[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by Ignatz

Are the new houses being built with wood or metal studs?

I'm getting ready to hang our TV's, but I stumbled on this thread and it made me wonder what I'm up against.

I ran my stud finder across a couple of the walls, and it wasn't giving me the results I was expecting (greater than 16" centers).

My next step was to get a new battery for the stud finder today.

If this is a new house, you should be able to get a copy of YOUR house plans from the county building department, these will have lots of details about how the house is built. It appears the metal studs are used on tall or large interior walls so you get a very flat wall. load bearing wall, and wall that have cabinets are typically wood studs. Studs may also be on 2 foot centers. I understand some of the newer studs finders will indicate wood or metal, mine does not, so I use a small drill bit and drill test holes, if the drill stops, it is a metal stud, if it continues it is wood. I also use this method to get the exact center of the stud. If you go the big box stores, you will find hangers specifically for metal studs, use these for TVs and other heavy loads. Light weight loads can hung with a hood and sheet metal screws.