You can rap a wall with your knuckles to find a stud. Most of the wall will sound hollow. A solid sound may mean you’ve located a stud. Drill a small, easily patched hole to check. Hit wood, you’ve hit a stud; hit a hollow space—try again.

You can also purchase a special stud-finder like the one shown here. Unlike Grandpa’s old pivoting nail-locating magnet, most of today’s electronic stud finders sense differences in electric capacitance. (In other words, they work like a touch-sensitive electric lamp.) When they are passed over a wall stud, they sense the change in the wall materials, and the light goes on. Look for them at home-improvement stores.

Tip: Observe the locations of electrical switches and outlets on your wall. One side of each switch and outlet box is anchored to a stud.

Read our quick guide to the right screw hardware for your project.