What type of studs are used to build Villages houses? Our house built in 2005

[DCUNY]

We purchased a pre-owned designer house and I working to attach items to an inside wall. I used a stud finder to locate the stud and started drilling. Instead of steady resistance and the drill bit drilling deeper as I added pressure, it seemed to drill a while and then quickly go through. Are these metal studs?

On outside walls it felt like wood studs, but I haven’t done much yet on outside walls.

Any insights would be appreciated as I have not seen how they actually build houses in the Villages.

Thanks in advance.

[vintageogauge]

Some are wood, some are metal, and some are a combination.

[villagetinker]

Depending on what you are hanging, there are special anchors for metal studs

[DCUNY]

Depending on what you are hanging, there are special anchors for metal studs

Cool, would you have a link or name that I could look up at Lowes or Home Depot? I’m accustomed to wood studs and drywall anchors. Thank you.

[justjim]

You can go into Home Depot, Lowe’s or Ace Hardware and they can help you with what you need.

[Altavia]

In general, with some exceptions - they use wood for structural walls and steel for interior.

Lowes has these in stock last time I checked:

Home | Steelstudanchor (https://www.steelstudanchor.com/)

[villagetinker]

Cool, would you have a link or name that I could look up at Lowes or Home Depot? I’m accustomed to wood studs and drywall anchors. Thank you.

OK, if you are hanging something small (lightweight) you can use hooks and sheet metal screws, however if you are hanging anything with some weight, then the toggle type holders made specifically for steel studs is what you want. If you only need 1 or 2 or so give me a PM so we can talk over the phone. I broke one on a project, and Lowe's only had these in quantities of 1 dozen, so I have several left over.

[Battlebasset]

If you hang around some of the newer areas and watch various crews as they work, you can make the determination yourself what kind of studs they are!

[Jhnidy]

There is a device called a walabot that attaches to your phone and will find pipes, wires, and studs behind the drywall. It shows you what material the studs are made of.

[La lamy]

There is a device called a walabot that attaches to your phone and will find pipes, wires, and studs behind the drywall. It shows you what material the studs are made of.

Wow that's great info!!!

[RcCalais]

We purchased a pre-owned designer house and I working to attach items to an inside wall. I used a stud finder to locate the stud and started drilling. Instead of steady resistance and the drill bit drilling deeper as I added pressure, it seemed to drill a while and then quickly go through. Are these metal studs?

On outside walls it felt like wood studs, but I haven’t done much yet on outside walls.

Any insights would be appreciated as I have not seen how they actually build houses in the Villages.

Thanks in advance.

Our home was built in the mid 90s, wood studs on the outside walls and metal on the inside walls. At that time we did have a choice.

[M2inOR]

For newer homes since 2019, we discovered that there was no rhyme or reason with the Designer homes.

There were a few metal studs but way more wood studs for the interior walls.

Was very surprised as we walked thru the homes being constructed in Marsh Bend and the first phase of Deluna near Water Lily.

That special tool sounds very interesting!

[Switter]

We purchased a pre-owned designer house and I working to attach items to an inside wall. I used a stud finder to locate the stud and started drilling. Instead of steady resistance and the drill bit drilling deeper as I added pressure, it seemed to drill a while and then quickly go through. Are these metal studs?

On outside walls it felt like wood studs, but I haven’t done much yet on outside walls.

Any insights would be appreciated as I have not seen how they actually build houses in the Villages.

Thanks in advance.

As others have said, this is a steel stud. I found that out in my house built in 2002. I was going to hang a TV on the wall and had a hard time drilling through it. I thought I was drilling through ductwork so I cut a piece of the drywall out to take a look what was behind it. Sure enough, steel stud. I used the toggle anchors mentioned by the village tinker to hang the TV. They worked pretty good once you know how to install them.

