[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]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

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

[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by DCUNY

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

Wow that's great info!!!

[RcCalais]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by justjim

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.