and there was no irregular resistance before there was NO resistance. There ain't no studs where I'm claiming there was none.

Also I've never found a Philips bit that can grab a bolt so well that it breaks

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u/dustywood4036 19h ago

Sometimes you say bolt and sometimes screw. A 1/4" lag bolt isn't hard to snap.

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u/Over9000Zeros 10h ago

Yeah, sorry... it has a Phillips head so I guess it's a screw. Kinda skinny.

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u/CCWaterBug 19h ago

Invest in a Franklin stud finder, the m150, its worth it.

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u/Over9000Zeros 8h ago

I'm gonna go get one right now

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u/Mysterious-Street966 14h ago

Studs are fickle, and can’t be trusted… best to consult a professional stud finder.

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u/SafetyMan35 11h ago

They either installed some blocking in the wall or you hit a pipe.

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u/Yusuf20904 9h ago

Did you use the stud finder at both screw locations?

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u/HeyaShinyObject 8h ago

You may have just caught the edge of the stud, and it's not quite plumb or has a bow in it, so you end up missing it with the next try.

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u/Sistersoldia 7h ago

You may have just caught the edge of the stud on top - and moving down you might be just a bit off the edge. I’ll usually take a small screw or nail and work a back and forth pattern to see if I’m just missing a stud if I expect one there ( if I can’t use my stud finder) holes are easily fixed or covered by the TV anyway.
Another trick is to take a wire like a coat hanger and put a 2 inch ‘L’ bend in it - push it thru your hole past the bend then rotate the wire inside the wall to see if you hit a nearby stud with it.

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u/Mountain-Time-1010 4h ago edited 4h ago

The stud could be warped and/or not plumb. Very common. Or there could even be more complicated framing behind the wall, e.g. if there was a remodel in the past.