The thing that irritates me more than anything about the walls is the orange peel texture. They don't do this up north where I come from. I don't like the look of it at all but it's too much work to get rid of it. Trying to do repairs to a wall Is a major pain. I tried a can of DEP orange peel (like 40 bucks) and it kept clogging on me, not to mention it didn't go very far.

[SaucyJim]

You can go into Home Depot, Lowe’s or Ace Hardware and they can help you with what you need.

I don’t know when the last time you went to Home Depot or Lowe’s, but I can’t find a person to help me in those stores to save my life. Ace on the other hand is more helpful, but has much less supply.

[retiredguy123]

I have been hanging things on walls for decades, and rarely do I use a stud (metal or wood). I almost always use drywall anchors. If you have a heavy item, using a few toggle bolts 8 inches apart will support a lot of weight. There are some exceptions, such as a television, a large mirror, etc. But, I have seen homeowners spend a lot of unnecessary time and effort attaching an item to a stud, when a drywall anchor will do just fine.

I once installed the Container Store Elfa system in a garage. Their system uses drywall anchors every 8 inches to attach a single horizontal bracket around top of the room. Everything else, shelving, cabinets, etc. is hung from that one bracket, and it will hold almost anything you would store in a garage. I think they even have a demonstration in their stores to prove how much weight their drywall system will support.

[Switter]

I don’t know when the last time you went to Home Depot or Lowe’s, but I can’t find a person to help me in those stores to save my life. Ace on the other hand is more helpful, but has much less supply.

I ordered for vinyl plank flooring online from Lowe's which ended up getting messed up multiple times. When I bought the flooring it was $3.19 a square foot. Now is $3.49 a square foot. Because the order had automatically canceled due to the screw up I got charged $3.49 a square foot. With the amount of flooring I ordered that was like $400 more. I went into the lowes on 441 to talk to the flooring desk. The kid that was working there was pretty much useless and he kept telling me "he" had to go talk to the manager. When I tried to follow him he told me wait here. it was like he was actively trying to keep me from talking to the manager face-to-face; and the manager, who I saw on the aisle, wouldn't come over and talk to me. it was ridiculous. I wasn't being rude or anything but the kid was just trying to shut me down and obviously the manager was on board with it. I'm just done with that store.

[Janie123]

Our home was built in the mid 90s, wood studs on the outside walls and metal on the inside walls. At that time we did have a choice.
Unless you have stucco, then the outside walls are concrete block and 1” channels that the drywall attaches to with I think 1” styrofoam insulation. All of the inside walls are metal studs (except maybe in the larger custom homes) and the roof trusses span across from outside walls to outside walls.

When we hung our television screens on the inside walls, I used toggle bolts, pushed them thru the metal studs and pulled them back against the backside of the studs. For everything else the screw in plastic that can support up to 75 lbs can hold just about everything else. For the televisions I also added a few of these screw in hangers for some extra support but probably was not needed.

[coleprice]

Our Designer Home has Wood Studs in the Exterior Walls, and Metal Studs in the Interior Walls.

[Sgt Ed]

There is a device called a walabot that attaches to your phone and will find pipes, wires, and studs behind the drywall. It shows you what material the studs are made of. Website $179.00

[Padro]

Ours was built in 2002 in the northern part of The Villages and our inside studs are metal and 19” center. Hope this helps.

[BillyGreenYokel]

The interior walls in our block and stucco home are a mixture of wood and metal studs. A magnet can help to determine what you have. Slide the magnet along the wall. It will be obvious if the stud is metal, and you will find the spaced out drywall screws if it's wood.

[Bwanajim]

Sounds like metal studs to me

[DCUNY]

Thank you everyone for all the specific info. I was wondering about the stud spacing. They are probably metal, and it seems different that the 16 inches I’m used to.

Also I’ll need to check out the walabot device that hooks to the phone.

Lastly, thanks villagetinker, I will get in touch with you if I need those. Right now it sounds like I have several options based on what I’m trying to do.

And I agree with everyone’s observation that the employees at Lowes and HD are not very knowledgeable or helpful.

