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To hang heavier items on your walls, you need the solid backing of a “stud” …that’s one of the vertical 2 by 4’s behind finished walls. The most reliable way to find them is an electronic stud-finder which detects changes in density. You pass it over a wall, and lights and tones tell when you’ve found a stud. You can also hold a lamp light close to a wall and look for nail heads and seams in the drywall. The low-tech methods include tapping and listening for hollow spaces – or looking alongside switches and outlet boxes since they are usually attached to the side of studs. The good news is that once you find one stud ….you should be able to find them all…. because most walls are laid out with a stud every 16 inches.