Find Studs Behind Siding

Walk very slowly along the exterior siding while holding the stud finder.

Find studs behind siding.

If that s true and i wanted to hit a stud close to dead center i d probably make myself about a 6 long 3 32 diameter drill bit locate a stud from inside and bore a hole from inside out next to the stud. Measure 16 and mark additional stud locations. Shine a flashlight. Once you find one stud it s easy to find the rest of them.

An electronic device called a stud finder can help you locate the studs but if you don t have one there are several low tech ways to find the beams using only household items. To the best of my knowledge we won t see a stud by lifting siding unless the house was built about 1925. The best way to find a stud while working on on the outside whether brick siding or stone is to use an electronic stud finder. For vinyl siding use a vinyl siding removal tool to unsnap the seal between two pieces of siding allowing you to see the nail heads.

Place the stud finder at the edge of the exterior siding. This is not always the case depending on the installer. The better way is to locate the edges of the osb sheathing. For solid cladding such as stucco or brick your best bet is to locate the studs inside the house and then transfer the measurements to the exterior wall.

Remove the section of siding at the elevation you plan on mounting the awning at. In theory the siding should be nailed at the studs. I found these answers on a different site. Use a metal detector to find the nails in the studs if you get dew on the house in the morning a lot of the time you can see exactly where the studs are when there is dew on the siding and it is just starting to evaporate it usually evaporates off the studs first since they are a bit warmer.

The edges must be nailed into a stud.