[Peter Schultz]

Our house os a Corpus Christie model built 2006. Wood exterior studs, metal interior wall studs. We're in Duval

[Jhnidy]

Website $179.00

I would not have mentioned this device had I checked the price. Don't know how this got into my tool box. Must have been a fire sale or something. But I do own the cheaper one for Android phone and it really works as advertised.

If you have an android phone, you can borrow this one.

[JohnnyP]

I found that my Designer home (built 2004) has a mix of wood and metal studs. For the metal studs, I used "Toggler" SNAPTOGGLE heavy-duty toggle bolts. They are rated as having a tensile strength of 265 lb. in 1/2" drywall. I used ~30 Togglers to install ClosetMaid vertical shelving brackets. Also used 2 Togglers to put up a massive 53 pound, 63" x 43" antique mirror. It took a bit of engineering to devise the appropriate hardware to use for hanging the mirror. Very happy with performance. Installation is not difficult, but more involved than driving in wood screws. I have 8 left over, if anyone wants them.
-- Manufacturer's website: SNAPTOGGLE | Heavy Duty Toggle Bolts | Heavy Duty Wall Anchors (https://toggler.com/products/snaptoggle-heavy-duty-toggle-bolts-304-stainless-steel-channels)
-- Spec sheet: https://toggler.com/pdfs/SNAPTOGGLE-Heavy-Duty-Toggle-Bolts-2024.pdf
-- Lowes: TOGGLER 802-lb 3/16-in x Assorted Length Toggle Bolt Drywall Anchors with Screws Included (10-Pack) in the Anchors department at Lowes.com (https://www.lowes.com/pd/TOGGLER-10-Pack-Assorted-Length-x-3-16-in-Dia-Toggle-Bolt-Drywall-Anchor-Screws-Included/3183815)

[pcntech]

I can't use one of those stud finders that beeps. Everytime I pick one up, it starts beeping like crazy!

(That's a joke, son)

[LianneMigiano]

You may dislike the "orange peel" effect on the walls BUT it hides a multitude of imperfections! Every single nail "dimple" shows up over time on "un-orange peel" surfaces. That's why I keep wondering why people are taking off the popcorn finish on ceilings! Over time nails will start to surface and ruin the entire look of the ceiling....

[Mrfriendly]

In general, with some exceptions - they use wood for structural walls and steel for interior.

Lowes has these in stock last time I checked:

Home | Steelstudanchor (https://www.steelstudanchor.com/)

Can these be used inside lanai wall and also support columns? Thx

[wamley]

I think they can answer your questions. Villages Warrantee Dept 352-753-6222

[MacScuba]

I’ve had good luck with these. They come in various weight ratings. You don’t need to find a stud. And they only leave two very small holes to patch when removed.

[Altavia]

Can these be used inside lanai wall and also support columns? Thx

Probably not.

I use tapcon screws.

You need to use a hammer make a hole first.

[MandoMan]

You can go into Home Depot, Lowe’s or Ace Hardware and they can help you with what you need.

You won’t have much luck trying to drive a brad into a metal stud while trying to hang a painting or a mirror, but I’ve had no real trouble driving screws through the studs, and these are plenty sturdy and strong, even for disability grab bars. The crucial factor is using a decent electric drill for driving the screws and putting your weight behind it. You won’t have any success just holding the drill and pushing. Use a stool or ladder and hold the drill with both hands and sort of lean against it with your chest. I recommend that after finding the center of the the steel stud using a stud finder, you drill a hole with a 1/16” drill bit or hammer in a small nail to be sure you are on the stud and not on empty space beside the stud. If you are trying to install, say, grab bars or wire shelving or cabinets and the studs aren’t in the right place, one technique is to install a wood strip (whether 1x2” or 1x4” or 1x6” as long as you need that is screwed into the studs where possible, then screw or nail your brackets to that wood. This is especially useful when you need to hang things in your garage.

[HORNET]

Interior walls are generally metal